1. The Aarhus Convention Index Andrew Jackson andrew.jackson@antaisce.org 15 June 2015

2. The Access Initiative (TAI) EST. IN 1999: WRI as Secretariat NETWORK of 200+ civil society organizations in 50+ countries MISSION: to strengthen public rights to participate in environmental decision-making through evidence- based advocacy EST. IN 1999: WRI as Secretariat NETWORK of 200+ civil society organizations in 50+ countries MISSION: to strengthen public rights to participate in environmental decision-making through evidence- based advocacy

3. The challenge In many countries globally laws are weak or absent. Practice lags behind the law. Measuring progress is essential to creating change. So we developed the Environmental Democracy Index (EDI): www.environmentaldemocracyindex.org

4. What is EDI? First of its kind Benchmarks to 2010 UNEP Bali Guidelines Limits subjectivity with clear scoring criteria Makes data easily accessible Engages governments and stakeholders

5. MORE ABOUT EDI NATIONAL RULES & LAWS Relevant and legally-binding 75 Legal Indicators scored to create the index 24 Supplemental Practice Indicators provide key insights www.environmentaldemocracyindex.org

6. The Aarhus Convention Index (ACI) Idea developed out of the Environmental Democracy Index. Create indicators – legal transposition and practical implementation – specifically tailored for the Aarhus Convention. Project is in pilot phase currently, with funding from Dutch government: An Taisce, EMLA and WRI working on draft indicators. Workshop to be held in Dublin in July 2015 will provide feedback on the indicators & help to select five pilot countries/Parties. Expert researcher and reviewer will be engaged for each Party and indicators will be applied in full to those Parties. This pilot application will serve to further refine indicators. Hope to roll out ACI to all Aarhus Parties in due course, with dedicated website.