AARHUS CENTRES TO OPEN IN ARMENIAN REGIONS WITH OSCE SUPPORT

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Oct 6 2005

Local public environmental information Centres (Aarhus Centres) will
soon open in the capitals of the Syunik, Tavush and Lori regions
of Armenia with the help of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, which today
signed an agreement with the Ministry of Nature Protection and local
administrations.

The Centres will promote access to information, including through
the Internet, public participation in decision-making and access to
justice in environmental matters-the three main pillars of the Aarhus
Convention, ratified by Armenia in 2001. They will also contribute
to the creation of a public climate of transparency in environmental
affairs and to the general democratization and good governance in
the region.

The need for local Aarhus Centres in the regions was one of the
recommendations of the OSCE-supported study of the perspectives of the
socio-economic development of the Syunik region, conducted last year.

The Centres will also serve as a link between governmental authorities
and non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the field of environmental
policy-making, promote co-operation between all environmental
stakeholders and their potential counterparts, such as national,
foreign and international NGOs, as well as the business community, and
serve as a basis for coalition-building among local environmental NGOs.

The Centres will open later this year and make use of the experience
and expertise of the Yerevan Aarhus Centre, established in 2002 as
the first one in Southern Caucasus.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan supports the establishment of a network of
Aarhus Centres in Armenia to promote the principles and values of the
international Aarhus Convention, which combines both environmental
issues and democratic spirit.

Contacts Gohar Avagyan OSCE Office in Yerevan 89 Teryan St. 375009
Yerevan Armenia Tel: +374 10 54 10 62 +374 10 54 58 45 Fax: +374 10
54 10 61