Armenpress

AARHUS CENTERS TO OPEN IN ARMENIAN REGIONS

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS: Local public environmental information
Centers (Aarhus Centers) 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 signed yesterday an agreement with the Ministry of Nature
Protection and local administrations, OSCE Yerevan Office said.
The Centers 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 Centers 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
Centers 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 Centers will open later this year and make use of the experience and
expertise of the Yerevan Aarhus Center, established in 2002 as the first one
in Southern Caucasus.
The OSCE Office in Yerevan supports the establishment of a network of
Aarhus Centers in Armenia to promote the principles and values of the
international Aarhus Convention, which combines both environmental issues
and democratic spirit.