The Partnership for Principle 10 (PP10)—a voluntary partnership of governments, international organizations, and NGOs that supports efforts to translate the Access Initiative’s research into action—convened its second annual Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting in June 2004 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the World Bank, the meeting served as a forum for partners to revise and approve procedures to implement the governance provisions and strategic directions for the Partnership set out at the first Committee of the Whole in 2003 in Lisbon, Portugal. Representatives from thirteen NGOs, ten governments, and five international organizations attended the meeting.
Over the course of the two-day meeting, members described how their involvement in PP10 had helped their citizens gain access to information, public participation, and justice in decisions affecting the environment. Two notable success stories come out of Mexico and Chile.
The Mexico TAI/PP10 coalition includes members from four NGOs and officials from The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). A formal agreement between the NGOs and SEMARNAT establishes guidelines for projects that strengthen access to information in environmental decision-making. Outreach strategies include information transfer workshops, radio programs, and workshops to train members of the public and government officials. In 2005, the IA-Mex coalition will release the second version of its Citizens’ Guide to Access to Information which will be promoted jointly with SEMARNAT.
In Chile, progress on environmental democracy has been strengthened by the concrete commitments made under the Partnership for Principle 10. These commitments facilitate collaboration between the government (CONAMA) and two NGOs—Participa and RIDES. Both the Access Initiative assessment and PP10 commitments help to provide direction for government and civil society organizations in Chile who work on issues of access in environmental decisions.
One important example of our successful work with CONAMA is the implementation of a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) in Chile. As part of their commitment to PP10, CONAMA included Participa and RIDES in designing the
Chilean PRTR. are assisting in this process. This partnership ensures that the design of this system is much more participatory than it would otherwise have been.
