Participatory Democracy- The Story of a Trojan Horse

Michael Ewing Coordinator of the Environmental Pillar

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Contents• Prologue• Introduction• The Trojan Horse• Participatory Dialogue•What Now?

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World Population

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Species on the verge of mass extinction

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‘THE BELIEF that private financial markets can solve all our problems

is the witchcraft of our age.”

The bill for ignoring nature’s services may not be affordable if we don’t start paying now, says ‘total capitalist’ and environmentalist Pavan Sukhdev, a leading figure in the formulation of Deutsche Bank’s global markets strategy in Asia from the 1990s. (August 2011)

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"Involving the public and civil society organizations in formulating and implementing a response to climate change is not a choice but a necessity."Jan Kubis, UNECE Executive Secretary, High-level segment of the Sixty-third Session of the Economic Commission for Europe (30 March — 1 April 2009)15/09/2011

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Add to this the following:

• The capacity to produce oil peaked in 2006 whilst demand for energy continues to grow. (International Energy Agency April 2011.)• Food prices are rising rapidly, driven by the price of oil and the impact of climate change (Tom Arnold - Concern Worldwide, June 2011)• The oceans are rapidly being depleted. (UNEP 2011)• Industry is fast running out of raw materials (Neil O’Leary - Ion Equity June 2011)• Fresh-water supply world-wide is in crisis (Tom Arnold - Concern Worldwide, June2011)15/09/2011

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The limits to growth

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The Conception1992

178 governments including Ireland sign the Rio Declaration. Principle 10 of the Declaration mandated

access to information public participation and effective access to judicial proceedings.

These three rights are known as the Access Principles

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Principle 10 (P.10), of the ‘Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992’,

states:

“Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided”.15/09/2011

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1998 The Aarhus Convention

The UNECE draws up a Convention to convert the aspirations of Principle 10 into International Law.

The Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Ireland is a signatory, but as yet has not ratified the Convention.

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State of Ratification

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The Three Legged Convention

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Article 1. Objective

• In order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being, each Party shall guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

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Fundamental Change

Apart from ratification of the Convention, an important first step in its implementation would be to amend the Irish Constitution in order “recognise the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being”, as set out in the objective of the Convention.

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THE RIGHT TO KNOW

In a democracy people have the right to know and should be provided with easy access to information. It is necessary to raise public awareness and to ensure the effective participation of the public in matters of concern to them.

S.I.133 of 2007. Access to Information on the Environment Regulations

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THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE

The Convention calls on all the Parties to provide for public participation and thus better integrate environmental considerations in governmental decision-making leading to more sustainable outcomes.

Article 6 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DECISIONS ON SPECIFIC ACTIVITIESArticle 7 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CONCERNING PLANS, PROGRAMMES AND

POLICIES RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENTArticle 8 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DURING THE PREPARATION OF EXECUTIVE

REGULATIONS AND/ORGENERALLY APPLICABLE LEGALLY BINDING NORMATIVE INSTRUMENTS

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The bread has to be good, but the filling is what makes it a sandwich !

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Ridder, Mostert, Wolters, (2005) Harmonising Collaborative Planning (HarmoniCOP);

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Access to Justice“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread”. Anatole France (1844-1924)

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THE RIGHT TO HAVE ACCESS TO JUSTICE

• For access to information and public participation in decision-making to be effective, it is necessary to ensure recourse to administrative or judicial proceedings.

• All Parties are therefore required to establish access to a review procedure before a court or another independent or impartial body.

• This should be easily accessible, timely and inexpensive. Adequate and effective remedies should be provided.

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THE RIGHT TO HAVE ACCESS TO JUSTICE

The Convention also calls on the Parties to ensure that members of the public have access to administrative or judicial procedures to challenge acts and omissions by private individuals and public authorities that contravene provisions of their national law relating to the environment.

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Releasing the Horse

The need to focus on reversing the decline in the well-being of the planet alongside that of the human race will require the active involvement of all. The Aarhus Convention is a valuable tool to be used in starting that conversation. We need to open the gates to allow this Trojan Horse into the citadel that is our decaying representative democracy15/09/2011

Thank you Go raibh maith agat

www.environmentalpillar.ie

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