25 October 2018
Aarhus Centres Assess Work to Advance SDGs, Convention Principles
Photo by Lynn Wagner
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The Aarhus Centres work to advance, in particular, SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

Participants at the annual meting said the network of 60 Centres in 14 countries provide a framework for governments to effectively engage the public to achieve the SDGs.

20 September 2018: The Aarhus Centres and Public Environmental Information Centres held a meeting to assess progress and advance efforts on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. The Centres work to advance, in particular, SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

The meeting was organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which supports 60 centers in 14 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. The Aarhus Centres disseminate environmental information, help to ensure public participation in decision-making, facilitate access to justice, and providing platforms to engage citizens, governments and the private sector regarding environmental challenges.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and its Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) are the only legally binding international instruments that embody the principle of participatory environmental governance, following on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development adopted in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The 2018 Aarhus Centres Annual Meeting convened from 19-20 September 2018, in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. Participants noted that the Centres provide a framework for governments to effectively engage the public to achieve the SDGs. [OSCE Press Release] [About Aarhus Centres]

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