ECE/MP.PP/2014/CRP.7−ECE/MP.PRTR/2014/CRP.1
Economic Commission for Europe
Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on
Access to Information, Public Participation
in Decision-making and Access to Justice
in Environmental Matters
Fifth session

Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Pollutant
Release and Transfer Registers to the Convention
on Access to Information, Public Participation in
Decision-making and Access to Justice in
Environmental Matters
Second session
Maastricht, the Netherlands, 2 July 2014
Item 4 of the provisional agenda
Maastricht Declaration

Maastricht Declaration
Transparency as a driving force for
environmental democracy1
[As adopted by the Meeting of the Parties]

Introduction
1.
We, the Ministers and heads of delegation from Parties and Signatories to the
Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access
to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and to its Protocol on Pollutant
Release and Transfer Registers (Protocol on PRTRs), together with representatives of other
States, international, regional and non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
parliamentarians and other representatives of civil society throughout the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) region and beyond, gathered jointly at the fifth
session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention and the second session of the
Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, affirm the following.
2.
We are convinced that provision of effective access to environmental information to
the public is highly important; it is an essential prerequisite for successful public
participation and, as a consequence, also impacts on access to justice. All of the three
Aarhus pillars — access to environmental information, public participation and access to
justice — are essential elements of environmental democracy. We therefore reaffirm our
strong commitment to transparency and democracy which will lead to environmental
decision-making that makes a truly positive difference for the living conditions of present
and future generations.
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GE.

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3.
In the “The Future We Want”2 the world recognized that good governance and a
truly sustainable economy requires the effective involvement of the public, be it in their
role as voters, consumers or shareholders. Broad public participation and access to
environmental information and effective judicial and administrative proceedings are
recognized as essential to the promotion of sustainable development, which requires the
meaningful involvement and active participation of regional, national and subnational
legislatures and judiciaries and other interested stakeholders. This once again reaffirmed the
value of the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol on PRTRs as effective tools for furthering
environmental democracy, through encouraging the active participation of all interested
stakeholders in processes that contribute to better decision-making, planning and
implementation of policies and programmes at all levels and for furthering the
implementation of a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication.
4.
We reiterate our strong commitment to empowering people with the right to a
healthy and favourable environment3, improving the state of the environment and to
furthering sustainable development through the promotion of the Convention and its
Protocol and their principles within the ECE region and beyond.

I. Information in the Age of Knowledge
5.
We recognize close links between the effective implementation of the Convention
and its Protocol and the importance of protecting environmental activists and whistleblowers, freedom of speech and the safe participation of citizens in decision-making
affecting their lives. In any case, Governments should recognize the important role played,
as well as the risks faced, by such activists and whistle-blowers, and ensure that they enjoy
adequate protection. On the other hand, to reduce the need for whistle-blowers,
Governments must ensure transparency as well as remove barriers and overcome challenges
to accessing justice. Nowadays the organized actions of citizens, including those related to
the environment, have more of an impact on Governments than ever. Governments are
often well informed about the actions of their citizens, including those related to the
environment. Governments must strive to ensure openness and transparency in
environmental matters, thus providing citizens with a solid basis for public participation. In
order to achieve this, the Convention’s and Protocol’s Parties should adapt their national
legislation as far as possible.
6.
Access to environmental information is a precondition for participatory and
transparent governance. Especially in times of economic crisis, the efforts made to improve
governance are investments in democracy; the economic crisis should not be seized as an
excuse to cut down on environmental protection and procedural rights. In times of
economic crisis, access to information, participation and access to justice are even more
important, as the focus on solving the crisis has in many cases led to increased pressure to
2

Outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro,
20–22 June 2012 (A/RES/66/288, annex).
3
The United Kingdom reiterates its declaration made upon signature and ratification in relation to this
text: ‘The United Kingdom understands the references in article 1 and the seventh preambular
paragraph of this Convention to the 'right' of every person 'to live in an environment adequate to his
or her health and well-being' to express an aspiration which motivated the negotiation of this
Convention and which is shared fully by the United Kingdom. The legal rights which each Party
undertakes to guarantee under article 1 are limited to 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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weaken measures aimed at protecting the environment. Openness and transparency not only
create a foundation for sustainable development leading to an attractive investment climate,
but may also be relevant to policies to tackle inequality and poverty by ensuring that all
persons are provided with information and can engage meaningfully in decision-making
that affects them. Transparency with regard to environmental information is also an
important instrument to support innovation, as well as to promote best available techniques
and good practices towards the implementation of green economy. In addition, pollutant
release and transfer registers (PRTRs) help to evaluate progress in the implementation of
green economy.
7.
We consider that, on the one hand, the Convention and its Protocol can play an
important role in facilitating the development of shared environmental information systems
(SEIS) across the ECE region and, on the other hand, that implementation and ratification
of the Protocol can be highly facilitated by development of national SEIS and the
establishment of a streamlined reporting system on pollutants at the national level. In this
regard, in implementing the Protocol we will strive to contribute to enhancing consistency
with other relevant reporting obligations.
8.
We acknowledge and encourage increased use of new opportunities offered by
modern communication tools, Internet-based and other social media, which are becoming
increasingly important for the fast distribution of environmental information to and by the
public with instant Internet access, thereby contributing to the promotion of transparency.
Another recent trend has demonstrated that the public can play an essential role in drawing
attention to potential environmental damage, including through the use of mobile devices to
gather and spread environmental information.

II. Environmental democracy for all
9.
We recognize that the efficiency of international governance on environmental
matters should still be significantly improved. The Aarhus Convention and its Protocol
remain the only legally binding horizontal international instruments established to
implement Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
Promoting their principles in international forums in matters relating to the environment
remains essential. This holds true not only for forums dealing directly with environmental
matters as such, but also for related forums, such as the international financial institutions
and trade-related organizations, where transparency in decision-making processes that
impact the environment is of the utmost importance. We therefore reaffirm our commitment
to promoting open information and the effective engagement of stakeholders, including
environmental NGOs, in international forums within the scope of the paragraph 4 of the
Almaty Guidelines on Promoting the Application of the Principles of the Aarhus
Convention in International Forums.4
10.
The non-confrontational compliance mechanisms of the Convention and the
Protocol on PRTRs contribute to the mediation and resolution of conflicts between the
public and Governments and are directed towards assisting countries in implementing the
requirements of the Convention and its Protocol. We will therefore strive to further increase
the effectiveness of these compliance mechanisms, and offer to share these experiences
with other interested forums.
11.
Due to their cross-cutting nature, the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol provide a
unique opportunity for building synergies with a number of multilateral environmental
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3

See ECE/MP.PP/2005/2/Add.5, available from http://staging.unece.org/env/pp/mop2/mop2.doc.html.

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agreements (MEAs), organizations and processes. We welcome these partnerships and
recognize the positive role that partner organizations play in assisting to implement the two
treaties. We also underline the necessity to seek further synergies with those organizations
and other MEAs sharing similar objectives in order to facilitate their implementation and
ratification, as appropriate, but also to improve their efficiency.
12.
We warmly welcome the initiative on developing a regional instrument on
environmental rights in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the
establishment of PRTR systems around the globe. We encourage similar initiatives
intending to replicate the achievements of the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol and we
stand ready to support these initiatives. We also call upon countries that are interested in
doing so to join the Aarhus family, since the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol are open
to accession by countries outside the ECE region, and express our renewed commitment to
encouraging such accessions.
13.
The improvement of the quality and the completeness of data reported and the
effective access to information by the public in relation to the pollutants that are released
into the environment remain important tasks to be fulfilled. We call upon the Protocol’s
Parties to continue to pursue this goal by working towards the full implementation of the
Protocol.
14.
We also call upon the countries within the ECE region that have not yet ratified or
acceded to the Protocol to do so at the earliest opportunity and to apply its principles and
provisions. We recognize the importance of subregional cooperation and of promoting
capacity-building in countries with economies in transition, as well as the important role of
Aarhus Centres, international and non-governmental organizations in facilitating
implementation of the Convention and its Protocol in these countries.
15.
We also call upon Parties to the Convention to ratify the amendment on genetically
modified organisms to ensure its entering into force.

III. Achieving the future we want
16.
We note with great concern that in many countries across the world people are still
denied basic information about and influence over the quality of their drinking water, the
air they breathe, the land they live on and the food which they receive. Projects with a
significant impact on the environment are implemented despite the objections of the public
concerned and the impact they may have on people’s living conditions and health, in
particular that of vulnerable groups, such as children and women, rural communities and
the poor, and with little or no possibility for them to appeal such decisions through the
courts.
17.
At the same time, one can see active citizenship flourishing. Citizens want to be
taken seriously and they want to mould their own future. They increasingly play a role in
collecting environmental information and distributing it through modern media. The Aarhus
Convention and its Protocol are therefore becoming increasingly relevant for people’s daily
lives. These are truly people’s instruments enjoying wide recognition. Coalitions of the
private sector, NGOs and citizens, but also institutes of science and learning, international
organizations and Governments, engage frequently in initiatives that set ambitious goals to
contribute to greening the economy or that promote a sustainable future. This trend requires
that Governments as well as private actors ensure transparency in their policies related to
environmental information, so that everyone can make informed choices about their future.
We encourage companies to integrate sustainability information in their reporting cycle.
We also encourage the improvement of models for the integration of sustainability
reporting based on existing frameworks.

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18.
“The Future We Want” made a number of appeals to improve transparency, access
and participation. We will strive to implement these words in our daily actions.
19.
We recognize that products can significantly impact the environment throughout
their life cycle and when they have reached the end of their lifetimes. We therefore consider
that promoting greater transparency in relation to information about products and productrelated decision-making is an important topic which would merit further consideration
under the Convention and Protocol.
20.
Moving to more sustainable lifestyles as envisaged in “The Future We Want”
implies substantially reducing our consumption of resources, inter alia, through improving
the resource efficiency of products and processes. Here, too, transparency plays a crucial
role by ensuring easy availability of objective information about the resource footprint of
products and processes, including data on inputs such as energy, water and other resources.
21.
In addition, greater transparency concerning the pollutants stored on-site in facilities
or the on-site transfers of waste would help the public to be better aware of the scale of the
risk from accidental releases.
22.
While increasing the number of ratifications and ensuring full implementation by the
Parties are still priorities for the Protocol, we recognize that, on the basis of experience
gained, possible future developments with regard to the issues described in the three
preceding paragraphs, could merit further consideration in order to keep the Protocol’s
principles and provisions under continuous review and to ensure that it continues to serve
as an adequate instrument to achieve its objectives.
23.
Transparent national and multilateral processes that would benefit from the inputs of
both Governments and stakeholders, including NGOs, international organizations,
academic institutions, parliaments, local authorities and the private sector, will be critical
for setting a people-centred post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development
goals, as well as for evaluating the progress made in their implementation. We are
convinced that the Convention and its Protocol provide a solid framework for Governments
to effectively engage a wide range of stakeholders in decision-making, thereby providing
the key to effective environmental governance.

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