Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface and acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: dimensions of justice in environmental law
- Part I The notion of justice in environmental law
- Part II Public participation and access to the judiciary
- 6 Participatory rights in natural resource management: the role of communities in South Asia
- 7 Public participation and the challenges of environmental justice in China
- 8 Environmental justice through courts in countries in economic transition
- 9 Environmental justice through environmental courts? Lessons learned from the Swedish experience
- 10 Environmental justice in the European Court of Justice
- 11 Environmental justice through international complaint procedures? Comparing the Aarhus Convention and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
- Part III State sovereignty and state borders
- Part IV North–South concerns in global contexts
- Part V Access to natural resources
- Part VI Corporate activities and trade
- Index
- References
6 - Participatory rights in natural resource management: the role of communities in South Asia
from Part II - Public participation and access to the judiciary
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 June 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface and acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: dimensions of justice in environmental law
- Part I The notion of justice in environmental law
- Part II Public participation and access to the judiciary
- 6 Participatory rights in natural resource management: the role of communities in South Asia
- 7 Public participation and the challenges of environmental justice in China
- 8 Environmental justice through courts in countries in economic transition
- 9 Environmental justice through environmental courts? Lessons learned from the Swedish experience
- 10 Environmental justice in the European Court of Justice
- 11 Environmental justice through international complaint procedures? Comparing the Aarhus Convention and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
- Part III State sovereignty and state borders
- Part IV North–South concerns in global contexts
- Part V Access to natural resources
- Part VI Corporate activities and trade
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Along with Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, a number of international and regional treaties include reference to public participation in the decision-making process. Although regional in scope, the 1998 UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) reflects an increased concern of the international community in transparency of environmental decision-making, and parties to the Convention are asked to consult local communities before they undertake some development activities. While Asian countries are not parties to the Aarhus Convention, the influence of these binding and non-binding international instruments, especially Principle 10, clearly has impacts as countries implement these instruments, and international financial institutions incorporate them into their policies. Public participation requirements are increasingly attached to international loans and financing, and treaties rely on information, participation and accountability for their implementation. Recently, some of the judges from Asia recognised this influence in the Kathmandu Declaration on Environmental Justice (2004), which emphasised the importance of human rights instruments and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in upholding environmental justice. At the national level, the judiciary in South Asia established a substantive right to a healthy environment as part of a fundamental right to life – this move also influenced the demands for stronger participatory tools.
Participation in the decision-making process creates a sense of ‘ownership’ in the decision itself, and various participatory techniques assist communities to implement environmental justice.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Environmental Law and Justice in Context , pp. 117 - 138Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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