Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
non-governmental organization actor groups based on the Agenda 21 groups:
indigenous people's organizations (IPOs), business and industry non-govern-
mental organizations (BINGOs), environmental NGOs (ENGOs), local
government and municipal authorities (LGMAs), research and independent
NGOs (RINGOs), trade union NGOs (TUNGOs), farmers' NGOs, women
and gender NGOs, and children and youth NGOs.
Second, environmental protection is increasingly considered a human rights
issue. This trend has entitled individuals, civil groups and environmental
organizations to actively contribute towards environmental protection. This
was seen best in the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration,
which led to wider promotion of environmental democracy. In Principle 10,
states undertook politically to increase their citizens' access to information
about environmental hazards, and their opportunities to infl uence decision-
making that concerns the environment.
The principle also states that public have access to redress and remedies
through judicial and administrative proceedings. This principle is implemented
by the Aarhus Convention, a regional convention within the UN Economic
Commission for Europe. The UN and regional human rights systems have also
started to obligate states more and more explicitly to consider these groups as
participants who are affected by environmental decisions. In other words, the
inhabitants of an affected area must be actively informed, and given the oppor-
tunity to infl uence environmental decision-making.
When climate change or persistent organic pollutants harm the environment and
health in a certain area, it is natural that various actor groups want to infl uence
international as well as local decision-making. Article 3(7) in the Aarhus Convention
encourages its parties to promote the application of its principles in the international
environmental regimes (i.e. creating better opportunities for individuals and non-
governmental organizations to participate in international decision-making
processes) and in international organizations in matters relating to the environment.
oped and have since been observed and expounded by a dedicated task force.
The role of science in international environmental law
Science has a particularly signifi cant role to play in international environmental
law. Environmental problems are generally observed and verifi ed through
scientifi c research; the objects of regulation are therefore constantly shifting
environmental problems. International environmental problems are not solved
by mere ordinary rules and actors infl uencing international politics because
before they can take any effective decisions, actors must fi rst understand the
science behind any environmental problem and this understanding is based on
the research shared by scientists and scientifi c institutions.
It is not merely a question of defi ning environmental problems according to
scientifi c research; the progress in natural sciences leads us to understand the
problems and solutions better. While previously we might have seen a river as
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