Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
legislative instruments. Few countries have implemented signifi cant legislation at
the national level to obligate public participation in environment decision making
in general or IAS in particular. The compliance burden of IAS management
generally rests with national governments adhering to international conventions
and frameworks; for example, the 2004 Ballast Water Convention of the IMO
(
http://www.imo.org).
However, The Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental
Matters (also known as the Aarhus Convention after the Danish city where the
fi nal talks were held), endorsed in 1998, is widely considered the world's fore-
most international legal instrument promoting public participation. The Aarhus
Convention recognizes every person's right to a healthy environment. To support
this, it enshrines public involvement in environment decision making. Article
6(4) Aarhus Convention states that '. . . each party shall provide for early pub-
lic participation, when all the options are open and effective public participation
can take place' (Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in
Decision Making and access to Justice in Environmental Matters United Nations
ECE 1998). To date, there are 41 parties to the Convention. Signatories are mainly
European and Central Asian countries but the Convention is open to all members
of the United Nations.
Few countries have implemented signifi cant legislation concerning IAS man-
agement (e.g. New Zealand, Australia, and United States). Widely regarded to
be at the forefront of legislation on IAS, New Zealand has also enshrined public
participation into the relevant legal tools. h e two main Acts dealing specifi cally
with IAS are the Biosecurity Act, 1993 and the Hazardous Substances and New
Organisms, (HSNO) Act, 1998.
h e objective of the Biosecurity Act, 1993 is to prevent the unintentional
introduction of IAS into New Zealand and their spread within the country. h e
principal mechanism established under the Act is the preparation of regional and
national Pest Management Strategies (PMS). In the preparation of a PMS, the Act
requires public hearings to be undertaken and public submissions on the proposed
PMS to be considered.
h e Biosecurity Act was later followed by the HSNO Act; which, in the words
of the Act itself, has the purpose '. . . to protect the environment, and the health
and safety of people and communities, by preventing or managing the adverse
eff ects of hazardous substances and new organisms' (Hazardous Substances and
New Organisms Act 1996) As part of the HSNO Act the Environmental Risk
Management Authority (ERMA) was established. A key function of ERMA is to
grant approval to the importation of new organisms. As part of the application
approval process the HSNO Act stipulates public consultation as a key step in
the consideration of the approval process of applications to introduce non-native
species to New Zealand. h e outcomes of all decisions are required to be made
available to any submitters. ERMA is also responsible for public awareness of the
threat of IAS.
