You are viewing our old site. See the new one here

Web coverage/Summary
IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) has produced daily web coverage and a summary of this meeting. To download our reports, click the HTML or PDF icons below.
Summary Report   Summary
 
htm
pdf
4 July 2011   HTML version PDF format
Loading...
Fourth Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

29 June - 1 July 2011 | Chisinau, Moldova
 
Highlights for Friday, 01 July 2011
 
DAILY WEB COVERAGE

L-R: MOP 4 Chair Dusik consulting with Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Moldova
 

On Friday morning, Mihai Moldovanu, Moldova Deputy Prime Minister, opened the High-level Segment of the fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (MOP 4), under the theme “The role of the Aarhus Convention in promoting sustainable development.” Ján Kubiš, UNECE Executive Secretary, delivered a message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, stressing that the Aarhus Convention is today more important than ever.

The first session of the High-level Segment was devoted to “Advancing sustainable development in the UNECE region: a success story or a missed opportunity for the Aarhus Convention?” Panelists and delegates underscored, inter alia, the: link between environmental governance and security; need for international assistance and regional cooperation; challenges in implementing legislation and involving local communities; and importance of public participation in the areas of climate change, energy and the green economy.

The second session of the High-level Segment was devoted to “The Aarhus Convention as an inspiration for promoting Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.” Panellists and delegates underscored, inter alia: cooperation at subnational and local levels; the role of public participation in integrating the pillars of sustainable development and in ensuring responsible economic development; and the importance of innovation and education.

Jeremy Wates, Secretary-General of European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and European ECO Forum, supported by other NGOs and Uzbekistan, urged parties to commit to amending the Convention provision subjecting accession by non-UNECE states to the MOP approval, and reflect this commitment in the Chisinau declaration. The EU expressed doubts about the proposal. Following informal consultations, delegates agreed to request, in the meeting report, the Working Group of Parties to report about the effectiveness of MOP 4 decision on accession by non-UNECE states, to enable MOP 5 to “take any action considered relevant” to further encourage the accession on non-UNECE states. European ECO Forum expressed hope that an amendment to the Convention will be adopted by MOP 5.

Delegates then adopted the Chisinau Declaration "Rio Plus Aarhus - 20 Years On," as well as all draft decisions and all outcomes included in the draft meeting report. Ukraine expressed interest in hosting MOP 5. Gheorghe Salaru, Moldova Minister of Environment, drew the meeting to a close at 5:24 pm.

 
PLENARY:
 
1 1 1
1
Ján Kubiš, UNECE Executive Secretary
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Mihai Moldovanu, Deputy Prime Minister, Moldova
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Janusz Zaleski, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of the Environment of Poland, speaking on behalf of the EU.
1
1 1 1
 

Session 1: Advancing sustainable development in the UNECE region: a success story or a missed opportunity for the Aarhus Convention?

 
1 1 1
1
L-R: Raimonds Vejonis, Minister of Environment, Latvia; Aram Papyan, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Nature Protection, Armenia; MOP 4 Chair Dusik; Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Moldova; Mihai Moldovanu, Deputy Prime Minister, Moldova; Philippe Henry, Minister of Environment, Land-use Planning and Mobility, Walloon Region, Belgium; Esra Buttanri, OSCE; and Marta Szigeti Bonifert, REC CEE
;
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Raimonds Vejonis, Minister of Environment, Latvia
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1

Aram Papyan, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Nature Protection, Armenia

1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Marta Szigeti Bonifert, REC CEE
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Philippe Henry, Minister of Environment, Land-use Planning and Mobility, Walloon Region, Belgium
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Esra Buttanri, OSCE
1
1 1 1
 
Session 2: The Aarhus Convention as an inspiration for promoting
Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration
 
1 1 1
1
Brice Lalonde, Executive Coordinator of Rio+20, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Jeremy Wates, Secretary-General of EEB and European ECO Forum
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Azra Rogovic-Grubic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Zoltan Illes, Secretary of State, Ministry of Rural Development, Hungary
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Stefano De Leo, Italy
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Marijana Mance Kowalsky, Croatia
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Engelbert Ruoss, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Group photo of participants to the Aarhus Convention MOP 4.
1
1 1 1
 
Accession by Non-UNECE States:
 
   
1 1 1
1
MOP 4 Chair Dusik consulting with the EU and European ECO Forum about text on the accession by non-UNECE states to the Aarhus Convention.
1
1 1 1
   
 
1 1 1
1
Member delegations from the EU consulting.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Helen Medina, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Claude Cahn, Human Rights Adviser
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Nikolay Romanov, Ukraine
1
1 1 1
 
CLOSING PLENARY:
 
1 1 1
1
Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Moldova, presented an award to Veit Koester, Chair of the Compliance Committee.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Moldova, presented a gavel to MOP 4 Chair Dusik.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Moldova, gave Marco Keiner, UNECE, a commerative book on Moldova.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Birthday cake for the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Aarhus Convention.
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1
Moldovian youths giving their wishes for the future.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Aarhus Convention birthday cake.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Moldova, gavelled the meeting to a close at 5:24 pm.
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1
MOP 4 Chair Dusik with UNECE staff servicing the Aarhus Convention MOP 4, Chisinau, Moldova.
1
1 1 1
 
 
 
 
 
1 1 1
1
Aarhus Convention
1
1 1 1
 
1 1 1
1 Sign up for ENB 1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1 Sign up for SDG 1
1 1 1
1 1 1
1 Sustainable Development Policy & Practice 1
1 1 1
Related Links
UNECE resources
*Official website
*Introduction to the Meeting of the Parties
*Provisional organization of work
*Meeting documents
*Exhibition and side events
*Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention
*Thirty third meeting of the Compliance Committee

IISD RS resources
*IISD RS Summary and Analysis of the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2012 UNCSD, 7-8 March 2011, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
*IISD RS Summary and Analysis of the First Intersessional Meeting of UNCSD, 10-11 January 2011, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
*IISD RS Summary and Analysis of the First Session of the Preparatory Committee for UNCSD, 17-19 May 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF) (Spanish: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS coverage of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 26 August - 4 September 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa
*IISD RS coverage of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, 3-14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*IISD RS archive of sustainable development meetings
*Linkages sustainable development news page
*SDG - A mailing list for news on sustainable development policy
*Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of International Activities Preparing for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development
*SIDS Policy and Practice - A Knowledgebase on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
*Biodiversity Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing International Biodiversity Policy
*Climate Change Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing Global Climate Change Policy
*Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news
*African Regional Coverage
*Latin America and Caribbean Regional Coverage
View HTML version E-mail the Digital Editor should you have any questions regarding the content of this page
| Back to IISD RS "Linkages" | Visit IISDnet | Send e-mail to IISD RS |
© 2011, IISD. All rights reserved.