Aarhus Centres on the Road to Rio+20

The Parties to the Aarhus Convention will hold their Fourth Meeting of the Parties in Chisinau, Moldova from 29 June -1 July 2011.

On the occasion and in the framework of the Meeting of the Parties, the Office of the Co-ordinator will host a lunch discussion on “Aarhus Centres on the Road to Rio+20”, which is open to all participants of the Meeting of Parties. The event will be an opportunity for participants to meet with the practitioners working on the Aarhus Convention and the representatives of the Aarhus Centres Initiative from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Participants will learn about the contribution of the work of Aarhus Centres to good environmental governance and sustainable development and discuss the role of the Aarhus Centres in a green economy.

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities has supported the implementation of the Aarhus Convention through the Aarhus Centres Initiative, which supports Aarhus and Public Environmental Information Centres in 9 OSCE participating States. Centres raise awareness on the Convention, support access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters. The Aarhus Centres Initiative is implemented in close co-operation with the Aarhus Convention Secretariat at UNECE and other partner agencies of the Environment and Security Initiative.