OSCE Mission to Moldova opens Aarhus Centre in Chisinau to promote public access to environmental information

CHISINAU, 30 April 2013 – The OSCE Mission to Moldova opened today an Aarhus Centre in Chisinau to provide the local population with information and legal expertise on environmental matters.

Aarhus Centres are named after the city of Aarhus in Denmark, where the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was signed in 1998. The centre in Chisinau was opened together with the non-governmental organization ECO-Contact.

“The opening of an Aarhus Centre in Chisinau is an important step to engage people in environmental matters and to promote sustainable development in the region,” said Ambassador Jennifer Brush, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. “It will benefit the population, the environment and the economy by raising awareness about environmental issues and contributing to decision-making.”

The Aarhus Centre in Chisinau will bring together authorities, international organizations and NGOs dealing with environmental issues. Last week, the Mission opened a Public Environmental Centre in Bender which will serve the same purpose.

To date, the OSCE has established Aarhus Centres in ten other countries.