OSCE hosts 2019 Aarhus Centres Annual Meeting

The 2019 Aarhus Centres Annual Meeting concluded on 17 October 2019 in Vienna. The two-day meeting brought together Aarhus Centres representatives, National Focal Points to the Aarhus Convention, representatives of non-governmental organizations, international organizations and the OSCE field operations.

“The Aarhus Convention reveals to be a crucial instrument in supporting people’s environmental rights and also in strengthening environmental co-operation, two essential elements of the OSCE approach to security and confidence building,” said the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Vuk Žugić, recalling the three pillars of the Convention.

Martin Koncal, representative of the 2019 OSCE Slovak Chairmanship, said that: “the work of the Aarhus Centres in some thematic areas can provide a tangible contribution to the implementation of several Sustainable Development Goals, in particular to those referring to environmental protection, water management, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, as well as gender mainstreaming, inclusive societies and access to justice”.

Andris Stastoli, representative of the incoming Albania OSCE Chairmanship 2020, closed the meeting saying that: “the OSCE-supported Aarhus Centres have contributed considerably to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention and to the promotion of good environmental governance in the OSCE region, thanks to their presence on the ground and their capacity to establish relations with stakeholders at different levels”.

Organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the meeting favoured discussions on the involvement of Aarhus Centres in fostering good environmental governance in various fields, sharing experiences and lessons learned from their work and identifying future priorities.

This year, special attention was given to public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment and the Aarhus Centres’ engagement in implementing the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment.