15 years Aarhus Centres celebrated in Budva, Montenegro

BUDVA, Montenegro, 14 September 2017 - Representatives of the Aarhus Centres network from 14 countries met today in Budva, Montenegro, on the occasion of the Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs).

The OSCE-hosted discussion took stock of what has been achieved since the creation of the first Aarhus Centre in 2002 in Armenia.

“Through 60 Aarhus Centres in 14 countries, the OSCE supports good environmental governance at the local level,” said Ambassador Vuk Žugić, the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. “They are ideal platforms to facilitate local level implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, contributing particularly to Goal 16 on just, peaceful and inclusive societies.”

Saša Radulović, State Secretary of the Sustainable Development and Tourism Ministry of Montenegro, said that the Aarhus Centers in Montenegro provide citizens with information related to the environment, raise public awareness of environmental protection issues and encourage public participation in decision-making. “Aarhus Centres in Montenegro co-operate closely with local administrations in the evironmental field,” he said.

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Maryse Daviet, said: "With support from the Mission, the Aarhus Centres in Montenegro are active partners in the South-Eastern European regional network of Aarhus Centres, exchanging information and collaborating in addressing common environmental challenges".

Commending the long-standing co-operation between the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the OSCE, the Director of the UNECE Environment Division, Marco Keiner, said: “As we are all called to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, the role of Aarhus Centres becomes even more pertinent. There is great potential for them to serve as a platform to promote multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable development.”

The representative of the 2017 Austrian OSCE Chairmanship, Andreas Stadler, said: “Aarhus Centres tackle local environmental challenges together with the people who are most affected. We remain committed to supporting them on their path towards greening the economy and sustainable development.”

The OSCE, in close partnership with the UNECE and other partners in the Environment and Security Initiative, has been supporting the establishment and operation of a network of Aarhus Centres since 2002. Aarhus Centres disseminate environmental information, facilitate public participation in decision-making, and support access to justice. They also provide platforms to engage citizens, governments and the private sector in a dialogue on environmental challenges.