OSCE Office supports opening of Aarhus Centre in Armenia's Lori province

YEREVAN, 18 January 2006 - An Aarhus public environmental information Centre, supported by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, opened yesterday in Vanadzor, the capital of Armenia's Lori province.

The Centre will help the public to participate in decision-making in environmental matters, as well as contributing to the creation of a climate of transparency in environmental affairs, and good governance in the region.

"Implementing the Aarhus Convention, which Armenia ratified in 2001, is one of the keys to finding co-ordinated solutions for environmental problems through awareness raising, access to information and public participation in decision-making processes," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office. "This is beneficial to the civil society, the environment and the economy."

This is the second Aarhus Centre outside of Yerevan, after the one in Syunik province. The OSCE Office helped open both Centres in co-operation with the Ministry of Nature Protection and the Syunik and Lori local administrations.

Henrik Kochinyan, the Governor of Lori, said the Centre is a unique link between governmental authorities and non-governmental organizations in the field of environmental policy-making. "With the support of the OSCE we have created an instrument, which will help better address environmental issues," he said.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan supports the establishment of a network of Aarhus Centres in Armenia to promote the principles and values of the Aarhus Convention.