OSCE supports Armenian environmental handbook

YEREVAN, 12 July, 2002-A new directory containing a comprehensive contact list of some 70 Government structures and institutions which provide ecological information has been published today in Armenia.

The directory was prepared by the Centre for Regional Development/Transparency International non governmental organization, with financial support from UNEP and OSCE.

This source book was inspired from the requirements of Article 5 (a) of the UN ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention of 1998) ratified by Armenia last year. Government should provide "sufficient information to the public about the type and scope of environmental information held by the relevant public authorities, the basic terms and conditions under which such information is made available and accessible, and the process by which it can be obtained;".

According to Ms. Sona Ayvazyan, an expert in charge of preparing the directory, "the publication contributes to the process of implementation of the Aarhus convention in Armenia. In particular, it can serve as a practical tool for NGOs, media, and the public at large, to be able to obtain the required ecological information".

The official launching of the publication took place today in the newly created Public Environmental Information Centre in Armenia (Armenian Aarhus Centre), which was established under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Ministry of Nature Protection in March 2002.

Members of the Board of Experts who run the Centre attended the event and emphasized the importance of the directory as a tool to start implementation of the Aarhus Convention, and to increase transparency of Government operations in this field.