The Aarhus Convention National Implementation Report 2021

 

CONSULTATION BRIEF

Start date: 22 September 2021

Closing date: 13 October 2021

Title of the public consultation: The Aarhus Convention National Implementation Report 2021

Ministry: Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning

Entity: Environment & Resources Authority

 

  1. Background

The Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (hereinafter referred to as the Aarhus Convention) was adopted on 25 June 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark and entered into force on 30 October 2001.

The Aarhus Convention establishes a number of participatory rights for the public with regard to the environment, categorised under three pillars: (1) access to environmental information, (2) public participation in decision making and (3) access to justice.

Malta ratified the Convention in April 2002 and currently, the Environment and Resources Authority holds the role of National Focal Point for the Aarhus Convention in Malta.

Article 10 of the Aarhus Convention requires the Meeting of the Parties to keep the implementation of the Convention under continuous review through regular reporting by the Parties. National Reports are required to be prepared through a transparent and consultative process involving the public. To this end, Parties are required to review their earlier report (submitted in 2017) and submit an updated version.

For more information on the Aarhus Convention please visit: https://era.org.mt/era-topic-categories/information-participation-justice/.

 

  1. Consultation

The draft 2021 National Implementation Report covers the period between July 2016 and June 2020.

This Report was drafted following an initial public consultation exercise conducted in September 2020 by ERA, and following consultations with various public authorities and stakeholders on how the Aarhus provisions have been implemented at national level.

The consolidated draft 2021 Report is hereby being published for the final round of public consultation. The Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning and the Environment and Resources Authority welcome any feedback on this Report which may be reflected therein.

 

  1. Documents

 Aarhus Convention National Implementation Report 2021

 

  1. Submission of feedback

E-mail: [email protected].

 

  1. Further notes

Please be informed that comments submitted, together with the identity of the contributor, may be published online at the end of the public consultation, unless the contributor objects to the publication of his/her personal data. In this case, the contribution may be published in anonymous form.

All comments submitted shall be duly considered.