Issues Relating to Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
Author
Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
October 2003
Issues Relating to Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environ

Issues Relating to Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation analyzes recent Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Council resolutions that limit public review and hinder the citizen submissions process of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. The report finds that, by limiting the scope of investigation in each of the records examined, the Council jeopardized the ability of the citizen submitters to fully expose the controversy at issue.

The New Public: The Globalization of Public Participation
Author
Carl Bruch
Date Released
December 2002
The New Public: The Globalization of Public Participation

The New Public: The Globalization of Public Participation, edited by ELI Senior Attorney Carl Bruch, takes a close look at the foundations of public involvement, and regional and international institutions that advance public involvement. The book, whose release coincides with the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, highlights cases from Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia, illustrating the common need and experiences in promoting a core set of principles for public input in effective decisionmaking.

Opportunities for Public Involvement in NOAA's Natural Resources Damage Assessment and Restoration Efforts: Case Studies of the Hudson River PCB Contamination and the Tampa Bay Oil Spill
Author
Suellen T. Keiner & John A. Pendergrass, Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
September 2000

This study examines two NRDA cases -- contamination of the Hudson River with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the 1993 Tampa Bay oil spill -- and identifies public participation strategies that DAC may choose to implement for future NRDA efforts.

Transparency and Responsiveness: Building a Participatory Process for Activities Implemented Jointly Under the Climate Change Convention
Author
Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
December 1997
Transparency and Responsiveness: Building a Participatory Process for Activities

The Environmental Law Institute surveyed existing AIJ projects under the United States Initiative on Joint Implementation (USIJI) and AIJ projects initiated from other countries. The survey looked for evidence of transparent mechanisms and public involvement in decision-making. In addition, ELI examined development projects analogous to the AIJ framework, such as multilateral development bank investments and environmental fund investments, that included participatory elements.

Information Access Mechanisms: Collecting & Disseminating the Information Necessary for Environmental Protection
Author
Margaret Bowman, Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
December 1993

This process of interaction and mutual influence among various groups within a society -- the public, business interests, and government -- characterizes a functioning democratic system. Yet such effective interaction is impossible without the free exchange of full and accurate information that can form the basis of individual and collective changes in behavior. Access to information -- in the context of legal and social structures that are conducive to constructive change -- thus fuels the democratic process, in environmental protection as in other aspects of self-government.

Environmental Impact Assessment and Public Participation in the Context of Central European Environmental Decisionmaking: Report of an International Roundtable Discussion
Author
Margaret Bowman, Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
January 1992

This paper is a report on the inaugural roundtable of the series, the International Roundtable on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Public Participation in Environmental Desicionmaking. This three day roundtable, held in Wroclaw, Poland in April 1992, was a collaborative effort between ELI and the Research Group on Environmental Law, a part of the Institute for State and Law at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

A Citizen's Guide to Using Federal Environmental Laws to Secure Environmental Justice
Author
Linda Breggin, Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
April 2002
A Citizen's Guide to Using Federal Environmental Laws to Secure Environmental Ju

Countless independent studies have concluded that communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental harms and risks. This handbook has been written with these unique environmental justice concerns in mind. It highlights sections of environmental laws that can be used to support and help advance your environmental justice goals.

Consentimiento Informado Previo y Minerõa: Promoviendo el Desarrollo Sustentable de las Comunidades Locales
Author
Susan Bass, Environmental Law Institute
Date Released
December 2004
Consentimiento Informado Previo y Minerõa: Promoviendo el Desarrollo Sustentable

While nations and multinational corporations profit from mining operations around the world, local communities face the resulting negative impacts. Mining communities have begun to exercise their right to prior informed consent to mining operations, despite skepticism in the international community and business world. However, in December 2003, the World Bank's Extractive Industries Review endorsed prior informed consent for its projects and private projects.

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