Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy Joseph Foti with Lalanath de Silva, Heather McGray, Linda Shaffer, Jonathan Talbot, and Jacob Werksman Based on the findings of The Access Initiative ii Greg Mock Editor Bob Livernash Co-editor Hyacinth Billings Publications Director April Osmanof Cover design Maggie Powell Designs Inc. Report design and layout Each World Resources Institute report represents a timely, scholarly treatment of a subject of public concern. WRI takes responsibility for choosing the study topics and guaranteeing its authors and researchers freedom of inquiry. It also solicits and responds to the guidance of advisory panels and expert reviewers. Unless otherwise stated, however, all the interpretation and fi ndings set forth in WRI publications are those of the authors. Copyright © 2008 World Resources Institute. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-56973-687-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008929166 Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy Contents List of Contributing Access Initiative Partners . v Acknowledgments . vii Foreword . ix Executive Summary . x Reader’s Roadmap . .xx iii 1. OPENING ACCESS . 1 Principle 10: A World Open to Change . 2 Environmental Governance and Environmental Democracy . 3 The Elements of Access . 4 A Brief History of Environmental Access Rights . 10 Turning Rights into Practice . 13 Approach . 16 2. STRENGTHENING THE ARGUMENT FOR ACCESS . 21 Access Rights are Human Rights . 22 The Measure of Good Governance . 25 Access Generates Public Benefi ts. 26 3. ACCESS HURDLES . 39 Uneven Progress. 41 Managing Vested Interests and the Politics of Access . 42 Identifying the Gaps in Information Systems . 48 Fostering a Culture of Openness . 61 Investing in Access Capacity . 67 4. RECOMMENDATIONS . 77 Actions for Governments . 78 Actions for Access Proponents . 80 A Research Agenda to Explore Public Participation and Environmental Sustainability . 81 Sources . 83 Appendices 1. The Partnership for Principle 10 . 91 2. The Electricity Governance Initiative . 93 3. Case Studies. 95 4. The Access Initiative: A selection of outcomes from 2002–2007 . 105 5. Glossary and Abbreviations . 107 About the Authors . .112 Boxes 1.1 Text of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration of 1992 . 2 1.2 Are Access Principles Access Rights? . 3 1.3 The Access Initiative . 3 1.4 Mexico’s Federal Institute of Access to Public Information . 7 1.5 Steady Progress on Environmental Impact Assessment in Ghana . 8 1.6 The Mehta Trend . 9 1.7 The Access Initiative Strategy . 12 1.8 Closing the Gap and Voice and Choice . 15 1.9 Access and the Private Sector . 16 1.10 The Aarhus Convention: All Principle 10, All the Time . 18 1.11 The TAI Research and Advocacy Process, Step-by-Step . 20 2.1 Chile: Using the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the Right to Information . 22 2.2 Forms of Public Participation . 26 2.3 Uganda: Sustaining Traditional Livelihoods in Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve . 28 2.4 Realistic Expectations of Public Participation . 32 iv 2.5 Implementing Broad Legal Standing . 38 3.1 Military Waste in Bulgaria . 45 3.2 The Growth of TAI: A Case Study in Coalition-Building . 46 3.3 Mexico: Cleaner Beaches with Information and Partnership . 48 3.4 Chile: Emergency Response Falls Short on Impact . 54 3.5 Solving a Water Contamination Mystery in Washington, D.C. 57 3.6 State of the Environment, Hungary: The Importance of Usability . 61 3.7 Fighting for Access in Sri Lanka: The Southern Transport Development Project . 64 3.8 Cautious Optimism: Environmental Education in South Africa . ..