On 2-4 July, Geneva hosted the 29th meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, whose task is to summarise the activities between the Conferences of the Parties and agree on draft joint documents to be approved by the Parties at the Conference in November this year.
Thematic session on public participation in international forums: focus on forest degradation, the impact of agriculture, land use and land use change on the environment.
“We need to rethink the future development of agriculture: new ways of producing food, new ways of using agricultural products, greater participation of non-agricultural stakeholders, more active involvement of countries – we need a broad dialogue involving all stakeholders, forums and international organisations on the future development of agricultural policy and food security,” – a statement from the Green Dossier, supported by the Aarhus Ecoforum, taken into account in the draft decisions. Ukraine’s role in global agriculture and food security is obvious, but due to Russian aggression and numerous losses and land contamination, the situation in the world has changed, and we must all work together to ensure a sensible and nature-oriented agricultural policy.
Thematic session on GMOs: Ukraine’s ratification of the Amendment to the Convention on Genetically Modified Organisms, under extraordinary military circumstances, finally unblocked this important document, which entered into force on 20 April this year.
Effective public access to environmental information: The Parties reaffirmed the importance of transparency, effective risk assessment and communication in the event of any immediate threat to human health and the environment, as well as the dissemination of knowledge and awareness of environmental risks and natural disaster risks among the public, especially in areas affected by armed conflict, where the collection and exchange of environmental data is also vital for informing environmental assistance and recovery, taking into account security measures. In fact, this is a response to statements by Ukrainian NGOs and the Aarhus Ecoforum about the inadmissibility of restricting access to environmental information even during martial law.
It should be noted that among the more than a hundred cases pending before the Committee on Compliance with the Convention, a case initiated by the EPL in 2014 regarding access to information on agreements on the distribution of hydrocarbon production in the Yuzivska and Oleska areas in 2013 is still pending.
Protection of environmental defenders: a rapid response mechanism to protect environmental defenders was established by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in 2021. Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the protection of environmental defenders, and his team told participants at the Aarhus meeting about the mechanisms of this structure and answered questions from CSO representatives. In particular, they discussed the possibilities for protecting Ukrainian activists who oppose the construction of wind turbines in the Carpathian highlands and are already facing significant attacks from developers. The Special Rapporteur’s cooperation with Ukrainian activists is just beginning, but lawyers from the Aarhus Ecoforum have already expressed their readiness to accompany this process, which, judging by the results of Mr. Forst’s team’s activities in such a short period of time, is sure to be successful.
The Declaration of the Meeting of the Parties is to be officially adopted at a high level in November, and the Parties have now agreed on its text, which, in particular, expresses solidarity with Ukraine and support for its efforts to further implement the Convention in such extraordinary circumstances; assistance in developing technical recommendations for collecting data on environmental damage caused by armed conflicts; support for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Participation in the event is supported by the project ‘AgriFuture UA: Promoting sustainable agriculture and EU integration through CSOs’ implemented by the International Organisation ‘Green Dossier’ with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation as part of the joint initiative ‘Joining the EU Together’.
The materials represent the authors’ views and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union or the International Renaissance Foundation.
Source: Green Dossier
