The Green Access Project II
The second phase of the Green Access Project consists of the following two pillars.
(1)Making Indicators for Participation Principle
Conventional comparative researches on participation legislation do not necessarily reflect the exact extent which the law contributes to protect citizen’s rights or develop an environmental democracy. Indicators assessing the actual performance of the law are essential to enhance the Participation Principle effectiveness. The first pillar of the Green Access Project II focuses on elaborating international legal performance indicators on the Participation Principle in Environmental Law and promoting an environmental democracy through this process. The official name of this project is “Review of Legal Indicators for the Participation Principle in Environmental Matters – Promotion of an International Cooperation towards Strengthening the Environmental Democracy” which is supported by the Grants-in-Aid for scientific research by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
(2)Discuss an Asian version of the Aarhus Convention
The Aarhus Convention, although opened to any State, has been only ratified by the UNECE members. The Latin-American and Caribbean countries are now planning to have their own regional instrument about Principle 10 under the ECLAC framework. In contrast, there have been no remarkable movements in Asia until now neither to ratify the Aarhus Convention nor to make its own regional instrument. However, the Green Access Rights have been strengthened dramatically in the last 20 years in some Asian countries. In order to accelerate this tendency effectively, it is crucial to analyze and discuss the common characteristics and issues of each region, and to share its good practices. In this context, the second pillar of the Green Access Project II focuses on discussing the possibilities for an Asian version of the Aarhus Convention. The official name of this project is “Proposing an Asian Version of the Aarhus Convention ‒ Constitution of an International Cooperation for Implementing the Environmental Justice”which is supported by Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Environment Fund.