Participants meet to discuss the barriers in the way of public access to water-related information and public participation.

Information is key to decision-making and is critical as Danube governments strive for the best decisions for shared water resources. Participation is vital for the public, which serves as government watchdog and plays a critical part in improving water quality.

The Global Environment Facility reaffirmed the value of public access to information and participation in the UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project by allotting funds for a project in five Danube countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project is run jointly by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, Resources for the Future and New York University School of Law.

The project will study barriers to public access to information and public participation in the project countries and will work with partners to find solutions suited to local needs. The outcomes will include aids for government and stakeholders on how to make, process and respond to information requests and how to involve the public. Ana Drapa of Romania’s Ministry of Environment and Water says the aim is “to ensure local communities have access to information and participate in decision-making on water pollution issues in compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive”. Building habits supporting public participation is a critical task if the Danube is to be protected.

Ruth Greenspan Bell, Magda Toth Nagy, Jane Bloom Stewart, Ernestine Meijer.
For more information, please contact: Resources for the Future: Bell@rff.org; REC: tmagdi@rec.org;
or New York University School of Law: jbs6@nyu.edu or meijere@juris.law.nyu.edu.