Protocol on Water and Health: added value and challenges for public participation

Tsvietkova Anna

MAMA 86’s Water and Sanitation Program Workshop on Water and Health, 14-16 May 2008, Bucharest, Romania

Main legal frame for public participation

• Aarhus Convention or the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision making and access to justice in the matter of environment, 1998 • Water Framework Directive • National legislation on information

The Aarhus Convention stipulates that:

“in the field of the environment, improved access to information and public participation in decision-making enhance the quality and the implementation of decisions, contribute to public awareness of environmental issues, give the public the opportunity to express its concerns and enable public authorities to take due account of such concerns”.

Aarhus Convention

develops the democratic norms and encourage the State to active implementation of such norms: • Public access to information; • Public participation in decision making process • Access to justice.

Aarhus Convention

In the list of the activities for decision making on which the public participation is obvious there are: •

Waste water treatment plants for the settlements with more then 150, 000 residents;

•

Underground Water abstraction with annual abstracted water volume > then 10 mlns m3;

•

Inter river basins water transporting to solve the water deficit problem with the volume of remove water is > then 100 mlns m3/year.

EU Water Framework Directive 2000

• Stipulates that: • “

The Directive success depends on close cooperation and actions’ coordination at levels of EU, Member –State and local level, as well as on information, consultation and involvement of public, including consumers ”.

• According to the Article 14 the Member-State is obligated to involve actively all stakeholders into the Directive implementation, particularly, into development and review of the river basin management plans.

National legislation related to water: Ukraine case

• Drinking Water Law, 2002, stipulates the democratic norms on: • ensuring participation of public representatives in official working groups and commissions to control the work of water utilities, participation in decision making by providing the public participation in expertise of the drafts of the laws, programs at national and local levels; • holding public consultations/hearings in the framework of decision making related to drinking water quality and water supply; • public control/supervision of water utility work, quality of drinking water and service provision; • full, proper and in time public informing about quality of the drinking water and service provision.

Protocol on Water and Health: added values

One of the principals of the Protocol is • That Access to information and public participation in DM concerning

water and health

are needed and should be supplemented by appropriate access to judicial and administrative review of relevant decisions

Protocol on Water and Health: added values

Art 9. Public awareness The Parties shall take steps to enhance awareness of ALL sectors regarding: 1) the importance of the relationship between Water management and public health; 2) The right to water and obligations to protect water environment and conservation of water resources And promote the understanding of the links WM Health by those responsible for WM, WSS and Public Health

Protocol on Water and Health: added values

Public information Art. 10 The Parties shall develop the mechanisms of public access to information on: establishment of targets, target dates and development of Water management plans establishment Surveillance and early-warning systems Promotion of public awareness , education… According to the Art 6.p2, art.7.2

Parties shall published nat/local targets, results of data collection and evaluation and ensure that info requested by the Protocol available to the public at all reasonable times for inspections and free of charge.

Protocol on Water and Health: added values

The Protocol requests public participation/consultations in establishment of the targets; public involvement in review of compliance and non-compliances of the Protocol

Protocol on Water and Health: added values

• Access to justice.

Based on Art. 15 on review of compliance.

the Compliance Committee was established at 1MoPs in 2007. this instrument shall allow for appropriate public involvement.

challenges of Public participation in EECCA

Weakness of civil society lack of traditions on transparent and open public informing on DW, public does not trust to the official information, Multi-stakeholders approach is at starting stage of development in the region lack of capacity, knowledge (of officials and public) and practice on PP in decision making at national –local level, Weakness, corruption of the justice system, people don’t believe that the problem should be solved via justice lack of political will to take a responsibility to act for Protocol implementation, state authorities ignores public opinion and the request on public participation in the decision making.

NGOs the most active and the best organized part of the public

• actively works on public informing and education on the water problems and solutions; • promotes the dialogue between stakeholders (state authorities, water utilities, science, business and public); • protects the citizen's rights to a healthy environment and the consumers’ rights to clean and affordable water; • protects water resources and rational use of them.

NGOs are able to play an active role in the advocacy of the Protocol W&H and its implementation at national and local levels by participation in targets setting and monitoring their achievements. NGOs can explain to the public the necessity of Protocol, dissimilate information on the Protocol progress and promote the multisectoral dialogue on water issue at all level, especially at local level.

Thank you for your attention!