Breakthrough in environmental rights for the Caribbean
THE REGIONAL agreement on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, otherwise known as Principle 10, will open for signatures and ratification by countries, including Jamaica, at the UN General Assembly in September.
This follows its adoption in San Jose, Costa Rica, earlier this month, a development welcomed by environmental stakeholders locally.
“Twenty-four countries of Latin America and the Caribbean adopted this agreement, which has standards i n it for their citizens to obtain access to environmental information, to participate in decisions about the environment, and to have justice in environmental matters,” said attorney Danielle Andrade Goffe, former legal director and now board member at the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET).
“It is hugely significant. It will mean overhauling the way that Jamaica deals with environmental issues and allowing the citizens to be engaged in environmental decisions. There was talk for years about introducing legislation, about public participation in environmental impact assessments, and now, we have an international, legally binding agreement ... The impetus is on them to introduce these laws and give impetus to the agreement. So, hopefully, the Government will sign and ratify this agreement,” she added.
Independent blogger and environmental advocate Emma Lewis agreed.
“This is very welcome news, truly groundbreaking for civil society and conservationists across the region. Those brave defenders of environmental rights who have lost their lives would be overjoyed. I hope that regional governments are now ready to protect their own citizens and the lands they seek to preserve from predatory corporations, with laws they are prepared to enforce. Lip service and moral commitments will no longer suffice,” she said.