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This pilot project in Hungary and Slovenia aims to develop institutions and practices for public participation in reducing pollution in the Danube. The project includes capacity building, implementation tools, and dissemination of information. Tangible achievements include evaluations, manuals, and guidelines, while intangible achievements include increased capacity and commitment to information access. The project has been widely disseminated, and the next steps include transferring the experience, expanding to other Danube countries, and seeking donors.
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Building Environmental Citizenship to Support Transboundary Pollution Reduction in the Danube: A Pilot Project in Hungary and Sloveniacreated byMagda Tóth Nagy, Program Head, RECpresented by Jozef Skultety, ED Office Head, REC
Introduction Goal • To present the results of a recent successful project Why? • Relevant topic for all stakeholders • To share experiences and expertise • To disseminate results
Content of presentation • Purpose of the project • Project components • Tangible achievements • Intangible achievements • Next steps
Our charge to action: Effective Public Participation Requires Reliable Access to Environmental Information About Discharges to the Danube
Project Purpose • Develop practical institutions and practices for institutionalization of Aarhus and Danube public participation goals • Particular emphasis on information dissemination that will support Danube pollution reduction efforts • Empower ordinary citizens and NGOs to request, and receive, environmental information from their governments
Project Components • Examined existing situation in each country • Identified options from countries with mature information access systems • Capacity building and on-going technical assistance/joint learning • Study tour • Developed implementation tools for each country
“Tangible” Achievements • Evaluations and case examples • Practices Manual • Two Models Handbooks and Guides • Hungarian Handbook: guidance for government employees • Hungarian Citizen’s Guide • Slovenian Guidelines for legal implementation
“Tangible” Achievements, continued • Extensive materials provided to Study Tour participants • Analytic materials including Option Paper • On-going technical assistance • Final Report with analysis and recommendations • Project web site
“Intangible” Achievements • Better understanding of using information access tools • Increased capacity for managing information access • Commitment to make information available • Country teams/country ownership
Wide Dissemination of Project Products • All final products on REC Project web site: http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/ PublicParticipation/DanubeInformation/ • Product disseminated to stakeholders • Project has electronically networked with other Aarhus-related projects
Project is finished…. Good results…. WHAT NEXT????
Next steps • Transferable experience • Committed expert team • Initial connections with surrounding Danube countries • Moving from Pilot to Full Project • Looking for donors