Categories of Good Practices

A.  Procedural Obligations - General

• Aarhus Centres
• Aarhus Convention
• Bali Guidelines              
• ECLAC negotiation of agreement on Principle 10
• Environmental Democracy Index
• The Access Initiative

B.  Obligation to Make Environmental Information Public

Access to Environmental Information

• Multiple States - laws on Access to Environmental Information
• El Salvador – environmental observatory
• Costa Rica – State of the Nation report
• Czech Republic – annual report
• South Africa – annual report
• Spain – environmental profile

Education and Awareness-Raising

• Algeria – Environmental Education Programme
• ASEAN – workshop on human rights and the environment
• ASEM – seminar on human rights and the environment
• Center for Victims of Torture – new tactics program
• Costa Rica – Certificate of Sustainable Tourism
• Ghana – AKOBEN
• Uganda – Sustainability School
• UNEP – program on human rights and the environment

Online Tools

• Aarhus Clearinghouse
• North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation – Taking Stock
• Czech Republic – integrated pollution register
• Finland – Tarkkailija
• Canada – Ontario’s environmental registry
• Serbia – EcoRegister
• South Africa – SAWIC

           
C.  Obligation to Facilitate Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making

• Multiple States - Public Participation in Development of Environmental Laws
• Multiple States - Public Participation in EIA procedures
• Antigua and Barbuda – sustainable island resource management
• Finland – Alvari program
• Finland – Harava program
• Mexico – environmental public participation index
• Namati – community paralegals
• North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation – JPAC
• Mexico – consultative councils
• Mongolia – local multi-stakeholder platforms
• USA – community advisory groups

                                   
D.  Obligation to Protect the Rights of Expression and Association

• ELAW – network of advocates
• FIDH and OMCT– Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
• FORUM-Asia – response framework
• Frontline Defenders – ID cards
• Goldman Environmental Prize
• Inter-American Commission and Court – jurisprudence
• Protection International – protection manuals
• Women’s Human Rights Defenders

E.  Obligation to Provide Access to Legal Remedies

Improving Access to National Courts

• Australia New South Wales – Land and Environment Court
• Costa Rica – amparo cause of action
• Costa Rica – Environmental Administrative Tribunal
• India – National Green Tribunal
• Ireland – cost rules
• Philippines – rules of procedure in environmental cases
• USA – citizen suits

National Human Rights Institutions

• Brazil – Ministerio Publico
• Costa Rica – ombudsperson
• Croatia – ombudsperson
• Hungary – ombudsperson for future generations
• Kenya – national human rights commission
• Malaysia – national inquiry strategy
• Mexico – national human rights commission
• Portugal – ombudsperson
• Thailand – national human rights commission

Regional Practices

• African Commission
• Asian Judges Symposium
• ECOWAS Court of Justice
• European Court of Human Rights
• North American Commission – submissions process
• OAS – judicial facilitators

Civil Society Monitoring Mechanisms

• EcoLur (Armenia) – hot spots
• University of Tampere (Finland) research
• South Africa – environmental management committee

F.  Substantive Obligations

• Multiple States – adoption of constitutional right to healthy environment
• Argentina – Silva v Argentina
• China – framework environmental law
• Costa Rica – environmental jurisprudence of constitutional court
• India – jurisprudence of supreme court
• Philippines – environmental jurisprudence of supreme court
• New York City – Environmental Quality Review Technical Guidelines
• Finland - Collective Commitments
• USA – National Historic Preservation Act

G.  Obligations Relating to Non-State Actors

• European Union – implementation of Guiding Principles
• Global Reporting Initiative
• Asia Pulp Paper
• Coca-Cola
• Patagonia

                       
H.  Obligations Relating to Transboundary Environmental Harm

International Cooperation

• Canada-U.S. Uniform Transboundary Pollution Reciprocal Access Act
• Espoo Convention
• Finland-Tanzania
• Micronesia – Czech transboundary EIA
• Nordic Environmental Protection Convention

Climate Change

• Australia – National Indigenous Climate Change Partnership
• Guatemala – framework law
• Honduras – risks to water resources
• Jordan – national policy
• Scotland – climate justice fund
• Suriname – REDD+ Assistants Programme

I.  Obligations Relating to Those in Vulnerable Situations

Children

• IUCN – resolution on children and environment
• UNICEF – various projects

Indigenous Peoples

• Belize – community-based sustainable forest management plans
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights – jurisprudence
• India – rejection of application to mine Niyamgiri Hills
• IUCN – Whakatane assessments
• Mexico – Supreme Court decision
• Natural Justice – community protocols
• Natural Justice – Living Convention
• Norway – Finnmark Act
• Suriname – REDD+ Assistants Programme

Minorities and Low-Income Populations

• USA – Executive Order 12898

Women

• FPAR – self-research