Classroom to Congress: People, Policy, and the Planet – Strengthening Mechanisms for Public Participation in Environmental Policymaking Around the Globe

The following article, written by Harrison Bench, is part of a series of reflections on the upcoming International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Conservation Congress to be held in Abu Dhabi, October 2025. The series examines proposed resolutions by the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies (GCELS) at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University on a variety of environmental issues to be decided at the Congress. The articles in this series were developed as a part of Professor Achinthi Vithanage’s guided research program for Pace | Haub Environmental Law students.

 

The Principle of Public Participation

Public participation in environmental decision-making processes is something that many of us in the United States take for granted. When government agencies at the federal (e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency), state (e.g., the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation), or local (e.g., the NYC Department of Environmental Protection) level propose new rules, regulations, plans, projects, or permits, they invite public comment and often hold public hearings. These provide an opportunity for members of the community and affected stakeholders to weigh-in on such decisions. All over the country, there are examples of rules and projects being modified or eliminated in response to strong public opposition. Yet, even if public input isn’t fully incorporated into decision-making, many statutes (environmental or not) mandate robust information-sharing, and others provide means for citizen enforcement

 

 

The concept of public participation looks a little different around the world. At the international level, it was included as one of the fundamental “access rights” outlined in the 1992 Rio Declaration. Principle 10 of the Declaration states: “Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level.  At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities… and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes.  States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available.  Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.” Over 170 countries signed the Rio Declaration. While it was non-binding, this marked the first time public participation was formally identified as a guiding principle in international environmental law.

 

International Agreements to Promote Public Participation

To operationalize this principle, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1998. The Aarhus Convention, as it came to be colloquially known, requires Parties to develop mechanisms for public participation on issues concerning specific activities with large environmental impacts, such as the development of energy facilities, the generation of hazardous chemicals, and the construction of industrial plants, among others. Parties must inform the concerned public about the proposed activity, the possible decisions that could be made regarding the activity, the authority responsible for such a decision, and the procedures for public participation, which include the time and place of any public hearings, the appropriate avenue for public comments to be submitted to the decision-maker, and instructions on how the public can access additional information (including environmental information) about the proposed activity. As of 2025, there are 47 Parties to the Convention, including one Party that is not located in Europe or West Asia: Guinea-Bissau. 

 

 

Building on this success, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) adopted the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean in Escazú, Costa Rica, in 2018. Many provisions of the Escazú Agreement mirror those of the Aarhus Convention. It guarantees that public participation is a “right,” and requires Parties to implement “open and inclusive” mechanisms for the public to exercise that right in the context of decision-making processes, revisions, re-examinations or updates, and grants of permits that have significant environmental impacts. The Escazú Agreement additionally requires such mechanisms to be “adapted to the social, economic, cultural, geographical and gender characteristics of the public,” as well as translated to those who speak a language other than the Party’s official language. Though it was adopted much more recently, 24 of the 33 UNECLAC member states are already Party to the Escazú Agreement.

 

Public Participation at the IUCN World Conservation Congress

The IUCN has long supported public participation. Motions endorsing the principle and supporting the aforementioned international agreements have been passed at the 1996, 2004, 2012, and 2020 World Conservation Congresses. 

As a student at Pace | Haub Law and as a volunteer intern with GCELS, I drafted and submitted a motion titled “Strengthening Mechanisms for Public Participation in Environmental Policymaking.” My motion called upon countries to ratify the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement. It separately encouraged states to adopt mechanisms for public participation in environmental policymaking regardless of ratification status.

Furthermore, my motion sought to fill some gaps left by both agreements. These deficiencies include lackluster compliance and enforcement provisions, few specific examples of mechanisms that Parties can adopt, and – perhaps most importantly – the non-binding nature of public participation in environmental policymaking processes. Put differently, Parties to the Aarhus Convention or the Escazú Agreement are only required to adopt mechanisms for public participation for certain types of decisions, namely “projects and activities” and “plans and programmes.” Yet, these aren’t the only types of decisions with environmental impacts. Policy and rulemaking decisions also carry the potential for such impacts, yet neither agreement requires Parties to implement mechanisms for public participation here (they are only encouraged to do so). Filling this gap would significantly broaden the scope of the two agreements and ensure that millions, if not billions, of people have a right to participate in environmental policymaking processes.

To address these deficiencies, my motion asked the Aarhus Meeting of the Parties and the Escazú Conference of the Parties to amend their respective agreements. It additionally tasked the IUCN Director-General with creating a Task Force on Public Participation in Environmental Policymaking to study and publish a report detailing potential solutions using real-world examples from around the globe.

This Motion garnered the support of a diverse coalition of IUCN Members, including the Bristol Zoological Society (UK), Bioparc Conservation (France), Grupo de Apoio à Educação e Comunicação Ambiental (Guinea Bissau), Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (Mexico), AWAZ Foundation Pakistan: Center for Development Services (Pakistan), Association Sénégalaise des Amis de la Nature (Senegal), the Environmental Law Program at William Richardson School of Law (US), Fondation pour la Protection de Biodiversité Marine (Haiti), and Instituto de Derecho Ambiental, A.C. (Mexico).

While the motion was not accepted by the Motions Working Group for inclusion at this fall’s World Conservation Congress, I remain undeterred and will continue to advocate for enhanced public participation mechanisms in environmental decision-making. I look forward to supporting other motions that promote the principle, such as those sponsored by Reforestamos México A.C. (Motion 049) and Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (Motion 126). Furthermore, I will advocate for public participation in other IUCN forums, such as the upcoming 2026-2029 World Commission on Environmental Law Programme.

33 years after the Rio Declaration was published, public participation remains a critical principle of environmental law and policy, at every level of governance. It has gained momentum through recent advancements in Europe and Latin America, but more work needs to be done to ensure that all people have a say in the decisions that will impact our shared home, the natural environment. The IUCN can and should be the body that continues this important work.