The protection of the environment is a top priority for the Republic of Cyprus, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Dr Maria Panayiotou said, addressing the conference titled ‘Access to environmental justice and protection of environmental defenders’ held on Thursday at the University of Cyprus’ headquarters, in Nicosia.
Panayiotou pointed out that enhancing the public’s ability to participate and voice their views and concerns about the environment helps enforce environmental law and therefore reinforces the efforts towards the protection of the environment, which is a top priority for the Republic of Cyprus, as clearly stated in the programme of governance of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.
Cyprus has ratified the Aarhus Convention, Panayiotou said, adding that the Ministry, as the competent authority for implementing the provisions of the Convention, is continuing efforts to include them in the national legislation and procedures and to implement them in
order to safeguard the rights for everyone to a safe and healthy environment. The government, she noted, has already provided tools enabling access to environmental information, and is investing in making environmental data even more accessible.
Furthermore, the Minister said that public participation in the environmental decision-making practices has increased, mainly through the deployment of a combination of online tools, participation in committees and mandatory public presentation of projects. She added that all these facilitate the active, efficient, and timely involvement of the public in the planning and decision-making stages, and allows the environmental authority to make more informed decisions. ‘Efforts have been also made to ensure access to justice for environmental matters, and to a certain extent the public has managed to practice their rights when it was necessary,” she went on to say.
In addition, Panayiotou pointed out that the presence of the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defender
s, Michel Forst, at the conference signifies a coordinated effort to enhance especially the 3rd pillar of the Convention, access to justice for environmental matters, and to protect environmental defenders exercising their rights according to the Aarhus Convention, by eliminating any possibility of unfair treatment against them. ‘This effort not only reinforces our shared values and goals, but also propels us towards a better and more effective implementation of the provisions of the Convention”, she noted.
The Minister of Environment expressed her willingness to support the work of the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, as well as cooperate with him and all local stakeholders with a goal to safeguard that Cypriots can effectively practice their rights to defend the environment.
In her address, the Commissioner for the Environment, Antonia Theodosiou, pointed out that the aim should be the support of the Government, of businesses, and of the Civil Society, to strengthen inclusive and effective
systems for the promotion of environmental justice, human rights, and sustainability, starting now.
She also said that the Aarhus Convention, the relevant environmental harmonization legislation in Cyprus, national and European policies, local decision-making structures, and the civil society, are all significant, interconnected, and inseparable factors for an effective environmental governance based on principles that include information, participation, transparency, and accountability.
Theodosiou noted that Cyprus has signed the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters in 1998, and ratified it in 2003. ”Especially since 2004, following Cyprus’ accession to the EU, the first two pillars of the Convention – access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decision-making – implemented into EU law, are institutionally and to a large extent practically observed,” she pointed out.
Speaking
about the election of Michel Forst in 2022 as the world’s first Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders within the scope of the Aarhus Convention of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Commissioner said that the purpose is to establish a rapid response mechanism to address cases of sanctions, prosecution, harassment, and other forms of reprisals against anyone exercising their rights under the provisions of the Convention.
‘Upon the completion of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, I will await his report,” Theodosiou said, adding that, ‘within the competencies and responsibilities of the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, in meaningful collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Environment, the Public Authorities, the legal and the academic community, and, of course, with the Civil Society at all levels, my goal is to leverage the findings of the report and take relevant actions to enhance the government’s participation in the proces
s of the protection of environmental defenders within the scope of the Convention”.
Finally, the Commissioner said that Civil Society in Cyprus is already quite active, having resorted to justice in cases where they believe harm is done to the environment, and incorrect decisions have been made by the competent authorities.
Source: Cyprus News Agency