On November 5, the Senate of the Republic ratified the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, or the Escazú Agreement . An event to celebrate because it means that laws related to the protection of the environment and actions to safeguard the groups and activists who work for its conservation must be strengthened.
One of the points of the Agreement is that of public participation in environmental decision-making, which promotes ensuring that citizens have access to and systematic contact with citizen participation mechanisms, to be an active part in the decision-making process related to the management of natural resources, and to know, question and evaluate development projects, as well as the impact they will have on the health of the members of the communities and on the natural environment in which they live.
Despite the fact that in Mexico there are various mechanisms of citizen participation at the federal, regional and state levels, the reality is that, in many cases, the regulatory framework that underpins them does not allow the full and open participation of all interested sectors, so citizen influence in the design of public policy is limited. For example, consultation, coordination and consultation councils, such as collegial or intersectoral forums, aim to collect the opinions of their members and generate proposals to improve the design and implementation of social programs. However, many of these spaces are not completely open or transparent, and they need to strengthen accountability.
Hence, the Second Commitment to Citizen Advocacy for Sustainable Rural Development of the 4th Action Plan of the Alliance for Open Government (AGA) in Mexico is focused on evaluating four mechanisms of citizen participation at the federal level in rural areas and for the policy of participation in the environmental sector. 1 The commitment involves generating a report of recommendations that, after their implementation, promotes the effective participation of citizens with a gender perspective, human rights and with a vision of the territory and intersectoral collaboration. The AGA is an international initiative that was born in 2011, and seeks to strengthen collaboration and co-creation between citizens and public servants to provide solutions on various priority and strategic issues for the country, with a focus on good governance.
Throughout this year, a very fruitful and enriching dynamic has been generated between civil society organizations and several competent governmental bodies in rural areas (Conagua, Conafor, Sader and Conapesca) to find windows of opportunity to start a process of constant improvement in councils. Therefore, the recommendation report should also encourage an analysis process to reform the regulations that allow councils to adopt the principles of open government and the provisions of the Escazú Agreement.
When ratified, the Escazú Agreement becomes a binding instrument that reinforces the exercises of the 2nd commitment on citizen participation (pillar of open government), and vice versa: the commitments of the 4th Plan of Action open the door to the Escazú Agreement to guarantee the inalienable right of citizens to a healthy environment.
Note:
1 The citizen participation mechanisms being analyzed are the National Council for Fisheries and Aquaculture, six Basin Councils selected by sampling, the National Forestry Council and the Mexican Council for Sustainable Rural Development. To learn more about the initiative visit: gobbiertomx.org
Comentarios (0)