Environmental protection: public participation and access to information

Abstract

Awareness of the need for environmental protection must in Croatia be translated into a clear, overall and long-term concept, particularly because of the process of rapprochement with the European Union (EU), in which it is one of the key topics. This paper gives a brief review of the existing system of environmental protection in Croatia with emphasis on the institutional framework, the information system, the education system, and public participation. In the context of access to information and public participation, separate treatment is given to the Aarhus Convention, as well as to attitudes to this convention in Denmark, Estonia and Croatia. It is upon the basis of attitudes to Aarhus, one of the possible models for the democratisation of the process of environmental protection, that the final part of the paper draws certain conclusions and recommendations for political decision-makers and agencies in charge of implementing such decisions on Croatia's path to convergence with the EU.