OSCE Centre promotes civil society role in environmental decision-making in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, 12 June 2010 - Sixty representatives from non-governmental organizations in Kazakhstan are taking part in the annual meeting of the Ecological Forum of Non-governmental organizations of Kazakhstan (EcoForum), which started today in Almaty.

The two-day event, organized by the EcoForum in close co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Ministry of Environment Protection, aims to promote a greater role for civil society in the decision-making process on environmental matters.

"Wider public participation in environmental decision-making contributes to strengthening civil society and democratic principles as well as to sound environmental policies. The OSCE's role in this respect is to offer a platform for co-operation and dialogue to key stakeholders, such as state, non-governmental and private sector representatives, and thus contribute to finding common ground for decisions," said Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.

The meeting offered participants the chance to exchange views on the forthcoming Asian-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Environment, the Pan-European Ministerial Conference on Environment scheduled for next year, Aarhus Convention implementation in Kazakhstan and on EcoForum strategies for mitigating climate change, biodiversity and waste management.

"The annual meetings of EcoForum are important steps towards involving civil society in the planned ministerial conferences on environment. We expect to develop specific recommendations, targeting the promotion of sustainable development principles at a higher political level," said Svetlana Mogiluk, the Chair of the Ecological Forum of Non-governmental Organizations of Kazakhstan.

Capacity building for civil society is a priority for the OSCE Centre in its support for the implementation of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, ratified by Kazakhstan in 1998.