In partnership with the Stockholm University and UNDP’s Regional Hub for Latin America, the Environmental Governance Programme is convening a dialogue series on the implementation of the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement). The Escazú Agreement entered into force on Earth Day 2021 after being ratified by half of its 24 signatory countries. This dialogue series will seek to catalyze action to implement the Escazú Agreement in synergy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and biodiversity-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements. This initiative has been financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) as part of the Environmental Governance Programme (EGP).

Objectives

The dialogue series will seek to:

• Distill lessons learned and good practices by Latin American and Caribbean countries that can serve to implement the Escazú Agreement and achieve positive outcomes for people and nature.
• Outline innovative tools and examples of national jurisprudence and existing national laws and policies, and grounds-up initiatives that advance the realization of the right to a healthy environment.
• Catalyze knowledge exchange on how to implement the Escazu Agreement in coordination with the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights and the 2021 EU Parliament Resolution which calls on the EU Commission and Member States to support Latin American countries to deliver on the agreement’s goals.