UNECE Aarhus Clearinghouse

(Original article in German.) The resistance of local residents against the planned hen farm in Langburkersdorf with an animal capacity of 30,000 hens growing. Region near Neustadt seems to be an ideal area for chicken farms. Already in the district Berthelsdorf a hen farm was opened.

(Original article in Italian.) "We all know that cologne does not come from those chimneys, but gas that can alter DNA and cause genetic errors such as that of my son." Dramatic words said by Mauro Zaratta, father of Lorenzo. PeaceLink volunteers immediately visited the site and photographed everything, sharing on social networks horrific images of chainsaws.

(Original article in Spanish.) Ecologists in Action will provide new information on the complaint procedure against a landfill project on the east side of the Rock of Gibraltar (Eastside Project, Sovereign Bay or Cape Vantage) to support the "infringement by UK legislation Environmental Community" apply to that project.

(Full article available online with website registration) Green group EEB is taking the European Commission to court over its decision to give 73 Polish combustion plants extra time to meet EU emission limits.

(Original article in Spanish) Ecologists in Action and Greenpeace asked the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) of which both organizations are members to hold an extraordinary meeting of its Advisory Committee, alerted by the lack of transparency in the process of extending the useful life of the nuclear power station of Santa Maria de Garona (Burgos).

(Interview) Tatyana Novikova has been fighting an unsafe nuclear power plant right on the country's border with Lithuania. She spoke to Chris Garrard about her campaign, the official persecution of anti-nuclear activists, and her invocation of the Aarhus Convention to the anti-nuclear cause.

Original article in Italian. The quality of bathing water in Sicily shows "excellent", as a whole. To confirm the data obtained from the annual "report on the quality of bathing water. Data bathing season 2013 ', recently published on the website of the Ministry of Health. Italy is the European country with the highest number of bathing water, about a quarter of the total of those in Europe: 5,511 total including 4,880 marine and 629 inside. The 87 reaches 2 percent excellent value, 2.5 per cent, however, poor quality. Followed by France with 3,331 and Germany with 2,296.

(Original article available with website subscription and registration.) Opponents of the HS2 high speed rail project are to challenge the government over the environmental impacts of the project in front of the Aarhus Compliance Committee in Geneva.

Original article in Russian. "Analysis of the effectiveness of revenues from natural resources in the Republic of Kazakhstan" - under this name in Semey seminar with the participation of NGOs, government and business representatives. The workshop is organized within the project "Tools for assessing the impact of the EITI mining companies on the environment in ASD" with the support of the OSCE Centre in Astana. The purpose of the seminar was to explore initiatives in improving transparency in the extractive industries, introduction of reporting on Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the method of analysis EITI reporting and provide practical recommendations for the analysis of the financial statements.

Original article in Russian. On Sunday, July 13, 2014 tourists climbing the mountain plateau Kok Zhailau recorded earthquakes. Later it was learned that on July 11, started the construction of electrical networks for the external power supply mountain resort "Kok-Zhaylau." Meanwhile, to date ski resort project is not yet approved as a project to be approved and transfer of land for its construction.

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The forum organized by OSCE Centre in Astana, Burabay Aarhus Centre will take place on July 31- August 1, 2014, in Burabay, Kazakhstan.

La convention d’Aarhus a accéléré, à partir de 1998, la mise en œuvre de dispositifs de concertation en France, avant toute décision environnementale. Quels sont leurs effets et leurs limites? Ces questions ont alimenté 20 projets de recherche tricolores, mobilisant historiens, anthropologues, juristes, sociologues et politologues entre 2008 et 2013, dont la synthèse est publiée ce 16 juillet par le Commissariat général au développement durable (CGDD).

AN INFLUENTIAL committee has ruled not referring a key decision on HS2 to the European Court of Justice was incorrect. The Aarhus Compliance Committee this week said the Supreme Court breached the UK government's obligations towards the Aarhus Convention by ruling no Strategic Environmental Assessment of the project needed to be carried out.

Entretien. SURVOL DE BRUXELLES. Les arguments développés par les défenseurs de l’Etat fédéral contre le recours en cessation environnementale de la Région contre le plan Wathelet ont surpris Evelyne Huytebroeck.Son analyse.

Original article in German. Again Brussels sends a warning letter to Vienna. This is the fifth in terms of the environment, in addition to the ongoing proceedings on the topics of particulate matter, Natura 2000 sites, the power plant on the Black Sulm, and energy efficiency, this occasion relates to citizens' initiatives.

Pesticide regulators are refusing to release to the public the key industry studies on glyphosate that underpin regulatory authorizations and safety limits set for the herbicide, writes Claire Robinson.

More than 400 participants from some 50 countries gathered in Maastricht, the Netherlands, last week to attend the fifth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and the second session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (Protocol on PRTRs), which were held from 29 June to 4 July 2014. At a Joint High-level Segment of the two treaties, held on 2 July, Parties adopted the Maastricht Declaration, which notably highlights the importance of protecting whistle-blowers and environmental activists and ensuring safe public participation in decision-making.

“The new law “On Environmental Impact Evaluation and Expertise” adopted last month by the legislative body of the country has given rise to environmentalists’ discontent and criticism as they see serious deficiencies and gaps in the law.

Original article in Norwegian. Environmental organizations are raging over the Naalakkersuisut amendment in Mining Law that abolishes the right of the public in matters relating to uranium mining and other mining.

(Original article in Spanish.) ECLAC, in his role as Technical Secretariat of the Declaration of Principle 10 in Latin America and the Caribbean, participated along with representatives of the governments of Chile and Costa Rica and civil society at the Fifth Meeting of the Parties Aarhus Convention and the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol of Kiev held in Maastricht, Netherlands, from 29 June to 4 July 2014.