Measures

 PUBLIC INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND PARTICIPATION

Public information, involvement of the public in decision-making and raising of environmental awareness all play an important role in the improvement of the condition of the environment. Because of the lack of information and education, the public is not fully aware of the state of the environment and of environment-related problems and therefore it is not prepared to support sustainable development. The public does not yet understand environment-related problems in full and do not yet relate these problems to social and economic problems. Therefore the confidence of the public should be raised in order to encourage them to participate in the development of environmental legislation and the taking of target-oriented decisions.

Public involvement in the resolving of environmental issues, area planning, debates about the construction of buildings of relevance to society should be ensured in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Latvia: "Law On Environment Protection", "Law On Territory Development Planning", "Law On Impact on Environment", "Regulations Applying to Area Planning", "Regulations Applying to Public Debates about Construction Issues" by the Cabinet of Ministers by following the requirements laid down in these documents. Public information and involvement in the resolving of environmental issues should be based on the Declaration adopted by the 4^th Conference of Ministers at Aarhus (Denmark) which provides for compulsory public involvement in the resolution of global and local environmental problems.

The laws listed above and other laws and declarations provide for the possibility of receiving information, the right to submit proposals and to receive answers, and to participate in debates about plans, concepts, and action programmes and documents of public relevance. The Environment Centre "Agenda 21" could contribute greatly to this area by participating actively in the collection, analysis and distribution of environment-related information, by drawing public attention to topical environmental issues and campaigns, by educating the public, by participating in the implementation of specific projects or managing such projects. The Environment Centre "Agenda 21" could also undertake to create a network for co-operation in Riga, Latvia and the Baltic Sea Region.