The Human Right to Environmental Information

Abstract

This chapter traces the history of right to environmental information, situating the emergence of this right in the broader global trend towards recognizing environmental rights as human rights. It begins with the compelling need for access to environmental information in order to protect human rights. The chapter then describes the emergence of a right of access to environmental information, and demonstrates how the right to environmental information has become an integral part of the human rights landscape. It defines a robust right of access to information to include a State obligation to create and actively disseminate environmental information. This chapter also traces the complex relationship between achieving substantive environmental outcomes and fulfilling information rights.

Keywords: environmental information, EIA, access, Bhopal, human rights, environmental rights, information, access to justice

JEL Classification: K00, K23, K32, K33, K28, K38