The Access Initiative
The Access Initiative (TAI) is a global civil society coalition promoting access to information, participation, and justice in national decision-making that affects the environment. In 1992 during the United Nation’s Conference on Environment and Development 178 governments signed the Rio Declaration. Principle 10 of the Rio declaration mandated governments to provide appropriate access to information, encouragement of public participation, and effective access to judicial proceedings. During the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 there was a greater call on governments to implement Principle 10. TAI was established to promote the accelerated and enhanced implementation of Principle 10 at the national level.
To implement TAI in a country, a lead organization forms a national coalition of civil society organizations in that country which then conducts an assessment of the governments implementation of Principle 10 using an assessment method that has been developed for this purpose, and produces a report which is then shared with the global network. The methodology is a set of research guidelines and questions that allows the research team to assess their government’s public participation system. It focuses on the law – through indicators focusing on constitutional and other national law, such as statutes or judicial decisions and practice – through indicators focusing on case studies from different sectors. TAI is coordinated globally by group of civil society organizations with the secretariat being World Resources Institute (WRI) in the US and the African continent coordinator being Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) of Uganda. ILEG was tasked with the duty of leading the Kenyan assessment under TAI. The areas of focus of the assessment are Access to Information, Participation, Access to Justice and Capacity Building.
In 2007 ILEG participated in The Access Initiative Africa (TAI-Africa) workshop held in Kampala. The meeting brought together participants from countries that have TAI operating in their countries including Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda. Countries hoping to start TAI were also present including Zambia, Gabon, DR Congo and Southern Sudan. The meeting aimed at, inter alia, share experiences and lessons learnt in using the TAI methodology as a toll for measuring progress in the implementation of access rights.
ILEG participants shared activities that they had undertaken to address issues and gaps highlighted through the TAI methodology. These included the campaign for a freedom of information law, training of lawyers and judicial officers in environmental law and policy, creating awareness among citizens through TV drama, publication and distribution of literature on public interest environmental litigation among other activities. ILEG’s continues to show commitment to the principles of TAI.
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