UNITAR/Yale Environment and Democracy Initiative

Addressing the growing demand for research, teaching and capacity building in the field of democratic environmental governance

Despite the wide interest in the interface of environment and democracy, knowledge gaps remain regarding how variations in democratic institutions, procedures and capacities affect environmental performance and justice in consolidated, consolidating and emerging democracies. The UNITAR/Yale Initiative on Environment & Democracy aims at addressing the growing demand for research, teaching and capacity building in the field of democratic environmental governance. The initiative is a collaboration of UNITAR with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP).
 
Objectives of the Initiative include, inter alia:
  • to support research on the relationship between democratic institutions, civil society, market entities and environmental quality, with a focus on empirical data generation;
  • to inform development of guidance and support capacity development in government and civil society to enhance effective public participation in environmental decision-making; and
  • to facilitate information exchange and networking on key issues of environment and democracy.
Activities and events organized through the initiative include:
  • UNITAR -Yale Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy, May 10–11, 2008, Yale University, New Haven
  • Side Event at the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting to 15th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15) New York, 2 March 2007 on “Effective Stakeholder Participation in Reaching Sustainable Development and CSD 15 Goals: Identifying Opportunities and Challenges for Capacity-building in Consolidating Democracies".
  • Side Event at the 16th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16), New York, 13 May 2008 on “Strengthening Effective and Equal Stakeholder Participation: Discussing the outcomes of the UNITAR-Yale Environmental Governance and Democracy Conference”.