Background
Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development seeks to ensure that every person has access to information, can participate in the decision-making process and has access to justice in environmental matters. A regional agreement to implement this principle fully and effectively with the significant participation of the public is being negotiated in Latin America and the Caribbean. To this aim, the Declaration on the application of Principle 10 in Latin America and the Caribbean was adopted. In the Plan of Action of Guadalajara, Mexico, the signatory countries of the Declaration agreed to establish a Regional Public Mechanism for those interested who could subscribe by completing a short form available on the ECLAC website. The main objectives of this Mechanism are to keep all those interested in the process informed and facilitate their involvement; to coordinate public participation in international meetings; and to contribute to the transparency of the process. The Mechanism may also serve as a complement for participation actions carried out at the national level.