The OSCE Mission to Moldova opened an Aarhus Center in Chisinau to provide the local population with information and legal expertise on environmental matters, IPN reports, quoting a press release from the organization.

“The opening of an Aarhus Center in Chisinau is an important step to engage people in environmental matters and to promote sustainable development in the region,” said Ambassador Jennifer Brush, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. “It will benefit the population, the environment and the economy by raising awareness about environmental issues and contributing to decision-making.”

The Aarhus Center in Chisinau will bring together authorities, international organizations and NGOs dealing with environmental issues. Aarhus Centers are named after the city of Aarhus in Denmark, where the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was signed in 1998.

Last week, the Mission opened a Public Environmental Centre in Bender which will serve the same purpose. To date, the OSCE has established Aarhus Centers in ten other countries.