Environmental Issues

Abstract

In nations with environmental protection laws, the enforcement of those laws often depends on the creation and management of information. That information is found in a variety of documents that is ultimately held by governmental entities, and ranges from environmental assessments, to permits, to lists of toxic substances. Although the existence of such documents cannot guarantee environmental protection, when citizens become aware of the presence of so much government‐held environmental information, they seek documents of interest in order to check the performance of their leaders and to assess the environmental health of their communities. This desire for government‐held documents has resulted in access and transparency provisions in many environmental laws around the world.