The State Committee for Environmental Protection of the Russian Federation, the Russian-US Environmental Law Task Force, the United States Agency for International Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Center for International Environmental Law, as a result of their cooperation, realized the need to hold a conference to address various aspects of public participation in the environmental decision-making process.
This seminar, sponsored by the aforementioned organizations, was held in Zvenigorod, outside of Moscow, on 28-30 May 1997.
Participants at the conference included representatives of various stakeholders (for complete list of participants see Attachment 1): governmental organizations, NGOs, and academic institutions. Discussions on problem areas related to environmental decision-making were diverse and productive thanks to the participation of practicing lawyers and members of the academic community. Their knowledge and experience contributed to the well thought-out decisions taken at the conference.