Регистар за Испуштање и Пренос на Загадувачи РИПЗ
Pollutant Release and Transfer Register PRTR
Regjistri i Shkarkimeve dhe Transferimit të Ndotësve RSHTN
Mакедонски информативен центар за животна средина
Macedonian Environmental Information Center MEIC
Qendra informative e Maqedonisë për mjedisin jetësor

Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR)

Entry into force

The Protocol became international law binding its Parties on 8 October 2009. The first session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol was held on 20-22 April 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland, the second session on 3-4 July 2014 in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Objectives

As the first international legally binding instrument, the Protocol aims to:

  • provide public access to information on releases and transfers of pollutants and waste transfer in the environmental media.
  • public participation in decision-making in environmental area
  • reduce pollution
  • monitoring compliance with certain international agreements, as well as setting priorities and evaluating progress achieved through national programs and policies.

Accession

All UN Member States can join the Protocol, including those which have not ratified the Aarhus Convention and those which are not members of the Economic Commission for Europe.

Ratification and signature

The Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers - PRTR to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters , was adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (including European Union), within the fifth Pan - European Ministerial conference "Environment for Europe” that took place on 21 May 2003. The Protocol became international law binding on 8 October 2009.

As of 31 December 2003, the following 36 States and the European Union had signed the Protocol: Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition, the European Community had signed the Protocol.

As of 20 May 2016, the Protocol has been ratified by 34 countries and the European Union.

Content

The Protocol requires each Party to establish a PRTR which is

  • publicly accessible through Internet, free of charge
  • searchable according to separate parameters (facility, pollutant, location, medium, etc.)
  • user-friendly in its structure and provide links to other relevant registers,
  • presents standardized, timely data on a structured, computerized database;
  • covers releases and transfers of at least 86 pollutants covered by the Protocol, such as greenhouse gases, acid rain pollutants, ozone-depleting substances, heavy metals, and certain carcinogens, such as dioxins;
  • covers releases and transfers from certain types of major point sources (e.g. thermal power stations, chemical plants, waste and waste- water treatment plants);
  • accommodates available data on releases from diffuse sources (e.g. transport and agriculture);
  • has limited confidentiality provisions; and
  • public participation in its development and modification.

The PRTR Reporting is:

  • mandatory
  • annual
  • multimedia (air, water, land)
  • facility-specific
  • pollutant-specific for releases
  • pollutant-specific or waste-specific for transfers.

Just like the Aarhus Convention, the Protocol sets minimum requirements, which means that the parties are free to include additional pollutants and business entities. Protocol requires Parties to work towards harmonization between registers.

Text

The full text of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters