The Right to a Healthy Environment and Access to Environmental Justice is a practical guide for anyone interested in understanding and exercising their environmental rights. It explains the legal mechanisms available to protect the right to a clean, healthy environment.

The guide explores three core procedural rights that underpin environmental democracy:

1. Access to information
2. Participation in decision-making
3. Access to justice

It also helps citizens understand how to exercise these rights in practice, explaining:

• What environmental information they can request and from whom.
• How to participate in environmental impact assessment procedures and public hearings.
• Which court or institution to approach and within what deadlines.
• What evidence may be relevant, and which international mechanisms are available.

The guide includes ready-to-use templates for information requests, administrative complaints and applications to international bodies, helping readers navigate the available procedures.

The publication draws on findings from 2023 research on access to environmental justice in Georgia, which identified key barriers preventing citizens from effectively exercising their environmental rights.

Team

Author: Ana Beridze

Editorial Group: Levan Asatiani, Ivane Chitashvili

Disclaimer

This guide was prepared with support from UNDP and the German Government under the project Improving the Rule of Law and Access to Justice for All. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNDP or the German Government.