===== 4 Preliminary findings about citizen & community‑led actions and citizen generated data in environmental compliance assurance =====

[[intro|← Introduction]] |
[[background|Background & definitions]] |
[[methodology|Methodological approach]] |
[[conclusions|Conclusions & next steps]] |
[[annexes|Annexes]] |
[[bibliography|Bibliography]]

==== 4.1 The regulatory framework for environmental compliance assurance ====
Two groups of policies were identified:

* **Horizontal (cross‑cutting)** – provide the governance backbone (access to information,
public participation, access to justice).  
* **Vertical (thematic)** – focus on the three pillars (Zero‑pollution, Biodiversity,
Deforestation).  

Horizontal policies generally offer more **opportunities** for CCLA/CGD (e.g. Aarhus
Convention, Environmental Impact Assessment Directive).

==== 4.2 Citizen & community‑led actions in compliance promotion ====
Table 6 (below) summarises the assessment per policy.

^ Policy ^ CCLA promotion (colour) ^ Notes ^
| Aarhus Convention (1998) | **green** | Extensive public‑participation & information‑flow provisions |
| Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (2001) | **yellow** | Early public consultation required |
| Access to Environmental Information Directive (2003) | **yellow** | One‑way information provision |
| Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2014) | **green** | Two‑way participation encouraged |
| Environmental Crime Directive (2024) | **green** | Awareness‑raising campaigns & stakeholder cooperation |
| … (remaining policies) | … | … |

*Key take‑away*: Most policies contain at least **one‑way** communication (yellow);
only a few (Aarhus, EIA 2014, EC 2024) reach **green** (two‑way).

==== 4.3 Citizen generated data in compliance monitoring ====
Table 7 (below) shows the colour coding.

^ Policy ^ CGD monitoring (colour) ^ Comments ^
| Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (2001) | **yellow** | Allows “existing monitoring arrangements” – could include CGD |
| Access to Environmental Information Directive (2003) | **grey** | No explicit monitoring reference |
| Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2014) | **yellow** | “Unsolicited comments” may be CGD |
| Nature Restoration Regulation (2024) | **green** | Explicitly mandates use of citizen‑science data |
| Regulation on Deforestation‑Free Products (2023) | **green** | Allows NGOs, indigenous peoples, civil‑society data |
| … (remaining policies) | … | … |

#### Notable opportunities
* **Nature Restoration Regulation (2024)** – Direct call for citizen‑science data.  
* **Deforestation‑Free Products (2023)** – Accepts data from NGOs, indigenous peoples, and “other publicly available sources”.

#### Typical restrictions
* **Bathing Water Directive (2006)** – Requires ISO‑approved methods → possible barrier for CGD.  
* **Nitrates Directive (1991)** – No clear provision for CGD.

==== 4.4 Citizen & community‑led actions & citizen generated data in compliance enforcement ====
Table 8 summarises the assessment.

^ Policy ^ CCLA enforcement (colour) ^ CGD enforcement (colour) ^ Remarks ^
| Aarhus Convention (1998) | **green** | **green** | Right to judicial review, NGOs as observers |
| Environmental Crime Directive (2024) | **green** | **yellow** | Procedural rights for victims & witnesses |
| Regulation on Deforestation‑Free Products (2023) | **green** | **green** | Natural/legal persons may lodge substantiated concerns |
| … (remaining policies) | … | … | … |

#### Overall picture
* Horizontal policies (Aarhus, EC 2024) provide the strongest **enforcement** pathways for citizens.  
* Most thematic policies defer enforcement to national law, yielding **grey** or **red**.

==== 4.5 Summary of colour‑code categorisation (Table 9) ====
The table below aggregates the colour codes for each policy and each ECA
intervention.

```dokuwiki
^ Policy ^ CCLA promotion ^ CGD monitoring ^ CCLA enforcement ^ CGD enforcement ^
| Aarhus Convention (1998) | green | – | green | green |
| Strategic Env. Assessment (2001) | yellow | yellow | – | – |
| Access to Env. Info (2003) | yellow | – | yellow | – |
| … (all 20 policies) | … | … | … | … |