Public participation and the Guarani Aquifer agreement

In 2010 Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay signed the Guarani Aquifer Agreement with the aim of ensuring the effective management of the Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) – a transboundary aquifer shared by the four countries. Activities on, or management of, the GAS is bound to have a wide range of potential effects on the environment in general and on the wellbeing and interests of relevant members of the public in the four countries. In that light, and considering the vital role non-state actors (can) play in natural resource governance, as broadly recognised in the international environmental law arena, this chapter mainly attempts an investigation of the status of public participation in environmental decision-making under the Guarani Aquifer Agreement in consideration of the status of the former under broader international law.