A/HRC/28/61 Integrated Pollution Register (www.irz.cz), a publicly accessible electronic database that documents environmental releases of 93 substances from domestic facilities. Serbia’s Ecoregister (www.ekoregistar.sepa.gov.rs/en) is a public online database that includes more than 5,000 documents, including educational materials, statistical data on environmental information, environmental impact assessments, and monitoring plans for private companies. Search options allow users to find relevant information by geography, institution or document type, among other criteria. Users can also suggest new institutions and documents for consideration. Other tools are more focused. The South African Department of Environmental Affairs has created the South African Waste Information Centre (http://sawic.environment.gov.za), a website that provides information about waste management. A particularly creative approach to web-based information is Finland’s Tarkkailija, or “Observer” (www.etarkkailija.fi), which allows users to identify themes and locations that they would like to monitor. Tarkkailija then collects information from more than 400 websites and informs the users whenever new information relevant to their criteria becomes available. 40. Examples of good practices can also be found at the subnational level. Ontario, Canada, has a web-based Environmental Registry (www.ebr.gov.on.ca) that allows the public to access a wide spectrum of environmental information, including public notices of environmental matters proposed by the Government and guidelines for commenting on the proposals. 41. There are also good practices in the use of online tools at the regional level. The Aarhus Clearinghouse (http://aarhusclearinghouse.unece.org) is an easy-to-use website that disseminates information on good practices in the implementation of the Aarhus Convention. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a regional organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, compiles and disseminates information on pollutant releases and transfers throughout North America through its Taking Stock report and website (www.cec.org/takingstock). The website allows users to obtain and analyse information based on location, type of pollutant and other criteria. C. Obligation to facilitate public participation in environmental decisionmaking 42. Human rights bodies have made clear that States have a duty to facilitate public participation in environmental decision-making. This obligation flows from the rights of individuals to participate in the government of their country and in the conduct of public affairs, and is also necessary to safeguard a broad range of rights from environmental harm(A/HRC/23/55, para. 36). 43. A large number of States have adopted exemplary statutes providing for public participation in the development of environmental laws. For example, Chile’s Environmental Framework Law provides that the Ministry of Environment should encourage and facilitate public participation in the formulation of policies, plans and environmental standards. To give effect to this provision, the Ministry created a website called e-PAC (http://epac.mma.gob.cl/Pages/Home/index.aspx), which allows citizens to provide comments on every proposed rule or regulation. Greece launched the Open Governance Project in 2009, which requires that draft regulations be made available online for public consultation. Similarly, national agencies in the United States of America must publish notices of proposed rulemaking, and the public has an opportunity to submit written comments that the agencies must take into account. 44. In addition, many States have adopted statutes requiring public participation in environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures. For example, India amended its EIA 9