What is Local Agenda 21?
Local Agenda 21 (LA 21) was established in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also called the Rio Earth Summit, as the blueprint for sustainability. It is committed to sustainable development. The nations that have pledged to take part in Agenda 21 are monitored by the International Commission on Sustainable Development and are encouraged to promote Agenda 21 at the local and regional levels within their own countries. Agenda 21 addresses the development of societies and economies by focusing on the conservation and preservation of our environments and natural resources.
At the Rio Earth Summit, the United Nations agreed that the best starting point for the achievement of sustainable development is at the local level. In fact, two-thirds of the 2500 action items of Agenda 21 relate to local councils. Each local authority has to draw up its own Local Agenda 21 (LA 21) strategy following discussions with its citizens about what they think is important for the area.
Agenda 21 is the blueprint for socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development. Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry, and the general public are encouraged to become involved in the process. Agenda 21 provides a framework for tackling social and environmental problems, including air pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, health, overpopulation, poverty, energy consumption, waste production, and transport issues.
The principle of sustainable development must form a central part of the strategy. LA21 regards sustainable development as a community issue, involving all sections of society, including community groups, businesses, and ethnic minorities. Involvement of the whole society will give everyone the opportunity to participate and will generate a resource of enthusiasm, talent, and expertise, which is vital to achieve sustainable development. Many local authorities have begun schemes of co-operation to allow them to exchange ideas about sustainable development. Groups of local authorities can join together to give themselves a louder voice to influence large companies.
LA 21 focuses on social, economic, and environmental issues and develops solutions to problems through encouraging better, more efficient practices. It realizes that sustainable development is achievable, without sacrificing the quality of our lives. However, sustainable development can only be achieved if we learn to think more sustainably and adopt more sustainable behavior.
Since the Earth Summit in Rio, successful LA21 campaigns have taken place in Bolivia, China , Sweden, United Kingdom, Turkey and Bulgaria to name a few countries committed to this concept.
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Learn more: • ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability • United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development |