Local Agenda 21

Introduction

At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, 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 had to draw up its own Local Agenda 21 (LA21) following discussion with its citizens about what they think is important for the area. The principle of sustainable development must form a central part of the Local Agenda.

Bert Bovenkerk, the project leader for LA21 in The Hague, Netherlands says, "Reaching fine agreements is all very well at world-wide level, but when it comes to carrying them out the process falters."

Local Authorities

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.

As part of Local Agenda 21 in Liverpool, for example, the public and the city council have drawn up their own indicators to discover the success of sustainable development. These indicators include the number of parks and people living close to them, education standards and crime figures.

In Cheshire, the local authority has set up a transport task group as part of its LA21. This aims to set up commuter plans to discourage people from travelling by car.

Kirklees council, in West Yorkshire, has encouraged partnerships between themselves, businesses, charity groups and members of the public to help them to achieve a sustainable level of development.