Local
Agenda 21
- an international political initiative
In 1992 nearly 180 countries were represented at the UN Conference on
Environment and Development (also known as the 'Earth Summit'), which was held
in
The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), at
the request of the UN Secretariat, drafted a mandate for all local authorities
to play a role in Agenda 21 (Chapter 28). The 'Earth Summit' agreed that 'by
1996, most local authorities should have undertaken a consultative process with
their population and achieved a consensus on a local Agenda 21 for their
communities' (ICLEI, 1999, p.1). The results of a survey of progress by
People & Participation
Because everyone is ultimately affected by unsustainable development, community participation is a core aim for LA21 and this means using all appropriate methods to involve everyone. The Local Government Management Board (now the Improvement and Development Agency) has published Roundtable guidance. This document makes reference to techniques that are still relatively new and may, therefore be unfamiliar, such as 'Planning for Real', 'Citizen's Juries' and 'Consensus Conferences', others, such as 'Focus Groups' have received much wider public recognition. Further explanation of these concepts can be found in the article 'Innovation in Democratic Practice in Local Government', which appeared in the journal 'Policy and Politics' (Stewart, vol.24 no.1).
The activities being promoted under LA21 within Staffordshire (at County, Borough and Unitary Authority levels) give some indication of what this political initiative has to offer those interested in moving to a more sustainable lifestyle.
Paul Newman
Updated October 2001
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