Ecologically Sustainable Development

Localising Agenda 21: A Guide to Sustainable Development for the APEC Region

Prepared by Environment Australia for
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
© Commonwealth of Australia, 2000

About this Guide

Local authorities in the APEC region and around the world are increasingly becoming lead agencies for sustainable development. They are developing and implementing systematic approaches to provide for our long term future in terms of the health and well being of our communities and the environment which supports us.

This guide has been prepared to provide local authorities and the communities they represent with guidance and direction in planning and implementing a Local Agenda 21 approach.

The guide is aimed at:

• individuals and groups who want to know how to gain commitment from key decision makers to establish a Local Agenda 21;
• local authorities that have committed to sustainable development and need guidance on how to commence a Local Agenda 21;
• local authorities that have started to develop a strategy or who are actively working towards sustainable development but who need further direction, perhaps on a particular aspect of their work;
• local authorities that are progressing well and want some further ideas.

There are three sections to this guide:

Section one details five 'Action Areas'.

Section two details the case studies used to illustrate a variety of approaches to Local Agenda 21.

Section three provides further reading and useful contacts and references and includes a number of appendixes.

This guide offers practical guidance on how to develop a Local Agenda 21 framework to tackle issues of sustainable development. The process detailed here involves working through five 'Action Areas'.

The Action Areas cover the basic activities of a Local Agenda 21, which include:

• involving the entire community in preparing a long term sustainable development action plan;
• determining the vision, goals, targets and priorities for action, taking an integrated approach;
• working in partnership with all stakeholders to achieve those goals;
• monitoring and reporting procedures, including the use of local indicators to track progress and to allow participants to hold each other accountable to the action plan.

A key element of a Local Agenda 21 is improvement of the frameworks and systems used for planning, policy making and implementing because they can be more influential and enduring than specific actions, which will change regularly.

The exact approach taken by each local authority will vary depending on its particular circumstances (resources, regulatory powers, history of working on sustainability, involving the community, and level of commitment). The types of issues that a community focuses on will also vary from authority to authority. This guide provides a best practice approach. The detailed case studies in the second section show the breadth of approaches that have been taken. There will also be many other approaches that have not been detailed here.

While this guide is directed towards local authorities wishing to undertake a Local Agenda 21, sustainable development work can be undertaken by any organisation undertaking a joint approach. Matters to be considered in such joint work would be similar to those discussed in this guide, although with certain differences given different structures, areas of responsibility and methods of operating.

Prepared by Environment Australia for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)