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Ecologically Sustainable Development
Local Agenda 21 (LA21) is a program that provides a framework for implementing sustainable development at the local level. LA21 aims to build upon existing local government strategies and resources (such as Corporate plans, vegetation management plans, and transport strategies) to better integrate environmental, economic and social goals.
LA21 was first described in Agenda 21 - the global blueprint for sustainability that was agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 (the Rio Earth Summit). Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 identifies local authorities as the sphere of governance closest to the people, and calls upon all local authorities to consult with their communities and develop and implement a local plan for sustainability - a 'Local Agenda 21'.
In 1997 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers for Sustainable Development set an APEC-wide target to double the number local councils involved in LA21 by 2003. In the same year Australia's national LA21 program was established.
Measuring local government commitment to LA21 and other local sustainability initiatives can be very difficult. This is due to the complexity involved in assessing how environmental, social and economic decisions contribute to sustainability.
Recent survey results from Environs Australia - the Local Government Environment Network, and the International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI) support anecdotal evidence that commitment towards LA21 in Australia has increased significantly over the past five years.