LOCAL AGENDA 21

Local Agenda 21

Local Agenda 21

Introduction

Agenda 21 is an internationally agreed action plan for the worldwide implementation of sustainable development. Alongside the Forest Principles and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, it was among the most important outcomes of the United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992 (Foster, 2007). Agenda 21 is a non-legally binding international agreement, meaning that its signatories are not legally obliged to implement it. However, as an example of soft law, it establishes a set of international norms and expectations that can influence government policy (Finger, 2006).

Agenda 21 contains provisions relating to human development policy and numerous aspects of resource management, including deforestation, biodiversity, agriculture, and water; and it arguably represents the most comprehensive attempt by the UN to ensure that the global economy (society) does not adversely affect the global environment (nature) (Chasek, 2006). Agenda 21 offers a good example of what Steven Bernstein has dubbed liberal environmentalism—the compatibility of economic growth and environmental protection—and codifies this relationship into a series of normative policy directions for the 21st century. For instance, it stipulates that an equitable and nondiscriminatory multilateral trading system is crucial for achieving sustainable development (Bernstein, 2006). The assumption here is that such a system will not only extend the benefits of trade to the world's poor, but will result in environmentally benign growth as well. Agenda 21 also specifies that trade liberalization —the removal of import and export restrictions and subsidies—will hasten the implementation of sustainable development, and calls on governments to implement sustainable development in developing countries by providing debt relief, bilateral and multilateral assistance, development financing through regional development banks, and new and additional resources (Foster, 2007). More specific provisions recognize the need to reduce unsustainable consumption, especially in industrialized economies; and that women play a vital role in implementing sustainable development. It also calls on governments to reduce perverse subsidies, decentralize natural resource management to the community level, and extend land rights to indigenous peoples (Finger, 2006).

Needless to say, the governments that drafted Agenda 21 had lofty ambitions. Many hoped that the adoption of Agenda 21 would usher in a new era of environmental sustainability around the world, while at the same time greatly reducing poverty. Sadly, although some gains have been made in both areas of development, notably chemicals management, many of the world's most pressing development and environmental problems continue unabated almost 15 years after the signing of Agenda 21 (Chasek, 2006). Moreover, the multilateral trading system is showing very few signs of improving market access conditions for agricultural products from developing countries. These developments have led to claims that Agenda 21 has been largely unsuccessful, and that some alternative development trajectory must be found.

Agenda 21 established the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which was given the task of overseeing the implementation of Agenda 21 (Bernstein, 2006). In 2002, the UN held the World Summit on Sustainable Development (dubbed “Rio+10”) in Johannesburg, South Africa, to review ...