What is Local Agenda 21?

The "Rio Summit" in 1992 brought together representatives of 172 countries, including 108 heads of state. The Summit was split into various agendas which dealt with a variety of environmental matters such as climate change and biodiversity. Agenda 21 was concerned with sustainable development. The summit recognised that sustainable development is the overarching principle that should underpin all social, environmental and economic development; essentially, everything that we do. Agenda 21, in order that sustainable development could be embedded into all our activities, needed to be delivered at local as well as a national level, hence, the Agenda 21 agreement obliged local councils to develop and implement Local Agenda 21 plans.

Local Agenda 21 is a driver for delivery of Sustainable Development

What is Sustainable Development?

Sustainable development (sometimes referred to as sustainability) is not easy to define exactly, which is probably why there are more than 100 definitions, but some of the more popular definitions are given below:

• "Living for Tomorrow"
• "Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
• "Sustainable Development is when you take no more from nature than nature can replenish."

Essentially, sustainable development is about choosing to make changes now to the way in which we live so that the quality of life enjoyed by our future generations will be protected. The idea is not that we sacrifice our own quality of life in order to achieve this, but that we just do things better. This means that we must minimise the energy we waste, recycle as much as possible to minimise the waste we create, look to support our local economy and ensure that unspoilt natural habitats are protected.

The Energy Saving Trust has some practical tips about what you can do to promote sustainability in your home or to make your business more sustainable.

What are the Priorities for Sustainable Development that Local Agenda 21 must Address?

In March 2005, the Government released its new sustainable development strategy called "Securing the Future".

This identifies four priority areas:

1. Sustainable Production and Consumption (SCP)
One of the greatest challenges for sustainable development is to uncouple the link between social and economic progress and unsustainable production and consumption. Put simply, as we become wealthier, we consume more of everything, particularly things that are bad for sustainability, for instance bigger, highly polluting cars. One of the best ways to measure SCP is Ecological Footprint. This measures SCP in terms of worlds, and tells you how many worlds would be required for the whole of the world's population to live in the way that any given population, for instance the population of Ashfield, lives. Based on this measure, Nottinghamshire would require three worlds and the USA five. Sustainable development exists where the result is one or less. Currently, no western countries are sustainable. For more information see http://sei-international.org/?p=publications or the Greater Nottingham Ecological Footprint that Ashfield contributed to.

2. Climate Change and Energy
Climate change is now recognised as the most serious risk that the world faces. The government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King, famously stated that climate change was a far greater risk to the world than international terrorism. At the local level, local authorities can commit themselves to tackling climate change by signing the nationally recognised Nottingham Declaration. Ashfield signed the declaration on 20th October 2005. The Council's support was reaffirmed by signing of the new declaration at the 2nd National Councils' Conference in Nottingham on 5th December 2005 . Following on from the Nottingham Declaration, a strategic plan will be developed in consultation with the community during 2006 with the plan being published not later than 1st January 2008.

3. Natural Resource Protection
The Council's role here is to try and promote environmentally sustainable land use and to protect Ashfield's biodiversity. An example of the Council's work in this area is the annual Farmers' Information Event which helps to promote sustainable issues which are relevant to the farming community.

4. Sustainable Communities
Anything which reduces crime and the fear of crime, promotes local employment and reduces poverty or supports improved educational attainment, improved health, access to services and safe and healthy housing, contributes to a sustainable community. See the Community Action 2020 programme.

Local to Global

It is possible to support Global Sustainable Development by using our spending power to purchase goods that bear the Fair Trade mark. The farmers and manufacturers in the developing world who produce Fair Trade goods are guaranteed to receive a fair price for their goods. This ensures that they can develop their businesses sustainably and profitably, helping to make the countries involved in Fair Trade more stable and less dependant on overseas assistance.

Sustainable Development Indicators

The Government currently record 68 indicators for sustainable development with more planned for the future. You can get the most up to date information available from the Sustainable Development Indicators in your Pocket booklet which is available free of charge.

Further Information

The Council's Local Agenda 21 statement is currently being updated to take account of the new priority areas within Securing the Future. If you require further information regarding Agenda 21, please contact us.

Useful Websites for Further Reading

www.sustainable-development.gov.uk – The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website on sustainable development.

www.sdg-nottinghamshire.org.uk – This contains an award winning Sustainable Developer Guide and is laid out in a very readable format.

www.ukcip.org.uk – The UK Climate Impacts Programme is well informed on projections for climate change in the UK.

www.environment-agency.gov.uk – The Environment Agency website contains a lot of information relating to sustainability.

www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/nottinghamshire – The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has a focus on some biodiversity issues and has an important role in scrutinising planning applications in order to promote greater protection of the natural environment.

www.lgib.gov.uk/representation/iclei/index.html – ICLEI promote sustainable development from a European level.

www.defra.gov.uk The main website of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has references to many areas of sustainable development.

www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/carbontrust – The Carbon Trust is concerned with promoting the development and use of low-carbon technologies.

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