Local and National Agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea Countries
Coalition Clean Baltic
December 2001
CCB Report 2001
Local and National Agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea Countries
Coalition Clean Baltic
December 2001
Index
Index
1. Introduction
1.1 Local Agenda 21
2. Agenda 21 Activities in the Baltic Sea Region
2.1 Regional overview
2.2 Regional initiatives and activities
Governmental initiative - Baltic 21
Local authorities
Coalition Clean Baltic/CCB
2.3 Local and National Agenda 21
Sustainable initiatives in St.-Petersburg and Leningrad region
Local and National Agenda 21 work in Estonia
Local and National Agenda 21 work in Latvia
Local and National Agenda 21 work in Lithuania
Local and National Agenda 21 work in Poland
3. What needs to be done?
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Russia/St Petersburg
3.3 Estonia
3.4 Latvia
3.5 Lithuania
4. Good Examples
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Examples
Agriculture
Energy
Fishery
Forestry
Industry
Tourism
Transport
Cross-sector projects
5. Where to gain more information
General information and gateways
CCB-members involved in Local Agenda 21
6. Annexes
Annex 1
List of Criteria
Description scheme:
Annex 2: Promotion of local agenda 21
Actions at the local level
Actions at the national level
Actions at the European level
1. Introduction
This report is based on the joint effort between the members of Coalition Clean Baltic, CCB, to gather information about the Agenda 21 work in the Baltic Sea Region, focusing on the possibilities and initiatives taken by Environmental Citizens Organizations (ECOs). During 1998 - 2000 information from Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland has been collected and summarized in five national reports. In this joint report these findings are complemented with an overview of what is happening in the region.
The purpose of the joint report is to give an overview of the different preconditions and possibilities for implementing Local Agenda 21 (LA21) in the Baltic Sea countries. Included is a selection of good examples showing strategies and projects within different sectors of society that is included in the Baltic 21 process and of interest to the CCB.
The project has been funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers as a part of their effort to support the follow-up of the Baltic 21 action program.
The report is meant to constitute the base for a follow-up for the ECOs of Baltic 21 on local and national level. The possibilities to spread a positive thinking, working with solutions instead of focusing on the problems, are important and the demand for solutions is enormous and it is CCBs desire that the report should play a positive role in the implementation and development of Baltic 21.
The report is focusing on describing the situation and strategies for a sustainable development in the south-eastern part of the Baltic Sea as seen from the ECO’s point of view. The strategies have, at least partly, been practiced and given a good result, and are often relevant for several actors. CCB hopes that by describing positive examples of strategic importance it will be possible to increase the interest for a local and regional follow-up, development and implementation of Baltic 21.
With the help of five CCB members this report have been edited and finalized by CCB international secretariat. The participating organizations have delivered national reports and the information from those has been inserted in the chapters about which the information in the country chapters and the recommendations as well as the main part of the examples is based. The active CCB-organisations has been:
- Estonian Green Movement/ERL
- CCB Latvia
- Lithuanian Green Movement
- Polish Ecological Club/PKE, East Pomeranian branch
- Green World, St Petersburg
1.1 Local Agenda 21
Local Agenda 21 as a concept was materialized in the Agenda 21, specifically mentioned in its chapter 28 and defined as an activity where the adoption of a Local Agenda 21 is developed and co-ordinated by the local authorities via a process of consultation “with its citizens, local organizations and private enterprises…”[1] (UN 1992, Chapter 28.3). As pointed out by Lafferty and Eckerberg[2] the chapter 28 of Agenda 21 is primarily procedural and not substantive, leaving it to the local authorities to design and implement their own interpretation of how the intentions and ideas outlined in the Agenda 21 are to be materialised in the community (Lafferty and Eckerberg 1997, p 3). In chapter 28 it is stated “By 1996, most local authorities in each country should have undertaken a consultative process with their populations and achieved a consensus on “a Local Agenda 21” for the community;” (UN 1992, 28.2a). The overarching goal, in its more positive interpretation, is that developing the Local Agenda 21 is supposed to be the process needed to achieve local sustainable development, integrating local economic, social and ecological perspectives.
As a policy instrument Local Agenda 21 can be categorized as a soft policy instrument since it builds on a process of involving all local stakeholders in a consensus process. It could be implemented as a negotiated, voluntary agreement between the municipality and its inhabitants and business. The approach differs from municipality to municipality but in general Lafferty and Eckerberg (1998, 247-250)[3] concludes that there are two main determinants for the successful implementation of LA21:
- Previously established environmental policy tradition on the local level, since the LA21 work is often expanding from the environmental field and including other sectors into its framework
- Local autonomy in terms of possibilities to lever taxes/revenues for an own budget, decision-making power about spatial planning, etc.
Other important factors that determines the progress of implementing Local Agenda 21 are (Lafferty and Eckerberg 1997, 281-290):
- Local community networks, both at the local level as well as the national and international level.
- National co-ordination and support, especially for production and dissemination of information and providing financial support. National authorities and/or local municipality associations take on this national co-ordination.
- NGO involvement has been crucial, but in different ways. In some countries the NGOs have been more active on the national level, while in others the involvement has been most notable at the local level.
The difference being that local involvement has been stronger where local municipalities has had less autonomy and in greater need to form partnerships to be able to achieve something. In the latest larger sum-up of the process of implementing the Agenda 21, at the UNGASS[4] in 1997, it was noted that more than 1800 local municipalities had started LA21 activities[5] (ICLEI 1997, III A). Also the LA21 is regarded as effective in its task to provide results, as stated in the report of the UN Secretary-General on the overall progress since UNCED: “Some of the most promising developments have taken place at the level of cities and municipalities, where local Agenda 21 initiatives have predominated. … Local-level strategies and plans have proved far more successful than those at the national level in terms of making a direct impact.”[6] (Osborn and Bigg 1998, Annex 3).
2. Agenda 21 Activities in the Baltic Sea Region
The Baltic region is characterized by a unique combination of favourable resources and a great potential for economic and social development. Having access to plenty of renewable resources as fresh water, forests and arable land it is prepared for the start of sustainable development as good as, if not better, than any other region. However, despite the high level of industrial development, there are significant differences in economic, social and ecological conditions, first of all between the eastern and the western part[7] of the region.
Baltic 21, developed for the Baltic Sea states and adopted in June 1998[8], considers the strategies of regional development and cooperation, objectives of sustainable development of the region, major obstacles and political prerequisites for implementation of the Baltic 21 and includes an action program with activities and perspectives for the region that need to be taken in order to achieve sustainability. The action programme is consisting of 37 practically oriented proposals for future measures. 27 of these actions represent Baltic 21 sectors: agriculture, energy, fishery, forestry, industry, tourism and transport. The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) has with this process become a European forerunner in the field of international co-operation for sustainable development.
Evidently, the transition to sustainable development requires substantial changes and often aims at achievement of goals that are contradictory under the existing conditions. Therefore laborious activities at the local level should be realized in order to change priorities, policies and strategies. Research and pilot projects at the local level serve to coordinate regional priorities and to popularise the ideas of sustainable development, Baltic 21.
To make sustainable choices easier, the governments of BSR decided in 1996 to produce a common view of sustainable development in the BSR. Since then, Baltic 21 has been the main guideline for sustainable development in the region.[9]
2.1 Regional overview
In the Baltic Sea region the nine countries are performing quite differently and they are also facing various sets of problems to solve at the local level. The general divide is between the western and eastern countries and the differences could be viewed from many perspectives; performance on Local Agenda 21, environmental problems faced, organisational, economical etc. However the differences between the two groups should not be overemphasised, the difference between the countries in west as well as east is sometimes as great and even so maybe the similarities is greater than the differences after all. This might be one reason why the use of good examples and co-operation often prove successful and enjoying.
Looking at the western countries Lafferty and Eckerberg (1997, 275) are characterizing them in three different categories: pioneers (Sweden), adaptors (Finland) and late-comers (Germany)[10].
Russia or other CIT’s are not included in these categories since they were not part of the study. They could be categorized similarly, but showing a slower pace of the implementation and spreading of Local Agenda 21. E.g. Poland, Lithuania and Estonia are supported by national co-ordination efforts under the United Nations Development Programme. In this aspect they seem to be ahead of Russia and Latvia. Latvia on the other hand has recently been involved in a larger project to improve the spread and implementation of Local Agenda 21 by the co-operation with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities (SALA). For the eastern part of the Baltic Sea Region the international co-operation seems to be the most important factor for involving and spreading ideas and activities that are explicit within the frame of Local Agenda 21. However the boundaries of and the definition of Local Agenda 21 are unclear to many actors. Therefore many environmental initiatives and educational efforts/projects is not visualised even though they would be within the boundaries of a Local Agenda 21 initiative. And the regional and bilateral initiatives are quite a few, mainly involving the NGO-community and local authorities as initiators and proponents. The following section gives some examples of the better-known initiatives and the situation for the individual countries are given in section 2.3.
2.2 Regional initiatives and activities
Governmental initiative - Baltic 21[11]
Governmental initiatives on the regional level for Local Agenda 21 are focused on supporting local government and NGO initiatives. However the governmental activities sets part of the frame for the possibilities to act as a municipality or NGO. Among the more important regional initiatives is the Baltic 21. Baltic 21 is the regional initiative and process that develops and implements a regional Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). It was started already in 1996 by the heads of state in the BSR involving the 11 countries being members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS). In 1998 the initial phase was finalized when the foreign ministers of the CBSS adopted the Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region – Baltic 21.
The following overall goal for the Baltic 21 was adopted:
“The essential objective of the Baltic Sea Region co-operation is the constant improvement of the living and working conditions of their peoples within the framework of sustainable development, sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment. Sustainable development includes three mutually interdependent dimensions - economic social and environmental. The means for the region
- A safe and healthy life for current and future generations.
- A co-operative and prosperous economy and a society for all.
- That local and regional co-operation is based on democracy, openness and participation.
- That biological and ecosystem diversity and productivity are restored or maintained.
- That pollution to the atmosphere land and water does not exceed the carrying capacity of nature.
- Those renewable resources are efficiently used and managed within their regeneration capacity.
- That materials flow of non-renewable resources is made efficient and cyclic, and that renewable substitutes are created and promoted.
- That awareness of the elements and processes leading to sustainability is high among different actors and levels of society.
The Baltic Sea Region recognizes its interdependence with other parts of the world and makes its contribution to the fulfilment of sustainable development goals at the global and European level.”
Baltic 21 has been worked out jointly by a partnership of national governments, regional networks of cities and regions, intergovernmental organisations, the business community, environmental NGOs, and international financial institutions.
Baltic 21 is based on seven Sector Reports (agriculture, energy, fishery, forestry, industry, tourism and transport) and a number of other background reports (on spatial planning, financing options, indicators and scenarios). A special report has been developed by Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), the Baltic-Nordic NGO Network for Sustainable Energy and Taiga Rescue Network (TRN) forming the base for the positions of the ECO’s in the region. The Baltic 21 Steering Group (the Senior Officials Group, SOG) decided to include the special report “An Environmental Citizens Organisation’s (ECO’s) Vision of an Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region” in the Baltic 21 Series. The Union of Baltic Cities (UBC), Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum (BLA21F) and ICLEI jointly contributed with a “Local Agenda 21 Report” (Baltic 21 Series No 11/98) covering the specifics for the local authorities in connection to Baltic 21.
The Action Programme comprises Joint Actions (issues concerning several sectors); and Sector Actions and Spatial Planning Actions. When Baltic 21 was adopted, it was also the start of the implementation of the Action Programme.
Institution-strengthening, structural changes, education, exchange of experience and other non-technical initiatives are at the core of the Action Programme. There is an emphasis on building a foundation for the transition to sustainable development. However, the programme also contains demonstration and pilot projects, where more concrete investments are called for.
The responsibility for leading sector implementation work is distributed among the countries and international organisations in the Baltic 21 Steering Group (the Senior Officials Group, SOG), which monitors, contributes to and steers the process.
The Baltic 21 Network consists of the CBSS countries; the European Union; intergovernmental organisations; international financial institutions; and non-governmental organisations and networks.
Each sector is to take full responsibility for the implementation of its own programme for sustainable development. The sectors have one or two Lead Parties, and for each Joint Action a Responsible Actor has been or is about to be nominated.
Lead Parties are Poland and the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) for agriculture; Lithuania and Sweden for education; Denmark and Estonia for energy; the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission for fisheries; Finland and Lithuania for forests; Russia and Sweden for industry; Germany and Latvia for transport; and VASAB for spatial planning. There is presently no Lead Party for the tourism sector.
The importance for the Local Agenda 21 processes on national and local level in the Baltic Sea Region could be seen mainly as being the power of recognition and paving the way for funding of projects focused on Local Agenda 21. The process itself was also designed to be in the spirit of Agenda 21 (involvement of major groups etc), functioning as an example for other international processes.
Local authorities[12]
Among the initiatives from local authorities in the Baltic Sea Region the work made by the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) is the more advanced and prolonged. UBC is an organisation established to facilitate and promote co-operation and exchange between cities lying by the Baltic Sea. Presently it has 100 member cities from all Baltic Sea countries. It has a Commission on Environment that is responsible for the work related to Local Agenda 21 and Baltic 21. In 1998, the UBC, as one of the main organisers, contributed strongly to the organising of the Baltic Local Agenda 21 - Health and Sustainable Cities Conference that was arranged in Finland in 1998. This conference created prerequisites for the local level implementation of Baltic 21. In addition to this, it also was the first of the four regional European Sustainable Cities and Towns conferences that were arranged during 1998 and 1999. The conference adopted the Turku Statement, declaring a strong support, commitment and participation to the implementation of the Baltic 21 and specifies a list of goals for the municipalities in the Baltic Sea Region.
UBC is actively taking part in the development of the Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum network (BLA21F) created to use an informal network to promote Local Agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea municipalities. UBC considers Local Agenda 21 as the most efficient and integrated existing concept for sustainable development in municipalities. In a survey made 1998 it was found that the majority (73%) of the UBC members have an active Local Agenda 21 process going on. UBC also took part in the ICLEI-project SAIL (see below). Within the UBC, there is also a Local Agenda 21 Action Program 2000-2002, and the Local Agenda 21 Working Group, which is a cross-sectoral tool for its implementation. In practice, the Commission on Environment and the working group work closely together, and the same secretariat is responsible for the facilitation of the work of both of them.