Agenda [what needs doing] for the 21st century, to achieve sustainable development. The focus of realization is intended to be at the local level, i.e. communities and regions are to play the main part.
In 1972 the "Club of Rome" drew attention for the first time, in their report "The Limits to Growth“, to the implications for the planet Earth of environmental degradation and resource exploitation. Not until 1992, though, were the issues of resource allocation, sustainable development and initiating action in this direction discussed for the first time at a major international conference.
At the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 the discussions focussed on these issues. In the final document, the Agenda 21, the representatives of 179 states agreed that the interdependence of
needs to be taken into account for sustainable solutions to take shape.
In contrast to some earlier UN documents, the Agenda 21 rejects centralized, top-down political decision procedures out of hand. No off-the-peg procedure exists to conjure up sustainable development; instead, concrete solutions must be worked out on the spot, with all stakeholders taking part – ordinary citizens, entrepreneurs, politicians, administrators, NGOs and other institutions.
This involves resolving conflicts of interest, searching for possible compromises and identifying new possibilities of cooperation.
Following the Rio conference, the “European Campaign for Sustainable Cities and Towns“ was launched in Aalborg in 1994. This conference was initiated by ICLEI, the >> International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
On the basis of the Rio Agenda 21 the issue of realization at the local level was treated in greater detail and specifically for Europe. The final document, the Aalborg Charter, has since been signed by more than 2000 European communities, who have thus committed themselves to realizing LA21 processes.
Several more conferences have since been held (world-wide and within Europe), to develop the Local Agenda 21 further, to pool experience and give the process new impetus. Ten years after Rio de Janeiro the LA21 principles were reasserted at the World Summit in Johannesburg. To underline that Agenda 21 should be aimed at actions and changes, the slogan Action 21 was coined.
Here you can find the following documents (important for the Local Agenda 21):