AGENDA 21

Agenda 21 on the web: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21.htm

The 40 chapters of the Agenda 21, the international plan of action to sustainable development, is probably the most important of Rio's various achievements. It outlines key policies for achieving sustainable development that meets the needs of the poor and recognises the limits of development to meet global needs. “Needs” is interpreted not solely in terms of economic interests but also to be those of a fully functional, harmonious, global system that incorporates both people and ecosystems. Agenda 21 has become the blueprint for sustainability and forms the basis for sustainable development strategies. It attempts to define a balance between production, consumption, population, development and the Earth's life-supporting capacity. Its recommendations range from news ways to educate, to new ways to care for natural resources and new ways to participate in shaping a sustainable economy. It addresses poverty, excessive consumption, health and education, cities and Agriculture; food and natural resource management and several more subjects. The overall objective of Agenda 21 was very ambitious for it was nothing less than designing a safe and just world with people in the South and North alike would live an equitable life within Earth's capacities.

What has made Agenda 21 so critical is that it marks an evolution in environmental thinking that saw the final entwining of man and environment into one agenda ... - and it is this evolved thinking that is the foundation of WSSD 2002 - both in assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of Agenda 21 from 1992 to 2002 and in giving it new teeth through the declarations that will emerge from the summit in South Africa. The issues covered in Agenda 21 are in effect what the World Summit for Sustainable Development is all about.

Agenda 21 explains that population, consumption and technology are the primary driving forces of environmental change. It lays out what needs to be done to reduce wasteful and inefficient consumption patterns in some parts of the world while encouraging increased but sustainable development in others. Agenda 21 recognises that poverty is closely linked to access to resources poor people need to live sustainably. Agenda 21 also called for more support from the developed countries to the developing countries - by means of increased funding but also through the transfer of information and skills.

Developed countries have a greater role in cleaning up the environment than poor nations, who produce relatively less pollution. Agenda 21 calls on governments to adopt national strategies for sustainable development. These should be developed with wide participation, including non-government organisations and the public. This call for broad participation was accomplished with the major group concept of the UN.

Agenda 21 had a significant impact on local community activities regarding sustainable development. Thousands of Local Agenda 21 initiatives emerged after UNCED to develop local sustainability plans by bringing different stakeholders together. The "Spirit of Rio" thus made its way into the heads of individuals on the local level.