| City
to City Cooperation
With over half of the world's population now living in cities and
towns, the United Nations has prioritised sustainable urbanization.
During the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in September
2002, the Political Declaration and the Implementation Plan endorsed
the need for adequate shelter alongside other priorities such as
Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Biodiversity. At Istanbul
+ 5, in June 2001, the Special Session of the General Assembly,
Governments issued a Declaration on Cities and other Human Settlements
in the New Millennium which also endorsed the specific Millennium
Declaration target of making a significant improvement in the lives
of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. UN-Habitat's challenge
is to promote partnerships to deliver the millennium development
goals and further encourage the exchange of skills and lessons learned
between cities.
Cities and local authorities have been fostering international
cooperation since the foundation of the first international association
of local authorities in 1913. Early exchange among cities in developed
countries was followed by links with cities in developing countries.
Today, C2C may take place between cities in neighbouring countries
or between cities at opposite ends of the globe. Town twinning is
one of the earliest examples of C2C. In recent years the scope of
C2C has widened considerably, on the initiative of city leaders
with the encouragement and assistance of international associations
and networks of local authorities. Moreover, there are an increasing
number of community to community exchanges taking place between
cities in the developing world.
The following briefs although featured elsewhere under different
rubrics showcase ongoing forms of cooperation and/or all possible
forms of relationship between local authorities at any level in
two or more countries which are collaborating together over matters
of mutual interest, whether with or without external support. City
to city cooperation connotes decentralisation where policies are
based upon the principle of partnership and joint working between
public authorities, non-governmental organisations and community-based
organisations, cooperatives, the private sector, and the informal
sector.
Back to top
Kitakyushu's International Environmental Co-operation Programme,
Japan
While growing into a major industrial zone as the birthplace of
Japan's modern steelworks, Kitakyushu suffered severe pollution.
The City tackled this menace through partnerships between local
government, citizens, academia and private companies and through
developing cutting edge technologies. Those efforts made the city
regenerate from polluted city into the "environmental city".
The international environmental co-operation of Kitakyushu was
initiated to share the city's experience in overcoming pollution
and to support environmental improvement and sustainable development
in developing countries. The goals of the international environmental
co-operation are to conserve a clean environment and achieve sustainable
environmental development for future generations. By forging strong
partnerships with the private sector, educational institutions,
NGOs involved in environmental issues and other stakeholders, focus
was on human resource development and technology transfer to local
government initiatives. More than 200 local private companies and
civil-based organizations in Kitakyushu are supporting implementation
of international co-operative training courses. Kitakyushu recommends
initiatives to donor communities for environmental improvement.
To gain experience, co-operation with donor funded projects were
initiated and Kitakyushu-City employees became trainers in environmental
management. Institutes specialised in environmental international
co-operation were later established and a framework developed to
contribute to environmental improvement effectively and efficiently.
The first project was initiated in Dalian City, China, which was
awarded the UNEP Global 500 for significant achievement by co-operative
projects with Kitakyushu. In Vietnam, co-operative projects on cleaner
production (CP) with Kitakyushu achieved a 30-40% reduction of wastewater
in the model factories in Ho Chi Minh City. In Metro Cebu, Philippines,
after starting an international environmental training course through
JICA programme, staff in charge of environmental management adopted
a series of "action plans". Based on the action plans,
projects have been initiated in cleaner production and solid waste
management. Kitakyushu also supports a youth groups where citizens
are trained and gain experience in environmental issues and are
encouraged to promote their own activities.
The projects initiated utilized resources from the donor community
and national and international systems of subsidy since the policy
of local governments in Japan is to provide public welfare for the
municipal communities. Kitakyushu is willing to share their technology
and experiences with other cities interested in co-operation for
environmental improvement.
Back to top
Housing Association of East London (HAEL), East London,
South Africa
East London faced an enormous housing backlog, which was estimated
at approximately 26,000 households. In addition to this large demand
for quality and affordable housing for low and moderate income households,
the city, like most South African cities, was characterised by urban
sprawl and racial segregation patterns. The Housing Association
of East London (HAEL) was established as a non-profit social housing
company in 1998 and is a joint initiative between the Netherlands
based housing association in South Africa (HASA) and the Buffalo
city municipality. HAEL aims at providing quality and affordable
rental accommodation to low and moderate-income households in East
London.
HAEL embarked on its first social housing project in late 1999.
To date, some 438 apartments have been completed at Belgravia Valley
comprising of up to two bedroom units varying between 35 and 67
m2 in size. Rent for these units range from US$ 66 to US$ 96 per
month. The multi-racial project is located within 15 kilometres
of the East London CBD. In time, it will contribute greatly towards
integrating the whole city into the programme.
A substantial part of the contract was given to a local, previously
disadvantaged contractor, with local manufacturers and suppliers
participating in the project. Thus, the US$ 3,412,308 project provided
a substantial boost for the "struggling" East London economy.
Back to top
Southeast Asia Local Solid Waste Improvement Project (SEALSWIP),
Vancouver
The goal was to demonstrate an integrated approach to urban sustainable
development by addressing social, economic and environmental issues
related to solid waste, and to involve all sectors as partners in
a participatory decision-making process. Six cities in South East
Asia were chosen: Hat Yai and Udon Thani in Thailand; Rantepao and
Makale in Indonesia; and Iloilo and Bacolod in the Philippines.
The objectives were: to address garbage issues across the entire
spectrum of the community - to improve the quality of life and livelihoods
of the scavengers and their children living on the dumpsites and
that of the junkers who buy and sell recyclable material; to help
the cities move from uncontrolled dumps to sanitary landfills; to
establish solid waste management plans; to introduce recycling and
composting programs; to introduce a multi-stakeholder decision making
process involving the private, public and civil sectors; and to
engage citizens and school children through public awareness campaigns.
The achievements reported here celebrate the success of four cities
(Bacolod, Udon Thani, Rantepao and Makale) that by 2002 had implemented
the project.
The results were practical - reducing and managing solid waste;
and profound - changing people's lives. Many of the outlined objectives
were met and the lessons were shared among participating cities
and others in the field in the three countries. The successful inclusion
of the complete range of economic, social and environmental aspects
in an integrated approach is the unique contribution of this project.
The practice improved governance, built local capacity and improved
solid waste management. This initiative has demonstrated that the
approach is widely replicable in cities in developing countries.
Back to top
Global Integration through Housing and Jobs, Brussels,
Belgium
A large proportion of the population residing in the European Union
is faced with unemployment, inadequate housing and lack of access
to urban services such as health care. Social housing providers
were faced with difficulties in providing sustainable housing with
a large number of people who lacked financial resources, skills
and jobs. There was a need to find partners to work with them on
issues such as debt mediation, training, job search and social support
as they are not in a position to provide all of these services alone.
The need for multidimensional and simultaneous responses to the
problems faced in housing, employment, skills training health and
social support prompted the establishment of IGLOO (Global Integration
through Housing and Jobs).
The objective of IGLOO is to encourage concerted action between
the relevant bodies for the adoption of efficient institutional
and legislative solutions at regional, national and European levels,
which are both economically viable and socially productive. The
main strategy was to integrate housing provision, social support
services, training and employment. IGLOO projects dovetail with
local employment initiatives in partnership with local authorities
who want to use house renovation and building contracts as an opportunity
to generate local jobs and act on social exclusion, homelessness
and substandard housing conditions. This is done by including a
social clause in the contract conditions of companies being awarded
public procurement contracts. The basic principle is that contractors
are required to hire local labour to carry out the contract works.
Social support and training are provided for the long-term unemployed.
The practice has been replicated in many cities around the world
including Catalonia, the U.K., Madrid, and Sainte Marguerite-sur-Duclair
creating jobs for many and providing shelter for those previously
homeless. With a permanent residence, seeking for employment was
easier with the assistance of the social support programmes.
Back to top
Mother Centre International Network /AG International,
Stuttgart, Germany
The Mother Centres International Network is the result of a grassroots
women's movement that started in Germany as a consequence of a research
project at the German Youth Institute in Munich. Following the economic
transition and war that was occuring in many countries in Central
and Eastern Europe, the role of civil society has been systematically
dismantled and family and neighbourhood networks destroyed. Unemployment,
war trauma and unprecedented poverty often led to disorientation
and retreat into depression and apathy.
Mother centres were created to address the needs of women and children
and recreate family and neighbourhod structures in the community
where modernisation in the West and totalitarian systems and war
in the East have destroyed them. They empower mothers and create
new channels for female participation and leadership in communities
and local governance. They are an innovative model on how to strengthen
civil society and democracy by revitalising neighborhoods and community
culture. They are melting pots in the community for women of diverse
class and ethnic backgrounds to meet and join forces to deal with
everyday life issues, to create community services and to rechannel
resources to the grassroots level. Mother centres are consulted
regularly by municipal agencies as well as by local, regional and
national governments. They advocate on gender and family issues
and have had impact on national legislation and urban planning .
The first three model Mother Centres were funded by the German
Government Department for Family Affairs. Following the transition
in Central and Eastern Europe Mother Centres were created from the
bottom up as self help initiatives in the Czech and Slovac Republics,
in Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia and Bosnia Herzegowina. World wide
there are now some 700 mother centers, including Africa and North
America. The centres operate as a switchboard for information, skills,
support and resources for every day life and survival issues. Depending
on their size and how long they have been working, mother centres
reach between 50 and 500 families in their neighbourhood and have
proven to be successful with training and job re-entry programmes
as well as creating new businesses and income generating opportunities.
Back to top
SYSLAB - Systems Laboratory for Innovation and Employment,
Norway
Prior to 1991, hundreds of highly qualified people living in Norway
were unemployed due to lack of job openings in the market place
and redundancy following restructuring processes. They were often
without any public or private means of assistance. SYSLAB (Systems
Laboratory of Innovation and Employment) prototyped at the Bergen
High-Technology Center, Norway was initially developed as a "workplace"
for unemployed academics. The Norwegian Ministry of Labour, the
Labour Authority in Hordaland County and the Municipality of Bergen
were consulted and contributed to the mobilization of resources
for 30 candidates who started a small "model company".
Formal training is provided in team building, communication, presentation
techniques, project development and entrepreneurship enhancing the
candidates' knowledge base and competence. The candidates are selected
from a multi-disciplinary, multi racial and gender balanced background
- including emigrants and refugees. They are given tasks to be executed
within the shortest time possible earning themselves work experience.
Meetings are arranged with company managers within the region, initiating
contact and forming relationships and in many cases, interviews
being carried out.
Since its inception in 1992, 400 projects have been initiated and
91% of the candidates in Norway obtained permanent employment within
4 months. In 1996, SYSLAB was licensed to CESI in France, in 1998
to SIF, Sweden, and UNDP/MRES in Moscow Oblast. Currently, preparations
are made for establishing SYSLAB in Lithuania. More than 1,500 people
have participated in SYSLABs throughout Europe. Of these more than
80 % have obtained permanent jobs within a 6-month period at SYSLAB.
SYSLAB candidates have to date started 100 new businesses.
Back to top
SODIS, Solar Water Disinfection, Dubendorf, Switzerland
The Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology
(EAWAG) challenged by the alarming statistics of disease infection
and death rates due to the lack of access to safe drinking water,
developed a very simple but extremely effective low-cost device
for water purification that can be applied worldwide. The priorities
were outlined with the rural population in developing countries
in mind. The new method for water purification had to produce safe
drinking water, be applicable at the household level, be simple
in application, rely on local resources and renewable energy and
be replicable with low investment costs.
Researchers carried out comprehensive laboratory and field-tests
to develop and test the effectiveness of SODIS - the device developed
for the purification of drinking water using solar energy. The principle
behind SODIS is that radiation in the spectrum of UV/A and increased
water temperature destroy pathogens that cause disease. A solar
radiation intensity of at least 500W/m2 is required over a period
of 5 hours for SODIS to be effective. To do this, all that is required
is a simple plastic container such as disposable mineral water bottles
with one side painted black and a cover to reduce the risk of re-contamination.
Through a massive publicity campaign, including demonstrations,
SODIS is in use in many developing countries where assessments have
shown a decrease in infection rates and drastic improvements in
children's nutritional status. Time and fuel consumption have been
saved and less effort is required in purifying water using traditional
means such as boiling. A survey carried out indicates that 84% of
current users appreciate the new technology and will continue to
use it in future. SODIS promotion and dissemination initiatives
and activities are in progress or have been initiated in Latin America,
Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Kenya, Liberia, Angola,
Mexico, Brazil amongst other developing nations.
Back to top
Solidarity in Literacy Programme, Brazil
The Solidarity in Literacy Programme was created in 1997 by the
Solidarity Community Council, a national forum for the development
of social actions based on partnerships between central government,
private organisations and civil society. The programme is managed
by a non-governmental organisation, the Association for the Support
of the Solidarity in Literacy Programme. The programme's objective
is to provide education to the illiterate at national level targeting
the regions with highest illiteracy rates and adopting a model to
meet the specific characteristics of each region.
The Programme's model is based on modules of semester literacy
training that take place through a simple alliance between the government,
civil society and the academic community that runs for 6 months.
One month is dedicated to the training of the literacy trainers
who are selected from within the community that will be served.
The other five months are used to offer classes to the illiterate
community.
By the end of 2001, 70% of the municipalities involved had increased
the number of student enrolment by 114%. The programme qualified
over 100,000 literacy trainers. The programme began in 38 municipalities
is currently working in 2,010 municipalities, which corresponds
to 45% of the Brazilian municipalities. The programme is being replicated
in East Timor, Sao Tome and Principe, and Mozambique.
Back to top
The Mangaung Municipality Experience, Bloemfontein, South
Africa
The Mangaung Local Municipality has implemented a system of participatory
governance through ward planning. The system of participatory governance
has assisted in the development of closer relationship with the
community. The plans were implemented in 43 wards of MLM and are
incorporated into the IDP, which is the strategic planning instrument.
The ward planning used by the municipality is yielding immense
results, particularly in the area of local economic development.
The planning assisted in collecting data on the levels, types and
numbers of economic activities, existing opportunities, and priorities
of the communities. The adapted version of the ward planning methodology
has been developed in Uganda and they have adopted it as national
policy.
Back to top
Livable Region Strategic Plan (LRSP) for the Greater Vancouver
Regional District, Canada
The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) had been experiencing
population growth from 750,000 in 1980 to 2,030,000 in 2002 increasing
pressure on green space, traffic congestion and resulting in declining
air quality. The 21 member municipalities of the Greater Vancouver
region brought various stakeholders together in a series of workshops
to develop the Livable Region Strategic Plan (LRSP). The LRSP provides
the framework for making regional land use and transportation decisions
in partnership with the GVRD's 21 member municipalities, the provincial
government and other agencies. The plan led to the establishment
of four goals: to protect the green zone; build complete communities;
achieve a compact metropolitan area; and increase transportation
choice and a regionally controlled and operated transit authority
(Greater Vancouver Regional Transit Authority) incorporating previously
independent entities. Implementation of the plan is integrated into
the budgets of the member municipalities through their official
community plans. As a result of this initiative, the protected green
zone has increased by approximately 60,000 hectares since 1991.
Air quality improvements have been significant as a result of reductions
in emissions from industry and vehicles. A key-contributing factor
to the success has been the formulation of a shared vision that
guides the development.
Through the Vancouver-based International Centre for Sustainable
Cities, established in 1993 as one of Canada's first Agenda 21 actions,
Canadian expertise and technology is being applied in practical
urban sustainability demonstration projects in the developing world,
notably China, Southeast Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.
Back to top
Local Agenda 21 Model Communities Program in Jinja, (LA
21 MCP), Uganda
Jinja is the second largest urban centre in Uganda and serves as
the principle urban centre and market for the Districts of Jinja,
Iganga, Kamuli, Mukono and Pallisa, which together accommodate over
2.0 million people. The existing Municipality of Jinja encompasses
an area of approximately 28 km square (2,800 hectares), and is strategically
located at the point where the River Nile flows out of Lake Victoria.
The town serves a catchment area of about 3.0 million people. The
increasing urbanization and development resulted in corresponding
demand and pressure on the environment that led to deterioration
in environmental conditions. The LA 21 MCP was initiated in 1995
to improve services to residents while protecting and improving
the natural environment in 14 select municipalities world-wide.
This programme involved the active participation of community members
and other stakeholders in problem identification, priority setting,
analysis and activation processes. Partnership building was one
of the main objectives of the programme and it began with the municipal
management identifying and inviting interested groups and institutions
in the Town. ICLEI, Canada played a major role in the initiation
and execution of the programme. Project appraisal contributed to
the planning process by assessing progress and putting in place
corrective measures. ICLEI provided technical guidance and feedback
on the activities such as community consultation, issue identification
and priority setting.
Back to top
Regional Network of Local Authorities for Management of
Human Settlements, Japan
Fast economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region in recent decades
has created huge metropolitan centers that are confronting both
national and local authorities with the challenge to adequately
provide services for their rapidly growing urban populations. In
order for local authorities to cope with this challenge, CITYNET
was created through an initiative of UN-ESCAP and several local
authorities in Asia and the Pacific.
CITYNET is a multi-actor network of urban local governments, development
authorities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Asia-Pacific
region. CITYNET acts as a facilitator at the regional level to promote
the exchange of expertise, information, and experiences among its
members based on TCDC (Technical Cooperation among Developing Cities).
CITYNET's mission is to act as a facilitator at the regional level
to promote the exchange of expertise, information, and experiences
among its members. The objectives of CITYNET are to strengthen the
capacities of local governments to effectively manage the urban
development process and to develop partnerships between various
actors at the local level for the success of participatory local
governance. CITYNET's ultimate goal is to help create people-friendly
cities that are socially just, ecologically sustainable, politically
participatory, economically productive, and culturally vibrant.
CITYNET attempts to build organisational self-reliance through its
members, consisting of 47 cities in Asia and the Pacific and 47
associate members, who all contribute financially to the Network.
It conducts regional workshops, seminars and training, documents
and disseminates urban development experiences, and develops regional
databank on members and their projects
Membership fees cover the organizational budget and bilateral and
multilateral donors such as the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) provide the programme funding. The strategy employed to make
CITYNET a success includes three key components: decentralization,
'bottom-up' approach and the empowerment of developing urban communities
which result in strengthening the local authorities and building
partnerships at local level for sustainable urban management.
CITYNET has grown from being an ESCAP's project whose existence
depended on funds provided by bilateral donors to becoming an independent
and viable institution. Its membership has grown from an initial
number of 12 members in 1987 to 94, with more than half of them
being local authorities from 17 countries. The number of activities
implemented doubled between 1987 and 1995, averaging 20 per year.
One of the main lessons learnt is that building partnerships between
local governments and communities changes the way decisions are
made hence contributing to sustainability of the initiative. For
instance, the involvement of various actors in local decision-making
was demonstrated by the case of Songkhla City, Thailand, where the
local government has set up an advisory board comprising various
stakeholders to make policy suggestions to the Mayor.
Back to top
ECOPROFIT, Graz, Austria
The ECOPROFIT programme was developed in Graz by the joint collaboration
of Environmental Department and the Technical University of the
city of Graz. Cleaner Production Centre Austria (CPC Austria) was
founded to promote exchange of experiences and lessons learned.
The main task of the production centre is the further development
and quality assurance of ECOPROFIT. ECOPROFIT, public private partnership
programme for sustainable development, has as its main areas of
activities finding measures for reducing environment hazards and
achieving cost-effectiveness within these measures.
The objective of the initiative is to transfer of ECOPROFIT's ideology
to other cities so that the cities can benefit from the success
of ECOPROFIT. The CPC Austria disseminates and trains companies
on ECOPROFIT's concepts, ensures quality and runs the international
ECOPROFIT network. The transfer of knowledge is carried out by experts
who train consultants and representatives of the municipality in
the ECOPROFIT academy of the CPC Austria. The human resource is
mobilized from the companies and the municipality to assist in project
management. Consultants train representatives of the companies and
offer consultancy services within participating companies. The financial
resources, which are estimated to be about US$ 100,000 for consultants,
project management, training and quality assurance for an ECOPROFIT
project, come from the municipality and other companies.
The strategies used for replicating ECOPROFIT were the compilation
of a document with examples to make the programme transferable for
the regional adaptation of these papers. In addition, the ECOPROFIT's
concept is marketed worldwide through the mass media and partners'
network. One of the strategies that have made ECOPROFIT so successful
is that consultants, authorities and companies work together as
partners.
ECOPROFIT has shown remarkable results in reduction of emissions
and increase of resource-efficiency with company-measures that lead
to cost-effectiveness. Currently, there are more than 1,000 companies
in about 50 cities around the world participating in the programme.
In 2001, CPC Austria started a promotion tour in central and eastern
European countries with about 200 contacts to national, regional
and local governments. All these institutions are implementing ECOPROFIT
as a best practice model for sustainable development. In addition,
105 companies in 38 different branches that participated in the
last 10 years achieved cost effectiveness of 22 million Euros and
an economic growth of up to 15% per year with municipal assistance
of about 1.5 million Euros and company costs of about 0.75 million
Euros. They achieved a reduction of eco-related expenses for energy,
water, waste, emissions of up to 70%. In Graz, 53 companies from
30 different branches with a total of 18,500 employees and a turnover
of US$ 3 billion have participated in the project. ECOPROFIT contributed
substantially to elimination of smog.
Consultants and representatives of local authorities are trained
on the job at the ECOPROFIT academy and workshops are organised
for companies to transfer knowledge in cooperation with the consultants.
Simultaneously these qualified employees of the companies form an
internal ECOPROFIT team to plan and implement action plans in their
respective companies in partnership with consultants. ECOPROFIT
helps municipalities as a control mechanism for the implementation
of sustainable structures, supports the realization of Local Agenda
21 objectives to realize Kyoto targets and helps to secure the compliance
of the OECD guidelines and the "Global Compact" of the
UN secretary general office. ECOPROFIT stimulates a change in technology
and production patterns towards sustainability in the companies.
Back to top
The Sustainable Dar-es-Salaam Project, Tanzania
Dar-es-Salaam is the industrial and commercial centre for Tanzania
with an estimated population of 2.5 million people and growing at
approximately 8% per annum. The development of the city had not
been coordinated despite the preparation of a number of master plans.
As a result the city faced environmental deterioration due to inadequate
urban infrastructure and services. The aim of SDP therefore was
to manage the growth and development of Dar-es-Salaam by strengthening
local capacity to plan, coordinate and manage environment/development
interactions and preparing a long term dynamic and integrated development
plan and investment strategy. It is sponsored by the UNDP and implemented
by the Dar-es-Salaam City Council.
Some of the great impacts of the initiatives include increased
collection of solid waste from 30 to 300 tonnes /day, regular and
faster emptying of pit latrines has benefited 24,000 people in a
neighborhood, which consequently dried up 80% of the roads. Some
1,115 meters of stormwater drainage and 690 m. of murram have been
constructed in an unplanned neighborhood. Living conditions of some
5000 people has improved. The Initiative has coordinated a reorganization
of bus routes and city center bus terminals to improve public transport,
benefiting 40,000 passengers and lastly, 120,000 people benefited
from community redevelopment and management of open spaces.
The SDP project attracts funds from other sources to implement
action plans. Operation and maintenance costs of the project are
being integrated into the annual budget cycles for financial sustainability.
All the projects within the SDP are geared towards revenue generation
within the city council increasing the council's financial capacity.
Working groups proposals and strategies are integrated into routine
council functions to ensure institutional sustainability while investment
proposals on environmental issues are encouraging greater environmental
sustainability.
The Government of Tanzania initiated a programme to extend to nine
other cities the successful experience of the Sustainable Dar es
Salaam Project (SDP), which had been implemented as part of the
Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) of UNCHS. National replication
was seen as a city-to-city exercise, using staff with experience
in the SDP to help support similar SCP activities in the other cities.
The replication programme has progressed steadily with most of the
nine cities having also attracted additional international support.
The ability of the replication cities to learn from the prior experience
of Dar es Salaam was seen as a considerable advantage, especially
in the early stages. The manpower resources available from Dar es
Salaam were insufficient for the task of supporting nine cities
and had to be supplemented with a national-level support unit. The
building up of direct links among the nine cities helped as well,
by providing a direct peer-to-peer C2C network for information exchange
and comparison of experience.
Back to top
Sustainable Development and Local Agenda-21 in Panevezys,
Lithuania
The city of Panevezys has adopted a series of concomitant action
plans aimed at improving the social, economic and environmental
aspects of the city. One of the programme involves a city-to-city
collaboration between Panevezys and sister cities in Sweden and
Germany. Exchange programmes include transfer of technical expertise
and knowledge by local authorities. This exchange also includes
awareness building and campaign on good urban governance.
The Panevezys Municipality sought and developed tools for co-operation
and networking with local businesses, recognising the important
role that the private sector plays in global, national and local
economies and the opportunities this provides for a more sustainable
future. The Agenda-21 campaign encourages consumers to pay more
for environmentally less harmful goods. This in turn increases their
demand and companies start producing them at cheaper prices.
The Local AGENDA-21 process is inclusive taking into account the
views of the minority groups. The unemployed young people and have
since expressed interest to participate in the campaign. The Youth
of Panevezys were active stakeholders of the city's AGENDA-21. A
number of initiatives were launched and followed through in partnership
with youth from Kalmar and Nacka in Sweden.
A one-stop information center has been established to cater for
the city's residents. The center is host to a number of information
booths which showcase environmental friendly technologies, alternative
energy sources and usage, programmes for youth activities and crime
prevention strategies and methods. The youth, residents, private,
and public sector can now access important information about Local
AGENDA-21 activities, projects and programmes. This has spurn interest
in all sectors and there is increased stakeholder participation
in Local AGENDA-21 activities.
The sustainability and clean technologies thrust of the AGENDA-21
campaign focuses on the major companies in the city. The largest
companies namely Heating Company, JS Company "Ekranas",
"The glass factory", JSC "Pieno zvaigzdes",
the companies - producers of furniture, and food industries have
formulated their own local AGENDA-21 by embracing cleaner production
technologies (by establishing latest ISO and EMAS standards).
The city has also introduced a car-free day that is commemorated
monthly. This was a follow-up campaign after establishing 120 km
for the bicycle tracks, more open spaces and improved parking lots
for the bicycles. In addition infrastructure provision has improved
considerably with most residents being connected to water supply
and a corresponding improvement in drainage and sewerage systems.
The pre-sorting and composting of organic waste has greatly boosted
the environmental management aspect of the Local AGENDA-21 campaign.
The resulting compost is used to create "green islands"
in the city.
Back to top
|
