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1. Definition
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Name
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LOCAL
AGENDA 21
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Brief
definition
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Percentage
of municipalities which have adopted and implemented
Local Agenda 21
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Unit
of measure
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%
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2.
Position within the logical framework DPSIR
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Type
of Indicator
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Response
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3.
Target and political pertinence
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Objective
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This
ratio provides an indication of the community efforts
to improve sustainable policies and measures with
a participatory approach.
|
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Importance
with respect to desertification
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The
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
promotes an innovative approach, enhancing full participation
and involvement of affected populations and local
communities, i.e. civil societies and non-governmental
organisations, in the implementation process of the
UNCCD. It is based on the principle that policies
and projects should involve the groups affected by
them from the beginning to the end. Not only is this
a fundamental principle of democratic government at
every level, it is the chief guarantee of success.
Local Agenda 21 (LA21) is a policy initiative aimed
at encouraging local authorities to promote more environmentally,
socially and economically sustainable communities.
Communities implementing LA21 improve institutional
capacity and capability, both public and private,
in order to evaluate and address the crucial questions
related to policy choices and modes of implementation
among development options, based on an understanding
of environmental potentials and limits and of needs
as perceived by the people of the country concerned.
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International
Conventions and agreements
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One
of the key commitments in the UNCCD is the use of
a bottom-up and participatory approach focusing on
actions at the local level with supportive measures
at other levels and streamlining the use of human,
financial and technical resources to combat desertification.
This issue is included in Agenda 21, Chapter 23, which
calls for broad public participation in decision making
as a fundamental prerequisite for the achievement
of sustainable development. (Charter of European Cities
and Towns Towards Sustainability, The Aalborg Charter,
approved by the participants at the European Conference
on Sustainable Cities & Towns in Aalborg, Denmark
on 27 May 1994.)
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Secondary
objectives of the indicator
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Evaluation
of investments to improve sustainable development.
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4.
Methodological description and basic definitions
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Definitions
and basic concepts
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Agenda
21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally,
nationally and locally by organizations of the United
Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every
area in which human impacts on the environment. Action
plans at the local level comprise Local Agenda 21
|
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Benchmarks
Indication of the values/ranges of value
|
|
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Methods
of measurement
|
The
indicator is calculated by dividing the number of
municipalities that have adopted and implemented Local
Agenda 21 by the total number of municipalities of
the area and expressed as a percentage.
|
|
Limits
of the indicator
|
The
indicator does not show the effective effort of the
community in quantitative and qualitative ways, in
their implementation of Local Agenda 21.
|
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Linkages
with other indicators
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5.
Evaluation of data needs and availability
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Data
required to calculate the indicator
|
Number
of municipalities that have adopted and implemented
Local Agenda 21. Number of municipalities included
in the area.
|
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Data
sources
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National
data are available from national statistical offices
and country publications. http://www.sustainable-cities.org/sub1.html
shows a list of all European local and regional authorities
that have joined the Campaign by signing up to the
Aalborg Charter.
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Availability
of data from national and international sources
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http://www.sustainable-cities.org
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6.
Institutions that have participated in developing the indicator
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Main
institutions responsible
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University
of Basilicata, Italy
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Other
contributing organizations
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Universities
of Lisbon, Murcia, Athens
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7.
Additional information
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Bibliography
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Action
Towards Local Sustainability (European Project for
local government et al): http://www.sustainability.org/
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Other
references
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Contacts
Name and address
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University
of Basilicata
Prof Giovanni Quaranta
email: quaranta@unibas.it
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