The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide - Democrats Against UN ...

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The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide in four goal areas. These four areas and examples of action recommended in the agenda follow: ENVIRONMENTAL LIFESTYLES Citizens: Switch off the pilot light of the boiler. Avoid disposable paper products. Business/Government: Use air-conditioner/heater efficiently. Introduce cleaner vehicles. SUSTAINABLE CITIES Citizens: Protect and plant greenery. Local Government: Surface roads with water-permeable pavement. Business: Surround factories and offices with greenery. ENVIRONMENTALLY SYMBIOTIC SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEM Citizens: Reduce the amount of industrial waste. Local Government: Form a comprehensive strategy for waste reduction and resource recycling. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION Citizens: Learn more about developing countries’ issues. Local Government: Promote environmental cooperation with sister states/cities. One of the key features of Agenda 21 Kanagawa is its quantitative approach to target setting. Concrete, measurable targets for each of its action proposals are provided (e.g., “reduce electricity use 10 percent”). The estimated result of each action is calculated based on simulated data, translating the effects of each action into easy-to-understand terms such as “equivalent of four days’ energy http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (98 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM
The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide output from all the power stations in Kanagawa would be saved.” Quantifying the results of actions proposed by a Local Agenda 21 is important to gain public support and action. Kanagawa officials emphasize the need to keep concepts and objectives clear for the general public. Accordingly, the expected results of individual efforts should be expressed in easy-to-understand terms, such as “number of trees saved.” In January 1993, the Prefecture hosted the Kanagawa Conference for the Promotion of Global Environmental Protection. Representatives of each sector that took part in the Agenda 21 Kanagawa building process attended the conference. It was here that Agenda 21 Kanagawa was formally adopted as the new action guidelines for global environmental protection. The conference participants were instituted as the permanent Agenda 21 Kanagawa oversight body to monitor the progress of the Agenda’s implementation. The former Interdepartmental Liaison Committee was also institutionalized as a permanent new addition to the Prefectural Government and renamed the Kanagawa Council for Global Environmental Protection. Agenda Implementation As a result of the creation of Agenda 21 Kanagawa, members of the public and private sector have become involved in a variety of activities to support its goals and promote sustainable development. Prefectural citizens’ groups have been implementing volunteer activities such as tree planting, the recycling of cans, bottles, milk cartons, and used clothing, the recycling of used cooking oil into soap, “environment-watch” activities to check the state of the environment in their own neighborhoods, and the hosting of environmental festivals. Local businesses have hosted a series of environmental training seminars, are working to develop a framework for environmental auditing, and have provided financial support to a variety of public events and projects. The Prefecture has implemented some 52 projects relating to Agenda 21 Kanagawa with a total budget of US$149 million. A “Household Edition” of Agenda 21 Kanagawa has been published and distributed throughout the Prefecture. A comprehensive study of the environmental activities of local businesses was conducted and a Manual for Corporate Environmental Action was developed especially for small and medium enterprises. The Prefecture also supports the activities of citizens and non-governmental organizations in a variety of ways, such as through direct financial support and the provision of information, facility space, and/or technical expertise. Specific large scale projects undertaken as the result of the Agenda 21 Kanagawa have included the construction of model “ecohousing” developments that are designed to conserve energy, and make use of rainwater and recycled materials. Currently, over one hundred of these units have been completed and are in use. To reduce the burden on the waste water treatment and storm water system and increase the replenishment of groundwater in the urban environment, the Prefecture decided to use a water-permeable pavement on prefectural roads. Already, 30 kilometers of roadways have been surfaced with the new substance. Another major new development was the creation of a Prefecture-wide system for the recovery and destruction of ozone depleting CFCs. Through the cooperation of private enterprise and local municipalities, a system was implemented in which municipalities collect CFC-containing wastes such as refrigerators from households and businesses, and recover the CFCs with the appropriate equipment. The Prefecture then collects the tanks of CFCs and delivers them to a centralized CFC demolition facility operated by the national government. The Prefecture also has set up a subsidy system to provide funds for the purchase of non-CFC equipment. The conservation of tropical forests is another major area of action. The Prefecture has set a target to reduce the consumption of tropical timber for public construction works by 70 percent over a three-year period, and is working with local businesses and researchers to develop alternative materials and construction methods to reduce the widespread practice of using such timber for concrete moldings. A new foundation was implemented by the Prefecture, which works actively in the developing world on projects to protect and restore tropical forests. In the field of international cooperation, the Prefecture has decided to investigate the possibility of engaging in environmental cooperation projects with its sister states in the developing world. Kanagawa has also set up a “people-to-people cooperation system” to educate people about developing world issues and support citizens’ initiatives for development assistance. In October 1993, Kanagawa established the new International Ecology Center as a base for research and international cooperation efforts for sustainable development. The center is engaged in research on tropical forest restoration and has a number of projects in progress in the Sarawak of Malaysia and other Southeast Asian nations. http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (99 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM
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