Estratègies per al desenvolupament sostenible - Generalitat de ...

uild consensus regarding its scope and content, and to monitor its development,implementation and impact. The composition and procedures of this bodyconstitute the “heart” of the strategy. This is credible if the Board is seen to bea reflection of society and not an expression of political and interested groups.It must be presided by a person of acknowledged impartiality. It is recommendedthat wherever National SD Councils have been set up, these should work asBoards of Management for Strategy.The main tasks of the Board of Management include: (1) promoting acceptanceof the need for the strategy in political circles and, among agents, the benefitsto be derived from participation; (2) supervision of the strategy as a whole; (3)assuming responsibility for the nomination and performance of the Secretariat;(4) reviewing the major evidence of the problems and potential of sustainabledevelopment; (5) reviewing the main technical and political options; (6)recommending or taking political decisions as appropriate; (7) reviewing andapproving, or submitting to the government when appropriate, the maindocuments of strategy.3.4. For the strategy to be effective it needs the necessary political commitment,both on a national (Parliament, Government) and a local scale. For this to occur,it is very important that the mandate for implementing the strategy should bevery firmly established or confirmed. The mandate must be public and proceedfrom a body with strong authority and legitimacy (the President’s mandatesupported by unanimous agreement or a large parliamentary majority is ideal).Otherwise the Board of Management is unlikely to be able to maintain contactswith all the agents involved and achieve the necessary commitment and resources.Sustainable development involves the taking of decisions that transform society.This cannot be done without regard for politics. There are two dangers: thatstrategies should be the dreams of technocrats or that sustainability as anaddress should become an exercise in public relations. The acid test is for thestrategy to be specified in short-term strategic actions. It does, however, requirelong-term political commitment in order to avoid the risk of the strategy beingabandoned when governments change. Clearly, the more intense and broaderthe range of agents (including political opposition parties) committed to thestrategy, the greater the guarantee of its continuity, without affecting its adaptationto the preferences of each government.136