In Romania, the Local Agenda 21 (LA21) process is crucial in linking national and local levels in promoting sustainable development at all levels. The LA21 process delivers the messages and practices of sustainable development to the local level. It also serves as a mechanism in assuring that citizens play an active and meaningful role in Romania’s economic recovery and development. It also provides an avenue for implementing MEAs, particularly where local implementation is essential to an MEA’s success.
In 1999, Romania adopted a long-term National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) and subsequently prepared a National Action Plan for implementing the NSDS and introducing the LA21 process in the country.
In Romania, the LA21 process is a partnership of institutions at the local, national, and international levels. The key partners are the Ministry of Waters and Environment Protection; Ministry of Public Administration; Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Housing; Ministry of Development and Planning; Romanian Federation of Municipalities; and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Together, these institutions promote LA21 through the “National Center for Sustainable Development” Project (NCSD), and all of the institutions are part of the National Steering Committee for Local Agenda 21. The National Steering Committee guides the LA21 process, enhances opportunities for mobilizing resources and information, and coordinates the LA21 efforts of national and international organisations and donors. The NCSD also supports the training and cooperation of the different stakeholders, assists the elaboration and implementation of LA21 Pilot Projects in thirteen counties, and ensures the dissemination of the information and best practices.
As a pilot test, LA21 processes were conducted for nine municipalities initially (Targu Mures, Oradea, Iasi, Ramnicu Valcea, Ploiesti, Galati, Giurgiu, Miercurea Ciuc, and Baia Mare). During the 2004-2007 period, LA21 will be extended to 50 municipalities.
Local Agenda 21 seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Government and the public, particularly at the local level, to adopt principles of sustainable development into national and local development strategies and action plans, as well as to promote local participatory development planning and LA21 processes. The LA21 process emphasises capacity building, and it includes seven stages for elaborating and implementing LA21s. These stages are:
- Stage 1: Establish the organisational and technical framework of the LA21 projects in the pilot cities. This stage includes the launch of: Local LA21 Secretariats (to coordinate work, provide information, and serve as a link between citizen groups and municipal governments); Local Steering Committees (voluntary bodies that provide direction and set priorities for the projects); and Working Groups (consisting of experts from different fields and sectors that identify priority issues for a LA21 project to address).
- Stage 2: Provide training for members of the Secretariat and the coordinating national organisation to help them manage the LA21 projects.
- Stage 3: Prepare Local Agenda 21 Strategies and Implementation Plans for the cities, based on the Working Group recommendations, through a multi-stakeholder participatory process.
- Stage 4: Awareness campaigns. Each pilot city publishes and disseminates a leaflet that presented details of the LA21 process, including the management structure. A card is contained in each leaflet, which the public can fill in and return (postage paid) to the Local Secretariat. In this way, opinions and ideas from the members of the community can be taken in consideration in the process of designing future development strategies at the local level.
- Stage 5: Participatory process. The LA21 draft produced by the Working Groups is disseminated widely (in electronic format, hard copy, and through the media) in the pilot cities, providing all members of the community the possibility to express their opinions, ideas, and criticisms. Their comments and recommendations were taken into account in the final LA21.
- Stage 6: Provide training for all interested local participants in the LA21 process to help them implement the strategies and manage the first micro-pilot projects.
- Stage 7: Selecting and implementing the first micro-pilot projects to demonstrate local capacities to manage LA21 projects.
The LA21 process has promoted local participation in planning and implementation. It also has facilitated communication by sharing results, lessons learnt, and best practices to improve and broaden the scope of development strategies and action plans. The LA21s grew from local needs and ideas, and the product is evidence of their efforts, energy, and enthusiasm. The LA21 process follows the principle of “thinking globally and acting locally,” and it establishes a bottom-up link between the local needs and national trends. This creates an enabling environment for implementing MEAs and for realizing sustainable development in the country.
For more information, see http://www.mappm.ro or http://www.undp.or or contact either legis2@mappm.ro or sdnp@sdnp.ro