After introducing key notions about sustainable development and local Agenda 21 in the context of international literature and outlined the implementation process of Local Agenda 21 on a global and European level, the report proposes a typology for Local Agenda 21 procedures and analyses the situation in the Walloon Region. A survey has been carried out on sustainable development practices and on the implementation of the local Agendas 21 in Walloon municipalities. So far few Walloon municipalities have implemented Agendas 21. Starting from these findings the report suggests ways that should help to implement it. It also analyses how major Walloon economic and political partners conceive of sustainable development.

At the Rio de Janeiro conference in 1992 the international community issued a number of commitments that define on a global level a new model for development: sustainable development. Chapter 28 of the Rio Agenda 21 urges local communities to implement their own agendas, which would give a concrete content to the Rio objectives through participative and local actions. In the Walloon Region Local Agenda 21 has not so far been given a legal basis and is not largely promoted either. Through this research project the Walloon Region intends to promote a better understanding of the notion of sustainable development and to foster its implementation through measures that can actually be taken by Walloon municipalities.

 Various methodologies have been called upon:
• Documentary approach on sustainable development and Local Agenda 21 at an international level, on what major Walloon economic and political partners have written on sustainable development at the regional level.
• Survey form sent to 262 Walloon municipalities (160 answers)
• Documentary approach on methodologies used to implement a local Agenda 21
• Comments on adequacy to the Walloon context, in which several instruments of strategic orientation already exist, though not specifically aimed at sustainable development.

The survey inquiry shows that most municipalities know very little about the notion of the Local Agenda 21 and even if they do, they are only very rarely committed to such a procedure (fewer than 10 municipalities). 10 % of them claim that they now intend to enter the process. Those who mostly wish to initiate the project are higher education graduates. The influence of new professions such as those of eco-advisers or local development agents can also be perceived. Small-size municipalities (under 10,000 inhabitants) are not as keen to enter the process. It appears from the experience of municipalities that have experimented a procedure similar to that of Local Agenda 21 that key factors for success are the active involvement of the Mayor and of elected representatives, the presence of someone in charge of the project in the municipality, a sound communication and a good training of all people involved in the municipality. The major difficulties highlighted by respondents are deficient information on the notion and on its implementation, insufficient financial resources, absence of interest from elected representatives and municipal personnel, insufficient expertise and lack of interest among the population. This being said, we can note a number of municipal actions related to sustainable development, most of them being sponsored and/or funded by the Walloon Region.
Proposals to further Local Agenda 21 in the Walloon Region target the following objectives: remedy the absence of conceptual references, agree on a definition of sustainable development, provide a "toolkit" (included in the project), assess existing strategic instruments in relation to a sustainable development strategy, without setting up any new instrument develop a labelling process for municipalities that are active in a sustainable development process.

Conférence Permanente du Développement Territorial (CPDT- Permanent Conference on Territorial Development), Walloon Region.
Belgium
http://cpdt.wallonie.be
Mss. Dominique-Paule Decoster (GUIDE-ULB) (Professor at the Free University Brussels), tel. +32 2 650 92 71

//2005

Dominique-Paule Decoster, Pierre Fontaine, Joëlle Piraux, Zofia Rosinski, Frédérique Vissers (GUIDE-ULB), Marie-Laurence De Keersmaecker, Helen Barthe Batsalle, Raphaëlle Harou (CREAT-UCL)

research

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Environmental sustainability