Institutional and Policy-Oriented Tools

The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)–Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of local governments implementing sustainable development.  Its mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments to achieve tangible improvements in global sustainability with special focus on environmental conditions through cumulative local actions. Its Local Agenda 21 Campaign raises awareness on some of these issues through a set of links to relevant projects, regional programs and networks, cases and newsletters.

Environmental Strategies for Cities is a Web Page developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning and the Thematic Group for Services to the Urban Poor, World Bank, with the support of Cities Alliance.  It calls for cities to initiate environmental management programs. It is targeted toward urban policy analysts, decision-makers, planners, and managers, as well as to the environmental community at large and international agencies. This site offers policy frameworks and tools (tip: look under Tools) to implement techniques for environmental management in urban settings.

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) based on its framework of Inter-dimensional Analysis of Urban Development presents a section dedicated to expanding the notion of Environmental Planning and Management by linking environmental assessments of local policies and programs to poverty reduction and basic services provision.  The following link provides access to a set of papers and best practices relevant to the topic.  The DFID introduces other  Environmental Planning frameworks such as the Ecological Footprint and Sustainability and Local Agenda 21 supported by cases and best practices as well, which can be found here.

"The Urban Environment and Participatory Planning in Quitos' Barrios Populares". Pitkin, B. UCLA Advanced Policy Institute (1997). 

This paper describes the experience of participatory environmental assessment and planning for solving environmental problems as part of the SIPSEP (Servicios Integrales Para Sectores Populares) project in Quito, Ecuador. 

"Localising Agenda 21 in Nakuru". Wakely, P. and You, N.  Implementing the Habitat Agenda: In Search of Urban Sustainability. (2001).  

This paper, presents the experience of Localising Agenda 21 in Nakuru. It illustrates the scope for translating a strategic vision into concrete actions and for developing institutional structures that coordinate the various groups involved in urban governance. Nakuru town is the fourth largest settlement in Kenya and the administrative centre for the Rift Valley Province. The town is an agricultural and industrial centre, and a tourist destination famous for its flamingos.

"Durban's Local Agenda 21 Programme: Tackling Sustainable Development in a Post-apartheid City". Roberts, D. and Nicci, D. (2002). Environment & Urbanization, Vol. 1 No. 1. IIED.

This paper describes Durban's Local Agenda 21 programme which has been at the forefront of the Local Agenda 21 movement in Southern Africa since the mid-1990s. The paper also outlines the difficulties faced in localizing the sustainable development concept in Durban, key among them the challenge of establishing the programme during a period of local government transformation and restructuring. 

"Local Agenda 21 in Kaunas" presented by the Best Practices Database from the UN-Habitat and Together Foundation (2000 Submission).

This case  from the UN-Habitat Best Practices database presents the achievements of implementing Local Agenda 21and the development of an Environmental Policy for the city of Kaunas, Lithuania.  (Source: www.bestpractices.org).

"Sustainable City Development Through Innovative Practices, LA-21 and EMS (Ukraine)" presented by the Best Practices Database from the UN-Habitat and Together Foundation (2004 Submission).

This best practice summarizes the initiatives, within the framework of sustainability, undertaken in Nikolaev, a city that has survived after the former Soviet Union disintegration.   Its presents the main lessons from implementing an Environmental Policy and Management Systems.    (Source: www.bestpractices.org).

"Cities for Climate Protection Programme (South Africa)" presented by the Best Practices Database from the UN-Habitat and Together Foundation (2004 Submission).

The following case presents the results achieved by the city of Potchefstroom in South Africa,  as it joined the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Programme of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in 2001.  This best practice presents how the program offers an alternative to develop a strategic agenda to reduce Green House Gas emissions.  (Source: www.bestpractices.org).

The following are case summaries that illustrate a range of policy approaches used by local governments to improve water efficiency and water quality, increase access to proper sanitation, sustainable dispose of sewage waste, provide citizens with sustainable and affordable housing, integrate informal settlements in the city, and improve air quality. The experiences of these countries from different regions are examples of the key role local governments can play in achieving goals within the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.  (Source: ICLEI).

The European Good Practice Information Service is a guide to sustainable good practice operated by the EURONET / ICLEI Consortium and developed with the financial support of the European Commission.   It provides two main services (search for cases and policy documents) aimed to benefit urban environment professionals, city managers and administrators, as well as elected representatives in cities, who are working to develop sustainability initiatives.    http://www3.iclei.org/egpis/    Source for cases in Europe  and Source of Policy Documents 

"Localising Agenda 21 in small cities in Kenya, Morocco and Vietnam". Tuts, R.  (1999).  Presented at the International Workshop on Concepts and Paradigms or Urban Management in the Context of Developing Countries in Vienna.   

The paper first explains the focus of the Program (Localizing Agenda 21) within a world-wide Local Agenda 21 movement.  It highlights two  methodological cornerstones of the Program: the strategic structure planning approach and the capacity-building strategy. It then follows a description of the contexts and thematic action plans in three cities in Kenya, Morocco and Vietnam, incorporating a discussion on limitations and constraints posed by the contexts. The paper ends by drawing lessons which were learned while supporting cities to localise Agenda 21. 

"Environmental Management and Community Participation: Enhancing Local Programmes". International Environmental Technology Centre.  United Nations Environment Program (2004).

This document outlines the mutually reinforcing benefits of environmental management and community participation at the level of a city or urban area. The content is based on work done by UNEP-IETC in the Asia-Pacific region on the themes of environmental management systems and ISO 14001, community studies, urban management and the inter-linkages of environmental issues.

"Urban Land Management and Global Sustainability"  Gilbert, R., Wood, H. and  Brugmann, J. (2000).  The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.  

This paper highlights the critical contribution of urban land use to global sustainability trends. The paper has been prepared to inform discussions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, 8th Session, on the topic of "Integrated Planning and Management of Land Resources."  The document  reviews the impact of urban land use upon global sustainable development, the workings of urban land markets, including the mechanisms of urban land management, regulation and summarizes the key barriers to sustainable planning and management of urban land resources.

"Choosing Environmental Policy Tools: Theoretical Cautions and Practical Considerations" Powell,  P. T. and Russell, C.  S. Inter-American Development Bank. (1996).

Other publications by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) on Environmental Policy including topics such as: policy instruments to implementing environmental regulations, use of economic methods to value the environment, economic analysis applied to environmental pillars of this toolkit and environmental management.  Documents are relevant to Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Moving Towards Local Agenda 21 in Rufisque, Senegal". Gaye, M., Diouf, L. and Keller N. (2001).  Local Agenda 21 Series working paper 6.  (Also Printed in Environment & Urbanization, 13-2, October 2001). IIED. 

The Guide to Implementing Local Environmental Action Programs (LEAPs) in Central and Eastern Europe has been developed by the Institute for Sustainable Communities in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Center (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe to support local governments in order to fulfill their environmental responsibilities. The Guide explores how LEAPs can be launched at the community level; describes how to assess environmental issues and set environmental priorities; and explains how to implement selected actions and monitor and evaluate LEAPs results.  (Source: REC)

The Environmental Planning and Management Guide Book, an output of the Sustainable Cities Programme, presents a guide, through lessons of experience, to implementing approaches for urban environmental management, including policy and decision-making frameworks to deal more effectively with the problems of urban development and environment. (Source: GDRC).