Institutional and Policy-Oriented Tools

While we hope you might find the links below of interest, please note the World Bank is not responsible for the content of the following websites.

Organizations and Knowledge Sources

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.

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 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.

"Localising Agenda 21 in Nakuru" (pdf file). 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" (pdf file). 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.

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" (pdf file). 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" (pdf file). 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.

"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.

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.

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: Global Development Research Center).