Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is a developmental and environmental action program for the 21st century, a Guidance Paper on Sustainable Development, adopted by 172 countries at the Conference on the Environment and the United Nations Development (UNCED ) in Rio de Janeiro (1992). This conference was attended by government representatives, many non-governmental organizations. Sustainable development - and thus the Agenda 21 - in many places become the guideline public action. Your community is implementing the Local Agenda 21

Content

With the development concept of sustainable development (English sustainable development ) to meet the needs of the present generation are met by a change in economic, environmental and development policies, without compromising the opportunities of future generations. In terms of sustainable development, economic policy, and thus the energy, agricultural and trade policies need to be adjusted in the industrialized countries, as the industrialized countries consume much more resources in relation to the total population. In emerging and developing countries, the Agenda 21 refers more to fight poverty, population, education, health, drinking water supply and sanitation, sewerage, solid waste disposal, and rural development.

Basically, the Local Agenda 21 criteria (economy, environment, sustainability ) are applicable to medical issues so that medicine is only socially. In a citizen- oriented medicine is therefore speaks of a Social Agenda 21 enabled medical if the criteria: economy, ecology, sustainability are met.

Agenda 21 includes 359 pages and is divided into 40 chapters, which in turn can be divided into four sections:

Agenda 21 was agreed as a package of measures that primarily appeals to international organizations and national governments; but also all other levels of government have been asked to act in accordance with these objectives. Chapter 28 ( " initiatives of local authorities in support of Agenda 21") many of the global problems are best solved at the local level. Under the slogan " Think globally - act locally! " Therefore every municipality of the 178 signatory countries is called, its own (local) agenda to work out 21.

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg ( 2002), the representatives of the local authorities after 10 years only mediocre success of " Local Agenda 21", the next ten years to reinforce the implementation of the "Agenda 21" targets by " local action at 21" - campaigns.

Implementation in Germany

In Germany there are currently (as of September 2006) in more than 2,600 communities decisions to develop a Local Agenda 21, which means that an agenda towards sustainability is to be developed at the local level.

At the national level in 2001 by the then Federal Government Council for Sustainable Development (short for Sustainable Development ) was established. The committee consists of 15 members of the public. The Council's responsibilities include the development of contributions for the implementation of national sustainable development strategy, the specification of concrete fields of action and projects and sustainability to make a major public concern.

The federal government adopted the National Strategy for Sustainable Development in April 2002. In the program, the results of consultations of social groups and of the Council for Sustainable Development proposals have been incorporated. The strategy formulated primarily a model of sustainable development, based on the objectives and indicators. In progress reports, the strategy was developed.

The central steering committee of the sustainability policy of the Federal Government is the State Secretaries' Committee for Sustainable Development.

One of the first large-scale pilot projects for the implementation of Agenda 21 in Germany was excellent by the Federal President Roman Herzog national project that Altmühtal Agenda 21 project (1995-1998 ) at the Catholic University of Eichstätt -Ingolstadt, which performed over 100 measures in 25 project areas were.

Implementation in Austria

In Austria, the action 21 was founded in 2006 as an umbrella organization for citizens' initiatives, whose names are inspired by the Agenda 21. It aims to implement an effective popular participation in municipal planning and projects that make a sustainable impact on the quality of urban life. The long term, changes in respect of the city constitutions are sought.

Criticism

Agenda 21 is also criticized in some areas. Main criticisms are the divergence between vision and reality, lack of transparency in the Agenda goals and the implementation process, using ambiguous buzzwords, lack of democratic processes, working with large corporations, a failure to consider nuclear and genetic engineering and globalization, and the adherence to the " growth ideology. "