To assist local authorities in all regions in actually implementing the Local Agenda 21 plans that they developed and to provide both technical assistance and limited financial support to concrete, practical projects which meet the objectives and commitments in a community's Local Agenda 21.

To increase international accountability among local authorities to address the global level challenges addressed in Agenda 21, such as achieving greater equity in the living standards between rich and poor and protecting the global "commons".

To promote public education and debate, through joint action, about the political, ethical, and technical complexities of sustainable development.

To encourage and promote active partnerships for implementation between local authorities and the community sector, and to develop and/or strengthen capacity at the community level to manage and sustain Local Agenda 21 programmes and partnerships.

The project is implemented by Project Partners and Executing Agencies. The Project Partners consist of 20 local authorities and their local NGO or other institutional partners from cities in Africa and Latin America. As funding becomes available for an Asian component of the project an additional four Asian municipalities, matched with three European and one North American municipality, were added to the project. The Executing Agencies of the Project are the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), and Towns & Development (T&D).

IULA play the central co-ordinating role for the project and facilitate the participation of IULA's regional sections and national association members in project activities. ICLEI serve as the key project executing agency in the field. ICLEI take direct responsibility for the recruitment of local authorities to establish Local Agenda 21 Charters and technically support, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of all related local sustainable development projects.

T& D provide regional training seminars on decentralised co-operation, recruit relevant NGOs to support and participate in the Local Agenda 21 Charters, and prepare guidance materials on the Local Agenda 21 Charters process

January.2002

Agenda 21 in Europe
Agenda 21 in Italy