Newsletter no 44 - int. June 2005 Danish Minister for the Environment submits Local Agenda 21 report to the Danish Parliament The Minister for the Environment has submitted a report to the Danish Parliament on Local Agenda 21 work. The report was prepared together with the Presidents of Local Government Denmark and Danish Regions. The report focuses on the important role of the Local Agenda 21 Newsletter in the nation-wide Local Agenda 21 campaign. The report also stresses the importance of continuing and further developing Local Agenda 21 work in connection with the forthcoming restructuring of public administration in Denmark and the implementa- tion of the structural reform, which means that the present 271 municipalities will be reduced to 98, and the present 13 counties be replaced by five regions. The new municipalities and regions will prepare the next generation of Local Agenda 21 strategies in 2007. At the time of publication of the Minister s Local Agenda 21 report, an overall status report Undersøgelse af det lokale Agenda 21-arbejde - Dansk status 2004" (Study of Local Agenda 21 work Danish status 2004) was also issued. Among the issues addressed is the growth of Danish Agenda 21 activities. Read more about the status report in this newsletter. The LA21 report and the status report are available in danish on the website: www.lokalagenda21.dk Intermunicipal cooperation on Local Agenda 21 in Odsherred, Northern Zealand Three small municipalities in Odsherred cooperate closely on Local Agenda 21 activities. The municipalities are characterised by a large number of holiday houses, by their location close to the coast, and by tourism, the most dominant sector in the area. Under the cooperation agreement, activities will reach further out in the local area and have a greater impact, mostly because larger resources will be made available for the priority efforts made. The cooperating municipalities have set up an environment council Odsherred Miljøråd and em- ployed a joint coordinator. The environment council discusses ideas and initiatives regarding Local Agenda 21 projects carried out across municipal borders. And the council has overall responsibility for the joint Local Agenda 21 strategy. The political chairmen of the municipal technical committees have a seat on the council, and each of the three municipal socalled Green Councils have two representatives in the council, thus providing a forum where representatives of both local associations and citizen groups may discuss matters about Local Agenda 21 activities with the chairman of political committees. The municipal Green Councils represent the local environment organisations and associations engaged in environment and nature issues. The Environment Council has initiated efforts to promote environmentally safe construction practices, and special priority is given to the development and preservation of natural assets in holiday house areas. These areas cover a significant part of the Odsherred area, and the council has therefore launched a campaign: Nature management in the holiday house area, giving good advice on the assets and amenities of nature in the areas.
New growth of Danish Local Agenda 21 Specific activities described in Local Agenda 21 strategies Since the last status report in 2001, 47 of the 83 municipalities, which were not active at that time, are now engaged in Local Agenda 21 work. 77 per cent (90 per cent as of 7 th of july 2005) of all Danish municipalities and counties are now active in Agenda 21 work, and a large number of specific Local Agenda 21 projects have been initiated, covering most of the country. This appears from a study prepared by CASA (Centre for Alternative Social Analysis) for Local Government Denmark and Danish Regions, the Ministry of the Environment (Danish Forest and Nature Agency), Spatial Planning Department, based on Local Agenda 21 strategies from 210 municipalities and 10 counties. The study Dansk Status 2004 gives an overall view of Local Agenda 21 work in Denmark. All strategies published up to July 2004 are included in the study, and generally, the impression of the work done is very positive, especially as regards the number of specific activities and the extent of citizen involvement. Specific activities The law does not require that a description is given of the activities carried out. It is therefore worth noting that 89 per cent of the strategies include descriptions of specific activities. Among the activities are specific efforts focused on: reducing waste volumes generated by public institutions, and by citizens and the municipality as a whole; Figures are in per cent of all estimated strategies. Source: Dansk status 2004 energy consumption and use of chemicals; sustainable housing; health and quality of life. Generally, many of the activities are of the type environmentally sound administration. Earlier surveys also focused on the specific activities carried out. While allowing for possible differences in data registration, several activities have been given much higher priority. In particular, a growing number of counties and municipalities take action involving waste reduction (66 per cent), energy (approx. 64 per cent) and chemicals (approx. 56 per cent). New areas of activity described specifically are biodiversity (approx. 55 per cent) and wastewater (approx. 42 per cent), and other new areas are afforestation (approx. 26 per cent), air pollution (approx. 24 per cent), promotion of renewable resources (approx. 23 per cent) and ecotourism (approx. 18 per cent). Sustainable housing (approx. 52 per cent) is probably a new area of activity, resulting from the growing integration of Local Agenda 21 strategy with work relating to planning strategies and municipal planning. Priority areas Under the Planning Act, municipalities and counties are to describe work within five priority areas. 73 per cent of all strategies include all five areas, while 15 per cent of the strategies include, directly or indirectly, from one to four of the areas. Roughly speaking, most strategies focus on the area Reduction of environmental impact, while Interaction between environment, transport and other sectors is addressed the least. The three remaining areas are addressed fairly evenly. Other priority areas than those required under current legislation are addressed in 29 per cent of the strategies. Involvement of citizens Three thirds of the strategies describe how citizens are involved directly or indirectly in Local Agenda 21 work. Citizen involve-
Action taken (or that will be taken) to involve citizens in Local Agenda 21 processes ment is a general term covering a number of initiatives targeted towards citizens, the business sector, associations etc. 37 per cent of the strategies report about meetings with residents organised in connection with Local Agenda 21 strategies. It is very likely that meetings with residents are not always recorded, and therefore the number of actual meetings is probably much higher. Figures are in per cent of all estimated strategies. Source: Dansk status 2004 Which actors (outside own organisation) do the municipality/county involve in Agenda 21 work? Figures are in per cent of all estimated strategies. Source: Dansk status 2004 Using five selected indicators for strategies Source: Dansk status 2004 Other initiatives may be invitations to special events, radio spots, TV spots and bus rides around the municipality. In addition, initiatives may include studies of user patterns, for instance focus groups, interview studies, and public consultation. Generally, initiatives taken to involve citizens environment forums, consultation, surveys of user patterns reflect the fact that involvement of citizens is now taking place within a more formal framework. Indicators In the efforts to target environmental initiatives towards selected areas, the use of indicators is a powerful tool. Indicators show the development over several years, and help citizens and authorities to maintain focus on the priority areas that have been identified. In 16 per cent of the strategies, municipalities and counties state that they use indicators, and 11 per cent state that they intend to use indicators in the future. However, there is still a large potential for the direct use of indicators by many other municipalities and counties. 32 per cent of the submitted strategies that do not make direct use of indicators, are working on a parallel basis with in green accounts, or are planning to use green accounts. Green accounts include a number of indicators, and
these data will allow many municipalities and counties to work more directly with indicators. A large number of indicators are used. Five of the indicators are recorded systematically, covering key elements of Local Agenda 21 work: resources, energy and health. Generally, the indicators focus most often on aspects of maintaining a clean environment, and relate to matters of operation, for instance waste, water supply, wastewater treatment, and energy consumption. Resources A number of strategies state that resources are made available for Local Agenda 21 work, either in the form of manpower or direct budget appropriations. About one in four municipalities/counties (26 per cent) make provisions on funding of activities carried out by citizens. Although the guidelines concerning Local Agenda 21 do not directly recommend that resource appropriations are described, 40 per cent of the strategies do in fact give information on resources. Therefore, resources are probably reserved in more municipalities and counties than what appears from the strategies. Are appropriations for Local Agenda 21 work made in the budgets? NUMBER PERCENT YES, IN THE FORM OF SALARIES/HOURS 24 11 YES, THE BUDGET IS SPECIFIED 21 10 YES, BUT NOT SPECIFIED 42 19 NO, NOT DESCRIBED IN THE STRATEGY 133 60 TOTAL 220 100% Source: Dansk status 2004 Which tools and methods have municipalities and counties reported using in connection with Local Agenda 21? Figures are in per cent of all estimated strategies. Source: Dansk status 2004 The category Other tools and methods includes for instance green budgets, database on biodiversity, green building manual, demographic balancing, and triple bottom-line accounting. Targeted use of indicators in the municipality of Herning Indicators are key elements in environmental work, and allow us to see the impact of different initiatives. They show if the intentions, as specified for example in the Local Agenda 21 strategies, are more than just words. For several years, the municipality of Herning has been working with indicators, including use of renewable energy, total power consumption, stock of trout in the Herningholm watercourse, CO 2 emissions and waste from households. Data are collected in Grønne Nøgletal (green key figures), which also presents comparable data from neighbouring municipalities. Green key figures are a useful tool in environmental work, and are widely available to institutions and individual citizens, thus allowing increased focus on these aspects. Efforts are being made to develop a new green accounting tool based on the approach used for the green key figures. This aims to develop the indicators in relation to the municipal dogma 2000 environmental targets, Local Agenda 21 strategy, and environmental action plans. In the future, efforts will be made to coordinate work with the new green accounts and strategic environmental assessment.
The city of Aalborg Global and local agenda Responsibility for environmental work in Aalborg Municipality has a local as well as a European perspective. 2100 local authorities all over Europe have signed the Aalborg Charter from 1994, and the aim is that this work should be followed up by the Aalborg Commitments from 2004. After the UN summit in Rio in 1992, the European Commission expressed a wish to include the intentions resulting from the summit on the political agendas of the EU. Cooperating with Aalborg Municipality, the Aalborg Charter was launched with the aim of securing common visions and declarations of intent regarding sustainable development. With Aalborg +10, Aalborg Municipality and the European campaign aimed to inspire local au- thorities to go even further in Local Agenda 21 work. By signing the Aalborg Commitments, local authorities commit themselves to laying down specific goals and action plans for further work. Goals and tasks address 10 areas, all relating to the issues discussed in Rio (1992) and Johannesburg (2002). Moreover, they compare well with the content of the future European strategy for the urban environment. Currently, 114 cities have signed the Aalborg Commitments, and 80 cities are expected to do so very soon. More information is available on: www.aalborgplus10.dk. For Aalborg Municipality, the Aalborg Commitments will enable more targeted prioritisation and coordination of efforts towards more sustainable development. This will strengthen integration of sustainability within the individual departments of the municipality, and pave the way for a common approach to sustainable development in Aalborg. Intersectoral efforts within health and environment in Storstrøms County 21 activities relevant to individual citizens in their everyday lives. During the campaign, cross-sectoral cooperation alliances have been established among administrative departments. With the campaign Healthy children healthy environment Storstrøms County is focusing on ways to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals that affect children in everyday life. The campaign will run for three years, and be directed primarily towards day-care centres, registered child-minders, and schools. The underlying aim of the campaign is to link environment and health, and to make Local Agenda The campaign is directed, firstly, towards day-care centres for small children, which may be awarded a prize for their work to reduce the amount of chemicals used at their establishments. The authorities have set up 14 criteria regarding various initiatives involving purchasing and behaviour. The centres may win a diploma if they fulfil nine of the 14 criteria. Secondly, 10 to 12-year-old school children in the county are invited to compete in efforts to identify chemical substances at their school, and to present the results in an exciting way. The children who perform best win a prize. As an expression of the political embedding of the campaign, the prizes are awarded by county politicians. The ceremony is covered by the press, which benefits the campaign, health, Local Agenda 21 initiatives, and the politicians involved.
The Newsletter is published by: Ministry of Environment Danish Forest and Nature Agency Haraldsgade 53 2100 Copenhagen Ø Tlf: +45 39 47 20 00 E-mail: sns@sns.dk Web-adress: www.lokalagenda21.dk Local Government Denmark Weidekampsgade 10 Postboks 3370 2300 København S tlf. 3370 3370 e-mail. kl@kl.dk Danish Regions Dampfærgevej 22 DK-2100 Copenhagen Tel. +45 35 29 81 00 Fax. +45 35 29 83 00 email: arf@arf.dk Editors Vibeke Jørgensen, Peter Arnborg and Bo Gottlieb, Ministry of Environment, Danish Forest and Nature Agency. Birthe Rytter Hansen, Danish Regions. Maj Green, Anette Munkholm og Kåre Svarre Jakobsen, Local Government Denmark. Web-address: www.kl.dk/ LA21-nyhedsbrev Local Agenda 21 is the contribution that counties and municipalities make to sustainable development in the 21st century. Local Agenda 21 is manifested in objectives and strategies and implementation of specific projects to reduce pollution and minimise resource consumption. A key element of Local Agenda 21 is cross-sectoral work based on a local approach, in which citizens and business etc. are involved in holistic, cross-sectoral, long-term planning: Think global act local. Denmark in figures Denmark s area is 43,098 km 2 (without Greenland), and there are 5.4 million inhabitants. The utilisation of land in Denmark is highly intensive. Ten per cent consists of built-up areas (urban areas, roads and the like) 66 per cent is agricultural land, while forest and dry habitats cover 16 per cent, wetlands 5 per cent, and lakes and watercourses 1.5 per cent. Of the total agricultural area, 6.6 per cent is used or is about to be used for organic farming. GDP is approx. DKK 259,100 per inhabitant, corresponding to approx. EURO 35,000. The private service sector accounts for 47.5 per cent of GDP, public and personal services 27.8 per cent, industry and the building and construction sector 23.4 per cent, and agriculture etc. represents 5 per cent. Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark. The administrative system is being reformed, reducing the number of decentral administrations to 98 municipalities and five regions in 2007. Source: Statistics Denmark and the Danish Forest and Landscape Research Institute.