HomeWelcome To Wirral
The origins of Local Agenda 21
'Local Agenda 21' is not Council-speak for the latest passing fad - it's a global initiative that every local authority on the planet is going to have to contribute to - and that means us. It is a learning process for us all, adding up to new ways to work and live.
Rio
It started in 1992 when 180 world leaders met for the Earth Summit in Rio. Key players from all around the world recognised that planet Earth was under threat, and agreed that everyone must work together to achieve what they called sustainable development. 'Sustainable development' simply means that we should make sure that everything we do does not have a bad effect on the Earth, and where possible, actually makes things better. It's about thinking long-term, not short-term, and realising that all our actions have an effect on the future.
Agenda 21
A result of the Earth Summit was Agenda 21. One of the items agreed for the Agenda was that all countries should produce a sustainable development strategy. The UK was the first to do so in 1994. A revised strategy was published in 1999 and sets the deadline for local action plans to be in place by the end of 2000. This document is part of the preparation of that action plan for Wirral.
Local Agenda 21 argues for reductions in the use of energy and raw materials and reductions in pollution and waste. It calls on local authorities to start the process by involving the local community. It calls on everyone to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.
By now most local councils in the UK - including Wirral - have started to work with their communities to draw up their own LA 21 schemes.
We want your views
In these pages we'll be telling you the story so far, and describing some of our ideas for the future. Then we want your views, so that we can take them on board when we draw up our full strategy in the summer of 2000, later to become part of official Council policy. Our overall strategy is very important - it means that measures to protect the environment and improve your quality of life will be at the core of Council policy, leading decisions in all sorts of issues, from education to traffic calming, tourism to town planning.
Just as the Earth Summit saw the link between world poverty and hunger, and environmental damage, so the Council is already tackling things like economic development (new, safe jobs), poverty, health and education, all improving the lives of local people