What is Agenda 21?

It is the internationally agreed plan for sustainable development first developed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It is concerned with environmental ‘headline’ problems such as global warming, destruction of rain forests, acid rain, etc.

Agenda 21 is concerned with global issues such as climate change and acid rain. Local Agenda 21 (LA21) recognises that every country and area will have different priorities so local action plans need to be developed to reflect different situations. Local authorities are responsible for the co-ordination of LA21 strategies.

The key principles are partnership, integration, community involvement and sustainability.

In South Lanarkshire , we have established an LA21 Partnership Forum with support from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Transco, Scottish Power, the Confederation of Passenger Transport, Strathclyde Police, Keep Scotland Beautiful and Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire. This group is supported by officer groups on waste, energy and travel. We have produced an LA21 strategy and action plan for 2004-07. This will deliver a range of projects and initiatives designed to make South Lanarkshire a cleaner, healthier and sustainable place.