Capacity building and technical assistance to implement Local Agenda 21 in three Romanian cities (Iasi, Oradea and Ramnicu Valcea)
In March 2004, the International Institute for Sustainable Development completed this multi-year capacity-building project.
In December 1989, Romania moved to a free market economy. Since then, the country has strived to cope with the ever-increasing demand for economic sustainability as part of overall social development. Social and economic development goals are essential parts of the country's development strategy, but are difficult to understand in an integrated way. Concepts like sustainable development and the human dimension of sustainability were not well known or understood and were therefore neglected. In Romania, all activities have been directed toward the achievement of a single goal, that of industrial development.
In 1999, however, Romania adopted a long-term National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) and subsequently prepared a National Action Plan for the implementation of the NSDS, and the introduction of the Local Agenda 21 process in the country.
IISD, in partnership with the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, and with the financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), worked with the government of Romania, the National Centre for Sustainable Development in Bucharest and with the municipalities of Iasi, Oradea and Ramnicu Valcea to develop capacity in introducing the Local Agenda 21 process in the country. Training citizens and municipal staff to be effective in working with all key stakeholders in
community development has been improving quality of life, providing employment potential and contributing to the further development of local democracy.
The capacity-building project consisted of five stages:
Stage 1: Established the organizational and technical framework of the LA21 projects in the pilot cities. This stage included the launch of local LA21 Secretariats responsible for coordinating the work, providing information and serving as links between citizen groups and municipal governments; Local Steering Committees, voluntary bodies that provided direction and set priorities for the projects; and Working Groups, consisting of experts from different fields and sectors, that identified the most important issues a LA21 project should address. (Completed August 2001)
Stage 2: Provided training for members of the Secretariat and the coordinating national organization in Canada to help them manage the LA21 projects. (Completed October 2001)
Stage 3: Prepared Local Agenda 21 Strategies and Implementation Plans for the cities, based on the Working Groups' recommendations, through a multi-stakeholder public participatory process. (Completed September 2002)
Stage 4: Provided training for all interested local participants in the LA21 project to help them implement the strategies and manage the first micro-pilot projects. (Completed December 2002)
Stage 5: Selected and provided funding for the implementation of nine micro-pilot projects to demonstrate local capacities to manage LA21 projects. All micro projects were successfully completed. (Completed March 2004)
The Local Agenda 21 process is crucial for Romania since it delivers the messages and practices of sustainable development to the local level. Following the principle of "thinking globally and acting locally," the LA21 process establishes the bottom-up link between local needs and national trends, creating an enabling environment for the realization of sustainable development priorities and concerns in the country. It also serves as a mechanism in ensuring citizens play an active and meaningful role in Romania's economic recovery. The success of the process in the pilot cities is best proven by the national demand to implement LA21 projects. With the active support of the federation of Romanian Municipalities, 13 municipalities have already started to implement LA21 projects from the more than fifty municipalities that expressed their interest.
Information on the Local Agenda 21 process in Romania can be found at http://www.sdnp.ro
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