UBC - The UBC Bulletin / 1-99

LOCAL AGENDA 21 INITIATIVES IN LAHTI

Individuals and the administration have started to take care of the future by themselves. The Local Agenda 21 process is a good example of how people can increase responsibility on the local level. The City of Lahti has carried out pioneering work both in its own LA 21 process and in international co-operation.

By initiating the Lahti Environmental Forum in 1993 the city met the challenge of the Agenda 21 signed in Rio. The Forum has been able to affect the change of attitudes towards increasing responsibility for environmental issues. Different sectors of the local community, business, and citizens are implementing sustainable development by themselves, at work, home and during leisure time. Although the process has started in a very positive way, there are still a lot of things to learn and environmental responsibility must still improve in decision-making activities of the city.

The project of developing an Environmental Management Scheme started at the end of 1994 as a part of the Local Agenda 21 process. It aims at a systematic, holistic and interactive approach to reduce the environmental impact of the city's activities. The city council approved the environmental policy in 1995 and the city board approved the environmental programme in 1996.

The project is based on a broad concept of environment. Different offices are completing their own, more detailed programmes. The different offices have been actively involved in the preparation of the policy and the programme. The environmental office of the City of Lahti coordinates the process.

Since 1996 the City of Lahti has been working actively for the implementation of Local Agenda 21 in St Petersburg and its surroundings, together with Russian authorities, NGO's and universities.

Lahti is the western coordinator of the EU-financed pilot project "Coastal Conservation and Local Agenda 21" which has been ongoing for two years. Lahti has been contributing to the establishment of a step-by-step Local Agenda 21 programme for two Russian pilot areas: the city of Kingisepp and one of the suburbs of St Petersburg, Primorsky. The fruits of the pilot project can be seen already today: the growth of knowledge of the Rio process has been considerable and today there is a number of activities, and partner organisations in the field of Agenda 21 in St Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast.

Lahti's own positive experiences in Local Agenda 21 have activated the Local Agenda crew to continue cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. Lahti along with UBC, ICLEI, and other experienced parties, has started a cooperation network, the Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum. The forum aims at strengthening local Agenda processes, activating the exchange of experiences between the Local Agenda coordinators in different countries, and especially at promoting the establishment of new Local Agenda processes.

Further informtaion:

Mr Kari Porra
Director of Environmental Office
Phone:
+358 3 8165 121
e-mail:
kari.porra@lahti.fi

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