The programme should provide the UBC with good guidelines for supporting the member cities in their struggle towards sustainability. It should integrate all sectors - and not concentrate only on environmental administration. It should also provide the UBC with a strategic approach to international co-operation in this field and also include practical guidelines for increasing sustainability in all the activities of our organization.

International Dimensions

Quite evidently, the Baltic Sea Region is a European forerunner in the field of international co-operation for sustainable development. Baltic 21, Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region (approved by all the states of the BSR and the European Union) is the first such inter-governmental regional Agenda 21 in the world following Rio Conference in 1992. The intensive co-operation on all levels from municipalities and NGOs to national governments is very prominent in the region and brings good results. The UBC is one of the most central actors representing the municipalities in this co-operation. This implies that we also have a special responsibility.

Sustainable development is also gaining more ground on the European level. The European Union has been adopting the principles of sustainability more and more during recent years. It is quite likely that the demand for sustainability will be increasingly embodied into the different policies of the EU. The EU Sustainable Cities Project is maybe the most prominent EU activity going on in this field at the moment. So far, the UBC has contributed to this project by acting as one of the core organisers of the First Regional European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conference (Turku Conference, September 1998).

It is very important that the UBC will in various ways maintain its acknowledged active role as a regional and European actor in the field of LA 21. The Local Agenda 21 Strategy has to provide a good basis for this. Moreover, we have to continue our active involvement in the Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum Network, which is the network formed by various international organisations, municipalities and NGOs for the implementation of Baltic 21 at the local level. It is also of utmost importance that we will continuously plan and implement new high quality activities and projects. Examples of such projects are the ongoing SAIL Project and the planned large three-year Baltic-Mediterranean Local Agenda 21 Project (BAMELA), the application of which was submitted to the European Commission in the beginning of February.

Serving Member Cities

One of the points raised during the process is that there doesn't exist any single model of Local Agenda 21 work that would suit all cities. The differences between the cities are great, e.g., concerning the environment, the political situation and the economy. It is important first to evaluate the present situation and to consider what goals should be reached by the implementation of Local Agenda 21 before beginning activities. It is also at this stage essential not just to focus on the environment but also on the social and economic dimensions.

In order to gather information about the situation and the needs in the different member cities, the UBC Commission on Environment carried out the UBC Local Agenda 21 Survey in member cities in co-operation with the Åbo Akademi University. The results of the survey provide us with quite good basic information for preparing the LA 21 Program and the various LA 21 activities and projects. Further information about the survey can be found in a separate article in this bulletin.

However, policies can never be solely based on research and surveys. The survey can be seen as a very useful source of information, but it is not sufficient as such. The participatory process that has been initiated within the UBC for planning the LA 21 program is an important way to gather information too. The process was started at the LA 21 meeting in Nacka last year, and it was successfully continued in the Lübeck meetings (15-16 January). The advantage of meetings and workshops is the vivid dialogue and exchange of experiences. This is a very effective way to gather information about the needs in different cities and, moreover, to find potential partnerships between single member cities. The results of the Lübeck meeting and the next meeting, which will be held during the spring, will form the basis of the whole program.

And What Should We Do?

Thanks to the very active participants, facilitators and reporters, the workshops at the Lübeck meetings also raised many concrete ideas about what the UBC could do in the field of LA 21. These ideas will definitely be included in the LA 21 Program. Here are presented short summaries of some of those ideas.

Information is important in all steps of the Local Agenda 21 process. Through its various channels, the UBC certainly makes a good contribution by spreading information about the activities going on and the good practises innovated in different member cities. Meetings and mailing lists also provide occasions for networking between people. The use of the internet could be further developed.