We recognise our duties towards the generations to come, we pledge our continuous commitment to the principles, goals and guidelines of Agenda 21, the Aalborg Charter and the Lisbon Action Plan, and we will in all appropriate ways join our efforts to implement Baltic 21 - the first regional inter-governmental Agenda 21 program in the world after the Rio Conference - and to fulfill the principles and goals of the Athens Declaration for Healthy Cities.
As participants of the Turku conference - the first regional conference of the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign - we want to express our full support to the Campaign. We are willing to carry on and further develop the Campaign together with actors from other regions of Europe. We are convinced that the following points must be considered and the actions taken in order to implement Baltic 21 and to support sustainable development for the future in the Baltic Sea Region and the whole Europe.
Herewith we pledge our common support to these goals, actions and points of view.
The vital role of the local and regional authorities in the implementation of the Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region must be recognised. We will strengthen and join the efforts of our distinct municipalities and organisations to fully support the implementation of the Baltic 21 action programme.
We agree on the necessity to promote the Local Agenda 21 work in all possible ways. Our common goal will be that a vast majority of municipalities in each of the Baltic Sea countries shall have its own Local Agenda 21 process started before the end of 2000.
We will join our efforts through the Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum (BLA21F), which as a joint effort of different organisations and municipalities will pool, co-ordinate and promote the Local Agenda 21 activities in the Baltic Sea Region. We call upon the European Institutions and the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign, to actively support this European Regional initiative for the promotion of Local Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development, in line with European Union commitments described in the follow up to the 5th Environmental Action Programme 'Towards Sustainability'.
We will actively seek and develop tools for co-operation and networking between our local authorities and other actors and stakeholders, e.g., NGOs and local businesses, recognising the important role that the private sector plays in global, national and local economies and the opportunities this provides for a more sustainable future. The promotion of environmental education and public awareness is an important tool in our work, as is the involment of young people in the local agenda process.
We will in all appropriate ways seek for international partnerships within our region as well as with actors in other parts of Europe and in the rest of the World. We are willing to develop the Baltic Sea Region as an active region aiming at co-operation across the whole continent in the interest of our common future.
We shall endeavour to exchange technical expertise and knowledge with local authorities in countries whose economies are in transition and between countries with developing economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This exchange should also include awareness raising, information and control on how "western" consumption and production patterns cause serious degradation on other countries.
We fully support the goals and activities of the WHO Healthy Cities Project in the BSR. We also appreciate and welcome the establishing of the Baltic Region Healthy Cities Project Office in Turku, Finland.
We consider it an essential responsibility of the European Union (EU) to promote and implement the principles of sustainable development in the planning of all activities, policies and programmes affecting the Baltic Sea Region. Promoting sustainability must be regarded an essential part of the development of the Northern dimension of Europe. We see it as an essential responsibility of the governments of the BSR Countries and the bodies of the European Union to allocate appropriate resources to this work, and to support it politically.
We urge the EU to include evidence of progress towards sustainable development as a requirement of the grant of any funding to EU and non-EU countries.
We urge the EU to include evidence of progress towards sustainable development as a requirement of the grant of any funding to EU and non-EU countries.
As part of our work towards the Year 2000, our individual municipality will identify the key issues and obstacles effecting local sustainability and will strive to make real commitments to tackle these issues. Such commitments will reflect the principles of the Aalborg Charter and steps of the Lisbon Action Plan. At the same time, the commitments will move beyond these principles and steps thereby bringing sustainability to reality.
We will identify and work towards five key commitments/pledges for the benefit of our city or town and its citizens. These pledges and the actions taken to meet them will be reported to the 2000 Pan European conference. The five commitments/pledges identified by each city and town will also be forwarded to the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign to be used for identifying key areas on which the Campaign should concentrate its efforts in the forthcoming years.
We consider this statement as a message to be sent from the Turku Conference to the regional Sustainable Cities and Towns conferences, the next Pan-European Conference which is to be organised in 2000, to the European Union, to national governments and all municipalities in the Baltic Sea Region.
The Turku Statement was endorsed by all 400 participants of the Baltic Local Agenda 21- Health and Sustainable Cities Conference (4 September 1998). The complete statement is available from the UBC Commission on Environment Secretariat and from the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign Office.
