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National Strategy for Local Impact in Norway
PROFILE
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (NALRA)
Population: 4.5 million located in 434 municipalities and 19 counties
Land Area: 324,000 km2
Budget: US$21 million
STRATEGY
Strengthen Local Government
CHALLENGE
To encourage and assist local governments in Norway to implement sustainable development in the form of Local Agendas 21 (LA21s)
GOAL
Ideally, local governments will incorporate sustainable development and LA21 concepts into all of their planning and budgeting processes
ACTION
Create a supportive national framework to provide local governments with the regulatory, jurisdictional and financial resources they need to implement LA21s
ABSTRACT
Local governments in Norway had already made significant progress in developing local environmental management plans when the national government decided that it was time to broaden these efforts to include economic and sociological perspectives. The National Association of Local and Regional Authorities, together with the Ministry of Environment, established an organizational framework at the regional level to help local authorities to build upon and move beyond these environmental management plans through the implementation of Local Agenda 21 activities.
CASE
The UN's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 adopted an action plan for the 21st century, called Agenda 21. Agenda 21 calls on all local authorities to engage in a dialogue with their populations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business sectors in order to develop LA21 action plans for sustainable development of the local community. Norway is one of the many countries that adopted Agenda 21 at the national level. However, Agenda 21 does not provide a blueprint for how LA21s should be implemented at the local level. This case describes Norway's approach to this challenge.
Beginning with Environmental Management
Much of the foundation for the LA21 effort in Norway was laid by environmental protection reforms at the local level. One year after the Earth Summit, but several years before LA21 appeared on the national agenda in Norway in earnest, NALRA and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) began a local environmental management program. The program eventually included almost all of Norway's 434 municipalities.
The objective of the program was to enable local authorities to integrate environmental protection and natural resource management into their overall planning processes. The program included four elements that were important in developing cross-sectoral responsibilities for environmental protection at the local level:
- testing various political and administrative organizational models,
- building up expertise,
- delegating authority,
- environment and natural resources planning.
The participating municipalities were required to have their environmental management plans in place by the end of 1996. Once this work was complete, the existing network of environmental coordinators in each municipality provided a good base from which to begin the LA21 initiatives.
Moving towards LA21
While the national and local governments had been making progress in terms of environmental management, they recognized that they had yet to embrace the full scope of LA21. The national government developed a White Paper in 1996 and 1997, and this discussion paper emphasized that sustainable development must be based on three perspectives, not just an environmental perspective, namely:
- an ecological perspective that deals with maintaining nature's production capacity,
- generational perspective that deals with a more equitable distribution of goods between generations,
- a welfare perspective that deals with equitable distribution of goods around the globe today.
Even then, LA21 efforts were slow to get going. While the MoE was very supportive of the LA21 program, because it is a sectoral ministry, its focus was still on environment and ecology. The MoE therefore decided to enter into a partnership with NALRA, which would be responsible for emphasizing the social and economic aspects of sustainable development.
The MoE and NALRA organized a conference in Fredrikstad in February 1998, bringing together more than 700 representatives of central and local government authorities and NGOs. The conference gathered all earlier environment and development initiatives together under the LA21 umbrella, to demonstrate that LA21 activities were a natural extension of the good work that had already been accomplished. The aim of the conference was to give the participants more information on their own roles and opportunities in the LA21 effort. One of the products of the conference was the Fredrikstad Declaration, which expressed the concept of LA21 in Norwegian terms. Local authorities were asked to endorse the declaration, which committed them to mobilize their residents, NGOs and other social partners to play an active part in LA21 processes, and to establish suitable meeting places and networks. This conference and the Declaration provided the impetus needed to get LA21 going in Norway.
Framework and Criteria
The responsibility for coordinating the LA21 effort at the national level rested with the MoE, but NALRA worked in close cooperation with the MoE to coordinate with local authorities.
NALRA began by working in conjunction with several NGOs to develop a general framework that would help local municipalities understand what was encompassed by the LA21 concept. They recommended that each LA21 try to encompass the following:
- global responsibility,
- a long-range time perspective,
- an integrated approach and cross-sectoral thinking,
- grassroots involvement to ensure bottom-up perspectives,
- the acquisition of greater knowledge of environmental processes and inequitable distribution.
These criteria or questions are organized under the following themes:
| Theme | Sample Criteria or Question |
| Establishing new dialogues, involving all groups in the community in a coordinated manner. | Has the local authority initiated cooperation with citizens, business and industry and associations in concrete projects designed to support sustainable development? |
| Developing a sustainable economy while considering resource management. | Has the local authority initiated measures to stimulate business development based on local resources, goods and services? |
| Coordinating management across all local authority activities, not just environmental protection. | Has the local authority set aside resources (personnel, funds) and laid the basis for a cross-sectoral regime for LA21 activities? |
| Monitoring performance. | Has the local authority introduced permanent routines for overseeing and measuring progress of the LA21 effort with a basis in clearly formulated objectives and indicators, actions sheets, environmental audits or the like? |
| Demonstrating global commitment. | Has the local authority taken initiatives towards mapping and highlighting links that exist between production and consumption in the local community and countries in the third world, or supported organizations working with such issues? |
The criteria mainly address modes of cooperation and processes in the LA21 effort and do not detail the themes or specific challenges that each local authority is expected to tackle. Based on the Fredrikstad Declaration, the individual municipalities have to decide what issues must be tackled first, depending on their local conditions and challenges.
Resource Support
The LA21 effort received an important boost when the MoE, NALRA and the counties worked together to develop a regional network of LA21 nodes to support the municipalities' work with LA21. This network was established in 1998 and 1999.
The nodes function as meeting places for public authorities, organizations, business and industry, and are located at the county level. Furthermore, the network gives local representatives a chance to meet and learn from each other, draw upon each other's ideas and find support for their efforts to develop more sustainable local communities.
Participants in a training course, Planning for Real, offered to local authorities by NARLA.
(Photo Courtesy of NARLA.)
Information sharing was critical to the success of Norway's LA21 campaign. In addition to the regional nodes, the MoE and NALRA established a National Resource Group, which provides a central support network for local municipalities. The Ideas Bank Foundation, which is a private environmental and sustainable development foundation that receives funding from the MoE, was designated as the national centre for documenting and disseminating practical examples on achieving sustainable development. The MoE and NALRA also jointly publish a periodical called Local Agenda 21 four times each year. This publication, which is widely distributed to politicians and administrators in municipalities throughout Norway, covers common topics of concern and helps share ideas such as new ways of initiating dialogue with different segments of the community.
Information sharing between the local authorities was further facilitated by the launch of a national internet site for LA21 (www.agenda21.no).
In an effort to provide a common visual identity for LA21 throughout Norway, the MoE and NALRA have also developed a series of graphic elements and made these available via CD-ROM to anyone involved in the LA21 process.
Moving Forward
When the MoE and NALRA first initiated the LA21 program, they committed to a five-year program, to end in 2002. During the program's last year, NALRA is focusing its efforts on making sure that LA21 concepts have become a regular part of municipal planning and budgeting processes. NALRA has just issued a position paper on the role of municipalities and counties in continuing sustainable development work in the coming years. The position paper also provides input into the development of a national strategy for sustainable development, which is expected to be completed in May 2002, and will move Norway from LA21s to a national Agenda 21.
RESULTS
By the fall of 2000, more than 60% of Norway's 434 municipalities and all 19 counties had endorsed the Fredrikstad Declaration, committing themselves to the LA21 process. In a 2000 survey, 70% of municipalities claimed to be carrying on some kind of LA21 activity. However, the level of effort within each municipality varies considerably. The 2000 survey showed that:
- 38% of municipalities were still in the stage of preparing the process within their organization,
- 40% had started some kind of projects,
- 24% had initiated dialogues with inhabitants,
- 31% had informed their inhabitants about LA21 on a broad basis.
Local projects that have been implemented under the LA21 banner include attempts to come up with more sustainable and holistic solutions for housing, transport, energy use and changing public attitudes. Many of the LA21 projects are focusing on informing and mobilizing the public, whereas only a few focus on more physical tasks, such as changes to energy infrastructure or transport.
LESSONS LEARNED
When the municipalities of Norway were first asked to develop environmental management plans by 1996, it turned out that the most successful municipalities were those that incorporated their environmental management plans into their normal planning and budget systems. Municipalities that developed stand-alone environmental management plans ended up with plans that nobody paid very much attention to. NALRA learned from this experience. Instead of asking for stand-alone LA21 plans, NALRA encouraged the municipalities to include LA21 and sustainable development aspects directly into existing budget and planning documents and processes. More than 80% of the municipalities that undertook LA21 initiatives found this approach to be useful.
While the LA21 work can be coordinated centrally, the majority of the work must be done locally. It is essential to have regional coordinators that are mobile, and that can visit municipalities and other organizations to provide advice and assistance.
LA21 work is complex and results will not be seen overnight. It is like building a cathedral, stone by stone. With patience and perseverance, the task can and will be accomplished over time.
KEY REPLICATION FACTORS
Budgeting and Financing
Over the last 5 years, the MoE has spent a total of USD$12,600,000 on LA21 initiatives, with approximately USD$3,500,000 of this amount going to fund NALRA's role the program. In addition, NALRA used approximately $440,000 of its own funds during this period.
The MoE funding will be terminated at the end of 2002, but some new funding will be available through the Ideas Bank of Norway.
Staffing
NALRA had 2 staff dedicated to LA21 at their head offices, while the MoE had another 5 people. In addition, NALRA had 19 LA21 coordinators throughout the country, one for each county.
Because MoE support for the program is winding down, all of NALRA's LA21 staff positions will be eliminated by the end of 2002. However, the LA21 work is expected to continue as the counties and the municipalities assume the leadership roles in this program.
KEY CONTACTS
Mr. Ole Jørgen Grann
Environmental Advisor
Norway Association of Local and Regional Authorities
Tel: +47-24/13-27-38
Fax: +47-22/83-62-04
Email: ole.grann@ks.no
Website: www.ks.no
REFERENCES
Aall, Carlo. 1999. "Norway: from Environmental Protection to Sustainability 'Light'?", Implementing LA21 in Europe, ed. William M. Lafferty, Prosus, Norway.
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities. April 2002. Sustainable Development-- a Common Challenge--Position Paper from the Local Authorities in Norway.
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities and the Ministry of Environment. October 2000. Local Agenda 21 in Norway - On Track for the Future.
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities and the Ministry of Environment. June 2000. Local Agenda 21 Theme - Local Answers to Global Challenges.
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities and the Ministry of Environment. November 1999. Sustainable Local Authorities - Are we on the Right Track?
Norway's Local Agenda 21 website [www.agenda21.no].
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author and Researcher: Roxanne Eszes
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This case study is part of
Local Strategies for Accelerating Sustainability: Case Studies of Local Government Success.
This series of case studies highlights the diverse ways in which local governments and their partners have instituted strategies for action that are accelerating the transition to sustainable, equitable and secure communities. The series was prepared as part of the local government contribution to the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002). The case studies were researched, written and produced with financial support from the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The Netherlands. |
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National LA21 Program in Turkey In 1997, the International Union of Local Authorities-Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (IULA-EMME) initiated the "Promotion and Development of Local Agendas 21 in Turkey" project with the support of UN Development Programme-Capacity 21. The project sought to build the capacity of local authorities to develop local action plans based upon participation, involvement of local actors, establishment of local "partnerships" and decentralization of local decision-making processes. The project was successfully completed in December 1999, and was selected to be the most successful and far-reaching project amongst the Capacity 21-supported programs conducted in 50 countries. Building on these achievements a continuation project was launched in January 2000. This project seeks to strengthen decentralized governance by ensuring that civil society is able to participate in decision making and influence local investment. The continuation project encompasses five main objectives, including creating a mechanism through which LA21 processes can influence local decision making and ensuring that LA21 receives long-term sustained support. Project partners from Turkey currently include 48 cities and 5 regional associations of local authorities.
(Source: International Union of Local Authorities-Eastern Europe and |
