Description
Local environments are becoming increasingly unsustainable – environmentally, socially and economically. Increasing wealth in the West creates more pollution, congestion and degradation of species and their habits, often at the environmental and social expense of the South. The local element of Agenda 21, agreed by the nation states present at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, is the most ambitious international attempt to both address environmental problems at the local level and encourage full local democratic participation in local policy making. Constructing Local Environmental Agendas draws on original contributions from the UK, Europe, Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, to argue that there is scope for local areas to improve their environments, provided local people are involved. International case studies throughout the book demonstrate the importance of respect for indigenous knowledge, the need for all groups – especially those usually excluded through disadvantage – to be involved in the decision-making process, and the need to remove layers of bureaucracy from policy making. Constructing Local Environmental Agendas provides an invaluable insight into the experiences of the parallel projects across the world, particularly in the UK and rest of Europe, Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
