Harrogate Borough Council
Menu
The Story of Local Agenda 21
What is Local Agenda 21?
In 1992, world leaders from over120 nations attended the UN
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The aim of the summit was to
address the issue of sustainable development.
Sustainable development considers the impact on our future, of
the balance between environmental, economic and social issues of
today's activities, policies and new developments.
Sustainable development:
"Development that meets the needs of the present generation,
without harming the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs."
At the 1992 Earth Summit, a plan was drawn up and agreed,
which was called an agenda for the 21st Century or simply "Agenda
21".
It was realised that individual action can be used to combat
global problems. After all, the combined efforts of millions of
people has a big effect. So local councils were asked to draw up
plans showing how they would tackle sustainable development in
their own areas, and "Local Agenda 21" was born. The idea is
to Think Global and Act Local.
In the Harrogate District, our Local Agenda 21 Plan is called
"Action for the Environment".
This plan came into effect in 2003, and was drawn up with the
help of the Harrogate District Action for the Environment
Group, who now help to make the plan a reality.
There are many ways the council helps Harrogate District
residents to lead more sustainable lifestyles.
- We can offer advice and information on how you can
reduce energy use,
reduce
waste, save
water, help wildlife, and reduce problems with transport.
- You can take advantage of discounts on home Insulation,
and some people can get free insulation and heating measures to
help save energy.
- The UK government provides grants for renewable energy,
such as solar panels and wind turbines.
- We run a range of services to enable local residents to recycle
waste.
- We also offer compost bins at special low prices for all
residents to convert kitchen and garden waste into useful compost
instead of throwing it into landfill sites.
- We have discounts on water butts too, so you can collect
rainwater for use in your garden.
- We also arrange projects with schools and businesses and
organise and attend events in the Harrogate
District. Our staff can give talks and
presentations to community groups and schools.
- Our environmental awards scheme the BAFTERS (which stands for Best action for the Environment Road Show), is a good chance for you to get recognition for your environmental activities.
There are a number of environmental problems which affect the
whole world. And we can do our bit to tackle them here at
home.
Climate Change
The global climate changes naturally.
However in the 20th Century, climate experts realised
that the changes we are currently experiencing have been triggered
by human industrial activity, which has released 'greenhouse gases'
like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.Visit the
Climate Challenge website to learn more about the causes
of climate change.
Climate change will disrupt the climate we have developed our
lifestyles around. Many environmental problems can be linked to
climate change.
Climate change will affect the Harrogate
District, and local trends are consistent with what is
happening across the world. Globally, temperatures have risen by
0.6 degrees over the last 100 years, and long-term records show
that the 1990s was the warmest decade since the late 19th
century.
There has been a threefold increase of wet winter days in
Whitby on the Yorkshire coast, and trends are set to
continue.
On average it will be warmer all year round with wetter
winters and warmer summers, with an increase in higher rainfall in
winter throughout the region.
There will also be an increase in the number of very hot days
with the greatest impact away from the coast.
There is likely to be an increase in the length of the growing
season by between 45 and 100 days along the Yorkshire coast. There
will also be a reduction of snowfall - it is predicted
that in 20 years many children will have never seen snow.
(Source: The Yorkshire & Humberside Climate Change Study,
2002)
What can we do about climate change?
We need to reduce our energy
consumption at home, work and leisure. This will mean
less Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gas is released into the
atmosphere. It also has the benefit of reducing our fuel
bills.
We can do this by using energy more efficiently at home. You
could also think about installing renewable energy technology at
home.
- See our energy page for more details
We also need to reduce our emissions from transport by using our cars less and considering more environmentally friendly options for getting around.
- See our transport page for more information
The hole in the Ozone Layer
Ozone is a gas
in the earth's atmosphere, which protects the surface of the earth
from harmful UVB rays from the sun. Some chemicals such as CFCs
destroy ozone, and create a "hole" in the ozone layer if they are
released into the atmosphere.The hole in the ozone layer means that more UVB radiation
reaches the earth. This radiation increases skin cancer, and has
other damaging effects like harming fish stocks.
What can we do about the hole in the ozone layer?
Old fridges and freezers contain CFCs. To ensure that we do
not increase the hole in the ozone layer we must dispose of these
items properly.
- Find out about our fridge and freezer collection and disposal scheme, which includes CFC removal.
Loss of species
Human activities are putting more and more pressure on the
natural environment. This is having an effect on wildlife, and
there is an increasing loss of species across the world, mainly
because natural habitats are being destroyed.
In 2003 the World Conservation Union's Red List said more than
12,000 species (out of 40,000 assessed) faced some extinction risk,
including:
- One bird in eight
- 13% of the world's flowering plants
- A quarter of all mammals.
What can we do about the loss of species?
We can help wildlife in our own back gardens.
You could put up a bird table, make a pond and leave a patch
of grass to grow wild which will attract insects and encourage
other species.
- See our nature page for more ideas
Deforestation
In the 1990s across the world, an area of forest the size of
37 football pitches was lost every minute. This process is known as
deforestation.
Deforestation occurs for various reasons, including clearing
space for farming and felling trees for timer and paper pulp.
Deforestation has an impact on ecosystems, for example the
Sumatran Tiger is at risk of extinction because its forest habitat
is being destroyed to make paper pulp
What can we do about deforestation?
In order to help reduce the impact of deforestation we can buy
recycled paper and recycled paper products. We should also use
timber and wooden furniture which is certified from sustainably
managed forests.
The Action for the Environment Plan
The Local
Agenda 21 Plan for the Harrogate District is called "Action for the
Environment".See the Action for the
Environment plan 957K pdf.
The plan came into effect in 2003, and work is currently
underway to bring it up to date.
The existing plan sets out a vision for the Harrogate District
and seeks to achieve the following:
- An improved and integrated transport system with greater use of walking, cycling and public transport, and less dependency on cars
- Better resource management, in order to reduce consumption and pollution and to encourage the reuse or recycling of materials wherever
- Less fear of crime and improved community safety; Local control with greater community involvement
- Greater understanding and implementation of the conservation of the local landscape and the environment
- A thriving local economy with more basic needs met locally and more opportunities to work in a diverse local economy;
- A healthy and safe environment supported by preventative public health policies and the "polluter pays" principle;
- Quality housing available to everyone;
- More leisure facilities with local accessibility;
- More widespread education on local and global sustainability issues.
This is a broad agenda; and a wide range of organisations,
groups and individuals continue to take action on specific areas
relating to the vision.
Such a large agenda is difficult to develop, monitor and
update. so we therefore focus on the following key environmental
action areas:
- Energy efficiency
- Waste and Recycling
- Water conservation
- Local surroundings and biodiversity
- Transport
We also run various projects to get the message across.
Agenda 21 across the world
Internationally, the Agenda 21 plan included a very wide range
of subjects like environemntal sustainability, health, inequality
and poverty.
Details are in the website of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The UK plan set out four main issues:
1 - Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone, by
strengthening the roles of important groups in society, such as
women, children, local authorities and trade unions.
2 - Effective protection of the environment - such as
protecting the atmosphere, tackling deforestation, conserving
biodiversity and managing radioactive waste.
3 - Prudent use of natural resources, for example consumption
of fossil fuels (such as oil coal and gas) in energy production and
transport.
4 - Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth
and employment by increasing education, technology and law.
Ultimately, Agenda 21 aims to improve and maintain the world
as we know it today.