Agenda 21

Agenda 21 Structure

Agenda 21 is separated into four overarching sections. The first section is social and economic dimensions to development. This includes issues such as production and consumption, health, human settlement, and the promotion of an integrated decision-making process. The second section is the conservation and management of natural resources. This includes the atmosphere, oceans and seas, land, forests, mountains, biological diversity, ecosystems, biotechnology, freshwater resources, toxic chemicals, and hazardous radioactive and solid wastes. Third, Agenda 21 aims to strengthen the role of groups and actors involved in promoting sustainable development. This includes youth groups, women, indigenous populations, nongovernmental organizations, local and regional authorities, trade unions, business groups at all levels, [Page 9]scientific and technical communities, and farms. Fourth, Agenda 21 attempts to outline areas for implementing sustainable development. Areas include finance, technology transfer, information coordination and public awareness, capacity building, education, legal instruments, and institutional frameworks. In essence, Agenda 21 establishes a framework, or “package,” of long-term goals. It has been seen as the most comprehensive document negotiated between governments that considers the interactions among economic, social, and environmental trends.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

A number of United Nations events led to the development of Agenda 21. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972 was pivotal in raising awareness of humanity's effect on the environment. It was also at this time that the United Nations Environment Programme was created鑲a significant proponent of sustainable development. In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development, or the Brundtland Commission, galvanized the concept of sustainable development on the political stage and began the process of developing a set of principles for sustainable development. It was at the World Commission on Environment and Development that sustainable development was identified as a concept whereby the exploitation of natural resources, combined with the way that financial investment is directed, should influence technical development and institutional change that should apply to both current and future generations. It was these initial principles that ultimately led to the adoption of Agenda 21 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

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