Agenda 21, Sustainability Indicators and Governance at the Local Level in Portugal

Transcription

1 Informed Cities Workshop - Portugal Agenda 21, Sustainability Indicators and Governance at the Local Level in Portugal Sara Moreno Pires Universidade de Coimbra ANMP, Portugal Coimbra, 17 de Março de 2011 Presentation goals I. Understanding the Portuguese reality: i. The implementation of LA21 ii. The implementation of Sustainability Indicators at the local level II. Do indicators challenge or change local governance practices for sustainable development in Portugal? If so, in what ways? III. Are indicators actually used? If so, in what ways? 1

2 I. Understanding the Portuguese reality: i. The implementation of LA21 ii. The implementation of Sustainability Indicators at the local level i. The implementation of LA21 in Portugal 2

3 Identity card of LA21 in Portugal: some findings A questionnaire applied to all Portuguese municipalities in 2007 aimed to evaluate the extent to which LA21 was being implemented in Portugal and how far this process was being incorporated into local planning and management (Fidélis and Moreno Pires 2009). Responses to the questionnaire represented about 57% of the municipalities in the continental part of Portugal (excluding Azores and Madeira). It identified 86 municipalities engaged in LA21 processes and 7 in Local Environmental Plans (LEP) 93 processes in total. LA21 processes have been following an opposite path with regard to the trends of the front-runner countries by increasing in number only after 2005 (68% of those 93 processes). 3

4 Identity card of LA21 in Portugal: some findings Given the lack of national support, LA21 in Portugal is strongly rooted in voluntary and somewhat disorganised local initiatives, mostly driven by smaller local authorities, with less population (51% with less than 20,000 inhabitants), less environmental pressures and higher economic and social problems. 6 agendas being developed through a regional approach involving 47 municipalities, with the particular influence of regional associations of municipalities as agenda transfer institutions. There are no specific political parties behind the promotion of LA21 process, as parties from both the right and the left share nearly half of the experiences. Although many of the processes are recent, a high percentage (11% of the respondents) have come to a halt, and are not being implemented at all. Identity card of LA21 in Portugal: some findings Formal organization of the process within the municipality New Responsibilities for an existing department 20 56% New Department/Office/Committee 3 8% Others 13 36% Number of responses 36 Number of responses 4

5 Identity card of LA21 in Portugal: some findings Monitoring tools Actions of Schools 14 32% Municipal Observatory 3 7% Information on a website 16 36% Indicators specifically developed 25 57% Others 1 2% Number of responses 44 Number of responses LA21 balance: positive signs the increasing number of processes. the compromise of local leaders as one main motive for initiating LA21 processes. the involvement of various stakeholders and community members in early stages of the processes. the learning efforts made by participating actors. the crucial role of regional associations of municipalities that are providing frameworks, information, technical support as well as financial support (through European funds) to the local authorities. 5

6 LA21 balance: less positive signs the limited long-term and integrated view of sustainable development. the weak development of partnerships to implement actions and maintain the action plan in the long-term. poor adoption of schemes to report, monitor and review the implementation of LA21. limited flows of information and strategic collaboration between local departments and between local councils and communities. ii. The implementation of Sustainability Indicators at the local level 6

7 Mapping the implementation of Local Sustainability Indicators in Portugal - A questionnaire was sent to the leaders of all the 308 Portuguese Local Councils in /308 responses were collected ( 52% of all Portuguese municipalities). Local Councils that responded to the questionnaire Identity card of local SI in Portugal: some findings Respondents by Nº of Inhabitants Local Councils with sustainability indicator sets 7

8 Identity card of local SI in Portugal: some findings Local sustainability indicator sets by NUTSII regions Identity card of local SI in Portugal: some findings Local sustainability indicator sets by main driving-forces 8

9 Some more findings Although most municipalities (81%) do not have comprehensive indicator sets to monitor sustainable development, they have different partial sets to monitor trends of sectoral plans (forest protection, social development, land-use reports, etc.). The few experiences (30 cases) with local SI are very recent: most of them (> 50%) are still being developed or were implemented in 2008/2009. Also, 47% are from small municipalities, while 23% from major cities. Several responses to the questionnaire reveal a misunderstanding regarding what SI mean or entail. Several responses (10%) clearly showed problems regarding the information flow amongst departments of a local council, while ignoring, e.g., the participation of their own municipality on SI projects such as the ECOXXI. The ECOXXI is an annual programme developed from the ENGO ABAE for every municipality that wishes to apply. It aims to contribute to the development of local SI through a collaborative and interdisciplinary process and to identify good sustainable local practices: eco-municipalities (see more at From this a deeper understanding of local SI in Portugal was made through seven Case-Studies: Municipalities engaged in Sustainability Indicator processes starting before or around the year of 2005; Some evidence of success in the development or operationalisation of the set or the in the implementation of the driving-force project; If possible, some diversity regarding municipalities size (population dimension) and type of driving-forces. Different data sources: (1) A national survey; (2) Several informal and formal contacts; (3) Interviews to politicians and public officers at the local level; (4) Direct observations; (5) Official and non-official documentation. 9

10 The location of the Case-Studies, the urban system and accessibilities in Portugal Source: DGOTDU (2007) The Case-Studies and the selected sustainability indicator sets 10

11 II. Do indicators challenge or change local governance practices for sustainable development in Portugal? If so, in what ways? challenge The development and use of SI Local Governance Sustainable Development influence Assigning Overall Responsibility Political commitment Sensitivity to change Government Coordination Sectoral Coordination Regional Coordination Training Stakeholders' Involvement Multi-stakeholder Involvement Participation Mechanisms Feeling of Ownership The nature of the indicator system Scope The process of defining, implementing and using Sustainability Indicators Link with Local Plans or Strategies Performance of Indicators Timeframe Funding Coherence Communication with Society Link with (Inter)National Networks Communication Learning 11

12 The nature of the indicator system Assigning overall responsibility 12

13 Government coordination Stakeholders involvement 13

14 Link with local plans or strategies Link with (Inter)National Networks 14

15 Communication with society III. Are indicators actually used? If so, in what ways? 15

16 The potential uses of local sustainability indicators Source: Adapted from Gahin et al and Rosenström The use of Sustainability Indicators by the different Case-Studies 16

17 Final thoughts Obstacles that prevented SI sets from being effectively implemented or updated at the local level: Most of the obstacles are related to the malfunctioning of local governments, far away from the even more complex obstacles and problems of governance for sustainable development: - Weak political commitment and support - Problems in assigning operational responsibility - Poor sectoral coordination within the local councils - Lack of stable funding (poor relationship with financial capacities of local councils) - Poor training regarding sustainable development issues - The power of expert-knowledge over other types of knowledge - Weak feeling of ownership of public officers towards the indicators - Distrust of the role of the National Statistics Institute at the local level - Absence of formal support and/or guidelines from the central government Final thoughts Obstacles that prevented the most successful cases from further steering governance arrangements for sustainable development: Mainly problems with the: - Communication with society - Fragile involvement of local stakeholders - Poor link with other local strategies and goals or other regional or national targets - Poor regional coordination - Weak connection to similar networks, nationally and internationally 17

18 Final thoughts Major Outcomes and Uses of Local Sustainability Indicators: They proved to be key steering processes to improve government capacities for sustainable development, although they still have a long way to go to challenge broader governance settings: - New information capacities - Better organisational structures and stronger horizontal integration - Steering some new networks important for sustainable development - Improved perceptions of the potential role of sustainability indicators - When indicators are updated and maintained over time, different uses can be distinguished. Final thoughts Some Recommendations: Building a sound national knowledge-transfer platform: - To develop guidelines and support different processes - To provide training (to local leaders, practitioners and communities) - To help finding financial support and innovative solutions - To share best practices and experiences and provide opportunities to learn - To improve the communication with society - To facilitate the harmonization of local indicators at the national and international level - To facilitate the use of sustainability indicator sets to keep alive LA21 strategies 18

19 Informed Cities Workshop - Portugal Thank you for your attention! Agenda 21, Sustainability Indicators and Governance at the Local Level in Portugal Sara Moreno Pires sarap@fd.uc.pt Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal ANMP Headquarter, Portugal Coimbra, 17 de Março de