SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL AGENDA 21:
THE ROLE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN MALAYSIA

 ASSOC. PROF. DR DASIMAH BT OMAR
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Shah Alam, Malaysia

INTRODUCTION

The principle of sustainable development encompasses social, environmental and economic issues, entailing concern with present and future generations. Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of current generations without putting at risk the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It entails taking account of our global responsibilities, and handing on sufficient decent quality social, economic and environmental resources for future generations. Sustainability is now clearly considered integral to good governance at all levels of government, communities and private sectors. Local governments play a pivotal role in securing a sustainable future for their communities. By adopting the principles of sustainability, the district will be investing time and resources wisely and gaining significant environmental, social and economic benefits for the local community in the short and long term. The 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa, recognized that internationally Local Government need to play a lead role in responding to the challenge and, with other spheres of government, it needs to accelerate its action for sustainability.

DEFINING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 

The concept of sustainable development originated with the 1980 World Conservation Strategy of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and natural Resources (I.U.C.N). The term received further promotion by World Commission on Environment and Developemnt (WCED), established by the United Nations in 1983 to establish a world agenda for change. The term 'sustainability' or 'sustainable development' originated in the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development publication, Our Common Future (also globally known as the Bruntland Report).

The report stated that  sustainable development was defined as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (WCED 1987, p.43). Brundtland introduced an interest in understanding the long term capacity of earth to sustain a certain kind of economic growth, namely one in which 20% of the world uses 80% of its resources to live and 80% of the world only has access to 20%.

DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY 

There has been numerous debates as to the real definition of sustainability. Sustainability is about ensuring quality of life, that the natural resources on which life depends upon can be maintained for the use of present and future generations. It requires the basic understanding of the relationships between the protection of environmental resources, economical and social systems now and in the future demands and seeks to integrate the three aspects.

It requires us to use, conserve and enhance our natural resources so that the ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, is improved. It's about living within our means whereby human activity must not run the risk of exhausting, destroying or degrading what is sometimes described as our 'environmental stock'. On a global scale the 'environmental stock' would include, for example, the earth's atmosphere and oceans. At the local level it includes, among many other things, ground and surface water, air quality, good quality agricultural land, valuable wildlife habitats and countryside, recreational spaces in towns and villages and historic buildings, all issues essential to quality of human life. Maintaining our natural resources, such as water, air, food, biological diversity of living things, essential for human survival and prosperity. Our renewable resources should not be used at a rate greater than the rate of natural replenishment. It is necessary for us to work with the environment, keeping it healthy, sharing it fairly and making it last. Therefore we also need to improve the quality of life in social and economic terms, and to do so in a fair way, whereby all groups in society including the poor and disadvantaged have equal access to quality of life and can live sustainably.

A widely used model to depict sustainability is shown in Figure 1. This diagram has been used widely to depict a number frameworks, and with each framework the central concept changes. Hancock suggests human development. The World Health Organization, now headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland, suggests it is 'health' in its broadest sense (WHO 1997b). ICLEI (1996) suggests its sustainable development. 

Figure 1 - A Framework for Sustainability

The uniting features of these definitions are the following:
In an increasingly complex and divided world, there is a need for decision making which is integrative. For humans to 'develop' and 'grow' in their widest sense, individuals and institutions need to find ways to make decisions which balance multiple interests.

Integrative decision making is much more than an exercise in shifting how we think about the outcomes of decisions. It is about the way in which decisions are made. Balancing interests means bringing different people around the table so that different perspectives - including the perspectives of future generations - are respected and considered. Balancing interests therefore also requires a fundamental shift in the decision making process. The process is as important as the outcome, the journey as important as the destination.  

DEFINING LOCAL AGENDA 21 

Local Agenda 21 is a planning framework for local government to apply the sustainable development concept. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (also referred to as the Earth Summit or the Rio Summit) adopted Agenda 21, a global action plan for sustainable development. This international gathering of representatives from 170 national governments adopted Agenda 21 as a global environment and development plan. Agenda 21 recognised that Councils were a major group that could take a course of action to implement the plan through their own LA21 programs and initiatives.

An important chapter of the plan that is the Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 noted the pivotal role of Local Government, recognized the need for local leadership and stressed the participation of local governments and their stakeholders in the development of local solutions. The Local Agenda 21 planning framework was developed by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) as a tool to assist local governments in the development of plans and strategies. The framework is essentially a multi-stakeholder action planning process. It frames planning elements (partnerships, evaluation, community-based issue analysis, action planning, implementation and monitoring) but does not ascribe particular outcomes. Rather it describes a process which can be followed by local governments who are attempting to meet the sustainable development challenge (ICLEI 1996). Currently, hundreds of governments globally are implementing the development of Local Agenda 21 plans (ICLEI 1996).

Cities which have taken on Local Agenda 21 have generally focused the action planning components of their strategy on environmental projects, although some have developed projects and plans which balance economic and environmental objectives and others which have met social and environmental objectives (ICLEI 1995).  

Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA): Agenda 21:

Moving from Agenda to Action

Shah Alam was developed as a new town in 1960 by The Selangor State Economic Development Corporation as a state capital city. Since the 10^th October 2000 Shah Alam was declared as Shah Alam City. It covers an area of 290.3 kms. and with an estimated population of 684,000 in 2005. New towns are intended to provide a more pleasant and efficient urban environment than existing towns. Land use distributions, transportation systems, housing, employment, shopping, community facilities, open spaces as well as environmental considerations could be planned in relation to one another from the early stage. The ways in which the urban quality of life is influenced by planning activities at this early stage, that bring about changes in the physical reality, are of profound importance in new town development. The urban quality of life is aimed at providing useful insights of the contested and complex nature of concepts of developments such as community, land use distribution, rules and guidelines, places of interest, infrastructure, homes, community facilities, safety and other attributes. The preparation of development plans must identify sustainability criteria or sustainability indicators and build them into decisions on the scale and location of development. This includes the concept of development, distribution of land uses, distance between home and employment centres, density of development and public transportation service.

The objectives of MBSA:

a.                   to establish an identity of Shah Alam as a model city

b.                  to plan and develop Shah Alam systematically

c.                   to protect and maintain the quality of its environment

d.                  to provide efficient and good services

e.                   to ensure a balanced development in terms of physical and human resources

f.                    to create excellent World Renown City Council 

TABLE 1: MBSA Land Use Distribution as at 2003 

Source: MBSA, Town Planning Department, 2003 

The development goals of MBSA:

a.                   Conceived as a self contained township

b.                  Proclaim as the centre of administrative and state capital on Selangor

c.                   Ensure opportunities to achieve New Economic Policy and National Development Policy

d.                  To ensure high quality environment

e.                   Towards a modern and complete township which provide sufficient facilities

f.                    Systematic development and optimize uses and other resources

On June, 5^th 2000, the State Government of Selangor approved the action plan of Local Agenda 21. At the local level, Shah Alam was selected by the State Government in July 2000 as the pilot project to implement the strategy.  The implication would be on higher community participation where it is expected to have more commitment in achieving sustainable development, publicity in promoting and increasing public awareness and educational in sustainability. After two years, the State officially launched her Agenda 21 that was in July 2002 which was based on sustainable development strategy. One of the objectives is to consolidate understanding, planning, action and cooperation among various state government agencies and stakeholders as a means of strengthening policies and systematising the government system.  

Implementation mechanism of LA 21 by MBSA 

The challenge of a development pattern for MBSA striving to harmonise economics with social and environmental needs requires active community participation in public issues. Community participation in decisions about development is fundamental to achieving lasting and possible solutions. Local authorities including MBSA requires an active role from the population and needs participation from members of the community. The two way communication permits more reasoned decisions (being these the product of a higher consensus), enables a better understanding of the problems that preoccupy a society, and allows the two parties to work cooperatively towards possible solutions. Community participation allows government actions to become transparent, effectively avoiding corrupt behaviors. It also clarifies responsibilities and facilitates the eventual application of sanctions, in case of reproachable conducts.

Local Action 21 that was launched as a motto for the second decade of LA21. It is a mandate to local authorities worldwide to move from agenda to action and ensure an accelerated implementation of sustainable development. LA 21 will strengthen the Local Action 21 movement of local governments to create sustainable communities and cities while protecting global common goods.

The movement from LA21 to Local Action 21 will reflect the following advances in local sustainable development planning and management. First, the creation of sustainable communities and cities will be furthered by identifying and removing barriers to sustainable development. One of the actions taken was the setting up of Community Representative Council (Majlis Perwakilan Penduduk). MBSA is divided into 12 zones. Therefore there are 12 Community Representative Council (CRC) or Majlis Perwakilan Penduduk (MPP) with one to three councilors per zone depending on the total number of population of the particular zone. Each CRC is lead by a Councilor with 30 committee members of local residents. Each councilor is allocated with RM30,000 a year for financing social programmes in the zone. The first Conference on Local Agenda 21 for the council was held on 26 February 2006.

Functions of Community Representative Council:

a.                   as mediator between the local community and the local authority

b.                  encourage the public participation among the local residents

c.                   assisting the City Council in providing services to the community

d.                  Enable to fund the local social activities. 

The Local Agenda 21 Campaign promotes a participatory, long term, strategic planning process that helps municipalities identify local sustainability priorities and implement long-term action plans. It supports good local governance and mobilizes local governments and their citizens to undertake such multi-stakeholder process. The LA21 process leads to the preparation and implementation of a long-term, strategic plan that addresses priority local sustainable development concerns.

Some of the MBSA’s programmes are:

1.         Social Programmes include:

a.                   An Integrated Complex for Senior Citizen with 40 acres of land located in Section 24. It is developed with recreational facilities, hall, meeting rooms, hostels, cafeteria, gardening area and fishing pond. The development of this complex is together with several NGOs, corporate bodies and local communities.

b.                  A Central Station for public transportation in Section 14. This was aimed at upgrading the public transportation services especially minimizing the congestion at the PKNS shopping complex. The project was carried out together with bus operators, taxi operators, Department of Road and Transport and the local communities.

c.                   Five IT Community Centres were developed for the community including buildings and mobile K-trucks. 

2.         Environmental Programmes include:

a.                   Community campaign against ‘Denggi’ together with Health Department and communities.

b.                  Solid waste management and recycle programme together with Alam Flora and communities.

c.                   Cleaning and beautification activities with the contractors and communities.

d.                  Educational programmes on the public awareness on environment involving schools and communities.

3.         Economic Programmes include:

a.                   Development of well planned markets and stalls/bazaars for example Bazarena Project at Section 13 every Sunday together with the involvement of the businessmen/operators.

b.                  Development of small and medium industries in proper locations with adequate facilities together with the involvement of industrialists.

CONCLUSION

Using the LA21 approach or participatory development planning, MBSA will be moving beyond general sustainable development planning.  It should apply this approach in tackling areas of priority concern, i.e. to work with their communities and local stakeholders to address the interrelated challenges of social, environment and economic issues. The programmes should seek to create sustainable communities and cities by achieving Resilient Communities and Cities, Just and Peaceful Communities, Viable Local Economies, and Eco-efficient cities