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Our Community, Our Future: Promoting Sustainable Development in Local Communities in Croatia
Project duration: Jan 2005 – Jun 2006
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Project Donor |
Contribution |
Currency |
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UK Environment for Europe Fund, Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
15.087 |
GBP |
Project aimes and objectives:
The overall aim of the project is to strengthen capacity of local governments in Croatia to develop into the 21st century, leading to a sustainable economic growth, solution of social problems and sustainable use of natural resources. In this project it will be particularly achieved by:
·increasing environmental and sustainable development awareness in the local governments through the consultation meetings
·promoting local community planning and Local Agenda 21 (LA21) development processes in local governments and Croatian civil society through workshops and publication of promotional material
Specific objectives of the project are:
·initiation of a dialogue of local authorities with citizens, local NGOs, educational institutions, private busimness secotr, and all other interested individuals and local organisations through new or stronger formal and informal links
·increased public awareness and better dissemination of information on environmental/sustainability problems and viable solutions in local communities through interactive workshops, meetings, and educational material (web site, brochure)
·local authorities are encouraged to assess and modify existing programmes, and strategic planning in line with current sustainability problems in the community (environmental officers are employed, environmental action planning is started, funds for the implementation of concrete activities is allocated, etc.)
Expected results and impacts:
·at least 3 municipalities/towns are committed to continue the environmental / sustainability planning in line with LA21 process and are acquainted with the basic steps
·increased knowledge of the local authorities and civil society representatives for developing the community vision ("how do I want my municipality to look in 20 years?"); it is expected that at least 25 people in each involved local community will be educated
·participating municipalities are developing strong formal relationships with different stakeholder groups (this will be measured through their participation in various relevant activities, like assistance in the development of interactive local authorities web site, co-organization of the thematic environmentally related workshops, etc.)
·in at least one municipality/town, the local authorities are commited to employ environmental officer (if non-existing) and/or develop web site for the interaction with citizens;
·at least one municipality/town should sign the Aalborg Charter, and commit to development of LA21 in the forthcoming period and/or starts the development of LA21 document
·where applicable, sources for co-financing of the development and implementation of LA21 in the community are identified, and mobilized
Important activities and results of the project Timeline interim report (REC Croatia identifies target municipalities/towns, and reports on the communication and consultation meetings) Jul 2005 seminars and workshops conducted in selected municipalities (Koprivnica, Hrvatska Kostajnica) Nov 2005 – Jun 2006 project publication (basics of environmental and sustainable action planning in local communities, best practices and project experience in selected towns) Jun 2006 project web site launched Jan 2006 project final report Jul 2006
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