V Report on the Local Sustainability of the Basque Country 2012-2014

V REPORT ON THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY2012-2014

LA AGENDA LOCAL 21

EN EUSKADI EN CIFRAS

6.103 acciones evaluadas

812 agentes municipales

implicados en Agenda Local 21

80% de municipios vascos con Agenda Local 21

81 municipios evaluando anualmente su

plan de acción y/o calculando indicadores

de sostenibilidad local (40.5% en 2014)

4.601 indicadores de sostenibilidad calculados

calculan su Inventarios de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI)62

municipios

Basque Declaration

VIDRIO

PAPEL Y CARTÓN

ENVASES YPLÁSTICOS

TEATRO

IKA

ST

OLA

8ª CONFERENCIA EUROPEA DE CIUDADES Y PUEBLOS SOSTENIBLES

AZOKA-MERCADO

©Ihobe S.A., April 2016

Published by: Ihobe, Publicly-owned Environmental Management CompanyMinistry for the Environment and Territorial Planning.Basque Government

Alda. Urquijo, 36 - 6º floor48011 BilbaoPhone number: 900 15 08 64www.udalsarea21.netwww.ihobe.euswww.ingurumena.eus Translation: Traductores e Interpretes Contents: This document has been prepared by Ihobe with the assistance of ENEA, Estrategias de Sostenibilidad, S.L.

The contents of this book, in this edition, are published under licence: Recognition – Non Commercial – No Derivatives Works 3.0Unported from Creative Commons (further information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.es_ES)

1. THE ROLE OF MUNICIPALITIES IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: LOCAL AGENDA 21 4

2. THE LOCAL AGENDA 21 IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY AND ITS COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY 5

3. EVALUATION AND MONITORING OF THE LOCAL AGENDAS 21 8

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LOCAL AGENDA 21 PLANS OF ACTION 9

4.1 THE LA21 PLANS OF ACTION AND THEIR EVOLUTION 2006-2014 9

4.2 CONTRIBUTION OF LOCAL AGENDAS 21 TO THE AALBORG COMMITMENTS 13

4.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LA21 PLANS OF ACTION IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY 15

5. IMPACT OF THE LA21S ON LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS 19

5.1 LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS 19

5.2 RESULTS OF THE ACTION IN LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY 22

6. 10 OUTSTANDING AGENDAS 27

7. TAKING STOCK AND FUTURE CHALLENGES 37

INDEX

V Report on the Local Sustainability of the Basque Country2012-2014

4

Sustainable development taken in its broadest accepted sense - environmental, economic and social sustainability - continues to raise many challenges. And local authorities are a lynchpin and essential to assume those challenges and act to benefit the general public.

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the result of an intensive public consultation and engagement process with civil society and other stakeholders around the world, will guide global world development programmes during the coming 15 years. The aim is to achieve global transformations that will significantly held to end extreme poverty, to fight against inequalities and injustices and to address climate change.

The Paris COP21 (2015) will enable the commitment and undeniable impact of the sub-state - local and regional governments initiatives aimed at cutting and adapting to climate change to be showcased and which are often ahead of the states themselves. This new global climate regime calls for understanding and cooperative work by the different levels of government and stresses the potential of the networks of regional government and municipal networks in the mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

In its 7th Environment Action Programme, entitled “Living well, within the limits of our planet”, the European Union proposes a shared and interesting vision for 2050: a low-carbon society, a circular and green economy and resilient ecosystems that lay the foundations for the wellbeing of the population.

And on a more local scale, the Basque Country, recognising the role of local government, includes its

1. THE ROLE OF MUNICIPALITIES IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: LOCAL AGENDA 21

opinion when defining and implementing its latest environmental policies, such as the Basque Climate Change Strategy 2050, the Waste Prevention and Management Plan 2020, the Geodiversity Strategy 2020 or the future Green Procurement Programme 2020.

In this context, particularly noteworthy is the integral Local Agenda 21, as a cross-cutting organisational umbrella and as a municipal management instrument to predict, design and implement public policies that meet those challenges. Therefore, Udalsarea 21, the Basque Network of Municipalities for Sustainability, has been driving those local sustainability processes for 15 years now in line with international guidelines and the policies of the Basque Country, in order to work towards the wellbeing and the quality of life of Basque society.

The choice of the Basque Country to host the 8th European Conference of Sustainable Towns and Cities, promoted by the ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability network, in April 2016, is no coincidence and means international recognition of the network and gives impetus to the Basque authorities to continue progressing in this regard. This is the most important European event on local sustainable development, proof of which are the previous conferences held in Aalborg (Denmark, 1994 and 2004), Lisbon (Portugal, 1996), Hannover (Germany, 2000), Seville (Spain, 2007), Dunkirk (France, 2010) and Geneva (Switzerland, 2013). The conference will highlight the urgent need for action by local governments to shape the future of Europe.


5

The presence of the Local Agenda 21 in the Basque CountryThe Basque Country is positioned as the autonomous community of Spain with the highest percentages of towns and cities with Local Agenda 21, approved by plenary sessions (198 municipalities, which account for 79% of the total), followed by the Balearic Islands (76%) and Na-varra (63%), according to data from the Spanish Environmental Profile 2012.

Yet the deployment of these agendas has evolved differently over time. Some municipalities have not succeeded in embracing it in their municipal management mechanism. Others, a hundred or so, have incorporated the Local Agenda 21 (LA21) into its local management in a consolidated and stable manner and many of them are firmly committed to a sustainable local development model. Consequently, at the end of the term of the initial plans, they proceeded to review their LA21s and define new local action plans. In 2014, 80% of the analysed plans are second generation.

The track record and consolidation of Local Agendas 21 have led to changes in the modus operandi of the local government, such as citizen participation, public management by objectives and accountability.

One of the characteristics of the Basque Country is its distribution into three provinces and the con-solidation within them of supramunicipal district organisation that play an essential role in managing local issues.

In the Local Agenda 21, the supramunicipal entities have also played a key role, particularly in the case of supramunicipal districts with many very small municipalities.

The Udalsarea 21 Local Agenda 21 modelIn the Basque Country, the first Local Agendas 21 started in the year 2000. In 2002, the Udalsarea 21 Network was set up with 16 trailblazing municipalities. By 2015, there were already 198 municipalities taking part in the Udalsarea 21 Network, along with the Transport Directo-rate and the Basque Water Agency (URA) coming under the Basque Government’s Department of the Environment and Territorial Policy, the Basque Government’s Department of Health and Ihobe, the Public Agency of Environment, as the Technical Secretariat of the network.

During the 2000-2010 decade, two lines of work were also implemented that enabled the quality of those processes to be guaranteed.

The first of them was the management model fostered among the Udalsarea 21 members, whose results were the basis for preparing this report. This model is based on the objective assessment of the plans of action and the monitoring of their results through sustainability indicators ba-sed on common methodology and on an annual basis. I

ICLEI establishes among the priorities of the policy-makers and the key aspects for the development of local sustainability policies, a series of recommendations where the eva-luation and monitoring of sustainability policies is particularly present, along with technical support for the process to ensure its monitoring, its continuous improvement and access to qualitative and quantitative information1.

The Basque Country is the autonomous community in the state of Spain with the highest percentage of LA 21 approved by full municipal plenary session.

The Basque LA21 fosters a governance model based on:public management by objectives, citizen participation and annual accountability to society.

2. THE LOCAL AGENDA 21 IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY AND ITS COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY

1“EUROPEAN FRAMEWORKS FOR LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY The Role of Researchers, Policy-Makers and European Institutions in Shaping Local Commitment”. 2012. Authors: Stefan Kuhn and Cristina Garzillo


6

The second line was aimed at facilitating the transition of the Local Agendas 21 to to a second stage or generation, once the term of the first plan of action had ended. It consisted of preparing new better quality plans and which were defined by more established local councils and which adapted the Local Agenda 21 to their real needs. Thanks to this, plans of action have been obtai-ned that are more integrating, bespoke and adapted to the specific features of the municipality. At a stage prior to the Local Agenda 21 review process, it would be the political willingness that would position the Local Agenda 21 as an environmental planning instrument or as a global municipal strategy.

Both lines of work use the “Mugi21” management tool, a software application designed by Udalsarea 21 that, on the one hand, facilitates the process and the management of the plan in the local councils, along with generating reports for their public dissemination and, on the other hand, it offers centralised information on the results to the Local Sustainability Observatory of the Basque Country, managed by the Udalsarea 21 technical secretariat.

During this decade, Udalsarea 21 likewise developed an innovative model to measure the global quality of the Local Agendas 21, known as tak21. The system support on a simple on-line application is based on multi-criteria self-assessment with external verification and is adjusted to the Basque Local Agenda 21 model.

The participation of the municipalities in this tak21 system allows them not only to globally measure the quality of their Local Agenda 21 every two years, but also to identify the areas for improvement regarding strategy and leadership, interdepartmental mainstreaming, citizen participation, planning and implementing sustainability policies, and municipal economic, social and environmental sus-tainability indicators. It also allows them to compare themselves to the set of municipalities of the Basque Country that take part in the different calls.

The Local Agenda 21 in the Basque municipalities and the Transparency ActThe Transparency Act (Act 19/2013, of 9 December and which has been very present in the civic and political agenda in recent times) establishes a series of section in order for transparency, access to public information and good governance to become fundamental core areas of any political action.

These sections are summarised in four areas:

As regards the enforceability of this legislation at local authority level and, in particular, the Active Publicity concept applied to the local sustainability policies, special mention should be made of Article 6, which deals with planning, organisation and institutional information. This section of the Act emphasises that the authorities should publish the multi-annual and annual plans and programmes in which the specific targets are set, along with the activities, means and timeline envisaged to achieve them. This article continues by proposing that its degree of compliance and results should be assessed and published periodically along with the assessment and measurement indicators.

Udalsarea 21 fosters a LA 21 based on evaluation and monitoring and the annual continuous improvement cycle.

ACTIVE PUBLICITY RIGHT OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION

TRANSPARENCY BOARD AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

GOOD GOVERNANCE



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ACTION

Publication of the Plan of Action in force Multi-annual plans (in general, 8 years) that include strategic objectives, targets and specific actions envisaged with at least the responsible party, timeline and priority.

Periodic assessment of the degree of implementationBy means of the shared evaluation and monitoring programmes with uniform assessment criteria. Usually annually.

Local Sustainability Indicators They enable the trends and results of the implementation of the Plan to be analyzed. Usually annually.

Approx. 200 municipalities



INDICADOR


The early action by Udalsarea 21, which has taken into account the need to guarantee access to information and to the outcomes by the general public from the methodology design phase onwards, means that, as of today, the local sustainability policies of over 100 Basque municipalities are totally in line with this section of the Transparency Act.

Specifically, the actions proposed by the aforementioned article in terms of the Local Agenda 21 model of the Basque municipalities driven by Udalsarea 21 are:

Publishing the LA21 programmes and plans of action, along with their degree of compliance and outcomes fulfils the Active Publicity requirement of the Transparency Act.


8

In 2014, the 8th Udalsarea 21 LA21 Evaluation and Monitoring Programme was conducted, which facilitated the assessment of the degree of implementation of the plans of action for 2013 and 2014, along with the calculation of local Sustainability Indicators for 2012 and 2013.

Municipal participation in the evaluation and monitoring programmes continued up until 2013 until around a hundred municipalities were consolidated and had assessed their plans of action and calculated local sustainability indicators. However, a drop was seen in the number of participating municipalities in the last programme, mainly associated to the fact that had outsourced this service up to 2013 and to the call coinciding with the LA21 internal review processes of some municipa-lities.

One of the main strengths of Udalsarea 21 is the networking and shared resources model that allow s a greater number of municipalities to be involved.

3. EVALUATION AND MONITORING OF THE LOCAL AGENDAS 21

Table1. Scope of the evaluation and monitoring of Local Agendas 21 in the Basque Country (2014).

Source: Basque Local Sustainability Observatory (2015)

Graph 1. Evolution of participating municipalities in the Local Agenda 21 evaluation and monitoring programmes (2007-2014)


EVALUATION AND MONITORING OF LOCAL AGENDAS 21 IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY 2014

6,103 assessed local actions

812 municipal stakeholders involved

4,601 indicators calculated

62 municipalities and 62 ayuntamientos con Inventario de gases de efecto invernadero


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4.1 The LA21 plans of action and their evolution 2006-2014

The assessment of the evaluation and monitoring programmes offered to the Udalsarea 21 Network allows the evolution of the LA21 plans to be seen. The analysis shows characteris-tic aspects of the plans such as their scope of number of actions planned, the number of municipal officers involved in their implementation or the themes addressed.

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LOCAL AGENDA 21 PLANS OF ACTION

Graph 2. Evolution of the average number of actions in the Local Plans of Action by size of municipality (2006, 2010, 2013 and 2014)


Graph 3. Evolution of the average number of stakeholders involved in the Local Plans of Action by size of municipality (2006, 2010, 2013 and 2014)



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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LA 21 PLANS OF ACTION

> LARGE-MEDIUM–SIZED MUNICIPALITIES: The plans of action in municipalities from a certain size (over 5,000 inhabitants) are progressively becoming more delimited in terms of number of actions. This trend is more notable the larger the municipalities are. When examining their evolution between 2006 and 2014, it can be seen that the plans were excessively broad in their first stage, also taking into account that the first plans were in force for 4 years. In the second stage, noted particularly for the plans passed from 2009 onwards, plans have been drafted with fewer actions and a longer planning period (8 years), which resulted in plans between in line with the municipal intervention capacity. This is directly related to the number of stakeholders involved in their implemen-tation that has gradually been cut to stakeholders that really play an active role in the im-plementation of the plans and which also, contrary to what it may seem, represent more municipal management areas, as the economic and social aspects have been reinforced in the second-generation plans.

> SMALL MUNICIPALITIES: However, it is noteworthy that the trend is inversed in small municipalities, as the plans have progressively been adjusting upwards. This is also seen in the trend of the number of stakeholders involved and the supramunicipal entities have been participating more actively in the implementation of the plans over time.

The plans of actions have been adjusted during their review to bring them more in line with the local reality and viability.


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Graph 4. Distribution of the actions of the Local Action Plans according to thematic areas (2006-2014)


The environmental aspects and the economic and social aspects have inverted their relative importance in the plans of actions between 2006 and 2014.

Table 2. Evolution of the actions planned in the Plan of Actions by thematic areas (2007-2011-2014)


Territorial aspectsTerritory and PlanningBiodiversity and the Natural EnvironmentMobility and TransportEnvironmental aspectsWaterWasteEnergySustainable consumption and awareness raisingEnvironmental management of local governmentEnvironmental management of economic activitiesEconomic and social aspectsEconomic DevelopmentJob marketWell-being and social inclusionHealthGovernance aspectsCommunication and citizen participation

20078.6%6.5%

11.2%20076.5%7.5%4.9%8.2%7.6%3.8%20075.5%2.2%9.2%1.4%20072.8%

20117.3%7.3%

11.0%20115.7%7.9%5.5%4.7%6.5%2.7%20116.6%1.8%7.2%2.3%20116.5%

20146.3%6.7%

11.2%20144.7%6.2%5.7%3.3%6.1%2.6%20149.1%3.5%8.1%2.0%20145.3%

Evolution

Evolution

Evolution

Evolution

Actions planned in the Plans of Action (%)


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THEMATIC AREAS IN THE LA21 PLANS OF ACTION

> One of the issues that are making the greatest difference in the Basque Country with the consolidation of the LA21 is the shift from primarily environmental plans to plans that in-clude economic and social action, along with the territorial and environmental action from a sustainable development perspective.

> The territorial aspects which by nature have longer timelines are those which shown greatest stability. They have had a relative weight of between 27% and 24% in the plans from the start, and there were no great changes in the period 2006-2014.

> On the other hand, the environmental and socio-economic aspects have respectively invested their presence in plans of action, between 2006 and 2014. The economic and social aspects have gone from an average presence of 23% in the LA21 plans in 2006 to 41% in 2014. Meanwhile, the environmental aspects, have gone from representing 50% in 2006 to 35% in 2014.

> Looking at the specific thematic areas in greater detail, it can be seen that the greater upward evolution is focused in the actions planned regarding the economic develop-ment and job market. This represents a notable evolution in the design of the Local Agendas 21, which have shifted from being environmental plans to being considered as policies for local sustainable development.

> Furthermore, the planned actions regarding Energy have progressively increased their presence, as the municipalities have responded to emerging needs such as ener-gy efficiency or fighting climate change.


Graph 5. Actions planned in the Action Plans by thematic area (2014)Source: Basque Local Sustainability Observatory (2015)


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4.2 Contribution of Local Agendas 21 to the Aalborg Commitments

In 1994, the I European Conference of Sustainable Towns and Cities was held in the Danish city of Aalborg, where the “Aalborg Charter” was drafted and which was subsequently adopted by a great number of municipalities. Ten years later, the IV Conference held in Aalborg again produced the 10 Aalborg Commitments, which allowed the local commitments to sustainable development to be aligned and specified Europe-wide.

Udalsarea 21, by means of different resources adopted by the network members, incorporated the way of relating municipal management to those commitments. And since 2007, the planning of Lo-cal Agendas 21 and the degree of implementation of the plans could be measured according to the structure of those commitments.

In 2014, the Aalborg Charter celebrated its 20th anniversary and the Aalborg Commitments their 10th.

Udalsarea 21 signed up to the Aalborg Commitments in 2004 and their spirit have underpinned the Basque Local Agendas 21 since then.


Graph 6. Actions planned in the Aalborg Commitment Plans of Action (2007 and 2014)Source: Basque Local Sustainability Observatory (2015)

Graph 7. Percentage of actions executed in the Aalborg Commitment Plans of Action (2007 and 2014) Source: Basque Local Sustainability Observatory (2015)


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CONTRIBUTION OF UDALSAREA 21 TO THE AALBORG COMMITMENTS

Udalsarea 21 particularly contributes to the following Aalborg Commitments:

> Commitment 9. Social equality and justice. This commitment includes different as-pects that impact the wellbeing of people: job market, welfare and social inclusion, equality, housing, coexistence, culture and the Basque language. Apart from its scope, it should be noted that they are areas that have increased in importance in the Local Agendas 21 as their mainstreaming has increased and the socio-economic aspects have been incorporated. The coherence between planning and implementation is remarkable, given that the most executed commitments coincide with the commit-ments that are most present when planning local action. Thus, commitment 9. Social equity and justice has been implemented in 20% over 4 years of the average implemen-tation of the executed plans.

> Commitment 3. Common natural assets. Many of the environmental manage-ment aspects of the municipalities are included here. Specifically, this commitment co-vers the fields of biodiversity and natural environment, water, energy, atmosphere, soil, noise, environmental risk and environmental management of economic activities. Even though its relative presence has dropped slightly, it contains a very significant part of the actions carried out by the local councils focused on guaranteeing the conservation of the ecosystems, a more efficient use of the natural resources such as water and energy and improving the environmental quality of the towns and cities. In this case, there is also coherence between it being the second commitment most present in the Local Agendas 21 and being the second with the highest implementation percentage, at 13%.

> Commitment 4. Responsible consumption and lifestyle choices. It is of significant importance in this area that includes the sustainable consumption and awareness-rai-sing actions and those that imply less consumption of material resources in order to drive sustainable management or resources and waste. In the same way as the previous two, this commitment coincides with being the third most planned and most implemented in the Local Agendas 21.

> Commitment 8. Sustainable and lively local economy. This commitment includes the actions that consider the economic development and the environmental mana-gement of the economic activities.

> When comparing the contribution of the Udalsarea 21 municipalities to the Aalborg Commitments between 2007 and 2014, both clearly marked by the two generations of Local Agendas 21 in the Basque Country, it can be seen that the commitments that clearly increased their presence in the second generation plans were Commitment 9. Equality and social justice, Commitment 8. Sustainable and lively local eco-nomy and Commitment 10. From local to global The actions planned in the latter embody programmes to fight against climate change and energy plans integrated in the Local Agenda 21 plans.

> On the other hand, the second-generation plans have shifted away from more con-solidated commitments such as Commitment 4. Responsible consumption and lifestyle choices, or Commitment 2. Urban management for sustainable deve-lopment, with the latter being a commitment which includes actions aimed at conso-lidating the management of the Local Agenda 21 process and its mainstreaming in the local authorities, issues that the second-generation plans consider to be part of the very definition of the model.



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4.3 Implementation of the LA21 plans of action in the Basque Country

Given the nature and scope of the Local Agenda 21 plans of action in the Basque Country, a ben-chmark annual target degree of implementation has been established for them, with a maximum achievable implementation of 82.5%.

Graph 8. Average degree of implementation of the Plans of Action with respect to the target (2014)Source: Basque Local Sustainability Observatory (2015)

Average implementation period of the assessed plans: 4 yearsAverage degree of implementation of the Plans: 39%Target degree of implementation at 4 years: 49.5%

LA21 DEGREE OF IMPLEMENTATION

> The average implementation period of the analysed plans is 4 years with an avera-ge degree of implementation of 39% compared to a 50% established as the target value for that same year. Even so, the fact that several municipalities exceeded the tar-get value is positive.

> The implementation rate of the second generation plans is higher than that of the first ones. This is due to several reasons: they are more recent plans and therefore more current and are more in line with municipal reality, and after the lessons learnt by the local councils themselves when managing their first LA21, their definition even further reduces the scope and nature of the planned actions.


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Graph 9. Actions implemented compared to those envisaged in the Plans of Action by thematic area (2014).


Areas, such as mobility, economic development, waste management or social wellbeing, show a notable degree of development.

LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIFFERENT THEMATIC AREAS

The fact that these actions carried out tally with the plans assessed in 2014, most of which are second-generation plan, is remarkable and, therefore, all the actions performed in the previous plans are added to them.

> The action implementation status in 2014 shows areas with a significant degree of development as is the case of mobility with 281 actions implemented, which include actions related to expanding the network of bidegorris [cycle lanes]; improving safety (installing overpasses, traffic lights or improving pavements), or better public transport services in order to encourage their use compared to private motor vehicles.

> Economic development, with 207 actions implemented, is the following area to be highlighted, where actions stand out at local level, such as the implementation of bu-siness revitalisation plans that drive local employment; supporting business and entre-preneur initiatives; backing and advising companies on innovation and competitiveness; giving impetus to the professionalization of the tourist sector and promoting organic farming.


17


> 191 actions implemented in waste management have particularly focused on analysing and improving separate collection, with a particular emphasis in recent years on solutions for organic waste (community composting, own-composting and fifth container). There was likewise a particular emphasis on awareness-raising and educational campaigns on responsible consumption.

> Social wellbeing, with 188 actions implemented, is also one of the most constant areas in the Local Agendas 21 with actions such as setting up protocols on how to act in the case of domestic violence; actions aimed at facilitating the integration of immigrants in the mu-nicipality; facilitating meeting premises with a stable offering of amenities for young people; or the fitting out and making flats available for people at risk and/or social exclusion.

> The actions carried out under Communication and Citizen Participation [136 actions implemented], show the role that the Local Agendas 21 have played in recent years, to make the general public co-responsible, on the one hand, but, above all, to close the gap with local policies and foster joint decision making with the general public. Standard actions in this area in Local Agendas 21 are the progressive use of new technologies to improve information, communication and citizen participation, with the use of social media growing in this regard. The actions with greater implementation and presence in general are those related to the School Agenda 21, an educational tool that is widely consolidated in the Basque Country through the work of the Ingurugelas (Basque Government) and cooperation with the schools.

> In some cases, such as Biodiversity [131 actions performed], the impetus through spe-cific subsidy lines have fostered actions such as identifying and disseminating the natural values of the municipality, the recovery of natural zones, the work to eliminate invasive species, and impetus to organic allotments for the general public.

> Energy [117 actions performed] is a field which has increased its presence when planning the LA21s, and which has a notable funding framework, achieved 34% implementation of what was planned for 2014. In this regard, apart for the actions specifically driven by the local councils due to their high returns, such as measures regarding street lighting or improvements to buildings. Special mention should also be made of the many associated innovative actions linked to the Smart City concept.

> As regards the actions implemented under Climate Change [21 actions], even though, as such, it seems to have a low degree of implementation, it should be remembered that only specific mitigation and adaptation planning actions are envisaged in this area, and that the majority of the actions performed in fields such as Energy and Mobility also contributed and added to them, and to a great extent they are also implemented under Waste.

> The area of Water [100 actions performed], which has received a notable impetus with the presence of The Basque Agency of the Water in the Udalsarea 21 Network, accounts for 35% implementation with respect to what is planned in this regard. Actions performed in this area include improving the supply and sewage network; analysis and fostering the use of non-drinkable water for irrigation and road cleaning; running awareness-raising campaigns in the rational use and saving of water, encouraging the reuse of water; or the introduction of measures to save water in municipal services and facilities.

> The economic context also conditions a lower degree of development in areas that require greater investments, as is the case of Housing, or Soil Pollution.

> Health was another of the areas of the LA21 without playing a key role so far. However, the Basque Government’s Ministry of Health signing up to Udalsarea 21 and the initiatives


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carried out in the framework of the network in this regard seems to have driven the number of actions, including installing urban gyms in open public spaces; extending and adapting the sports activities offered by the municipality; or implementing active drug-prevention policies.


Apart from the very activity generated by municipalities through their plans of action, the Udalsarea 21 Network supports the network members through different lines of work/services. The activity of the Network in 2014, can be consulted in the 2014 Activity Report available from www.udalsarea21.net.

http://www.udalsarea21.net/Default.aspx?IdMenu=7ADD69FD-7B71-4861-AD3C-F526ACBDE138&Idioma=en-GB


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5.1 Local Sustainability Indicators

The sustainable action of the supramunicipal districts and the Basque municipalities and their re-sults are measured by means of the Local Sustainability Indicators. Udalsarea 21 has a com-mon system of indicators that the municipalities calculate annually.

Thus, the local councils have up-to-date information for internal decision taking in the management of the Local Agenda 21. These results are also useful to bring the environmental information and expertise in the population from a local context and approach.

The results of the indicator calculation of each municipality are centralised in the Basque Local Sustainability Observatory. The local results are thus aggregated, which enables benchmark global values and conclusions to be extracted on a regional scale.

Then, the evolution of the main calculated Local Sustainability Indicators is set out, along with, whe-rever possible, benchmark data for the BAC and those of the State.

The consolidation of the indicator calculation process in the municipalities thanks to the Udalsarea 21 evaluation and monitoring programmes enables the quality of the values obtained to be increa-sed year after year, in a continuous improvement process.

For 2012 and 2013, the Udalsarea 21 results tally with information contributed by a group of 50-65 municipalities, according to the calculation year. Approximately, 50% of those municipalities have a population under 5,000 inhabitants.

5. IMPACT OF THE LA21s on LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS


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2007

22.6

23 139

74 38

0.18

5

95 207

1.26 28 6

US21

2009

23.0

19 132

30 87

0.18

5

174

194

1.28 28 12

US21

2011

23.6

20 128

30 96

0.19

3

1,10

4

178

1.24 29 8

US21

2012

17.5

18 123

29 85

0.22

6

2,72

9

185

1.23 33 11

US21

2013

17.1

20 119

27 91

0.22

2

2,81

5

158

1.21 34 11

Evol

utio

nBA

CSp

ain

-- 20,3

123

20 86

0,21

6

2,24

2

-- 1.38 30 --

(201

3)(2

012)

(201

3)(2

013)

(201

3)(2

013)

(201

3)(2

013)

(201

3)(2

013)

(201

3)(2

013)

(201

3)(2

013)

In r

ecen

t ye

ars,

the

art

ifici

aliz

atio

n of

the

ter

ritor

y ha

s sl

owed

dow

n si

gnifi

cant

ly. V

ery

sign

ifica

nt d

iffer

ence

s ha

ve b

een

obse

rved

loca

lly. I

n th

e ca

se o

f th

e Ud

alsa

rea

21 m

unic

ipal

ities

, so

me

have

90%

art

ifici

alis

atio

n w

hile

ot

hers

sta

nd a

t aro

und

1%.

Hous

ehol

d w

ater

con

sum

ptio

n ha

s fa

llen

nota

bly

and

the

Basq

ue C

ount

ry i

s th

e ei

ghth

reg

ion

of S

pain

with

the

lo

wes

t ho

useh

old

wat

er c

onsu

mpt

ion.

The

re c

ontin

ues

to

be a

nee

d to

red

uce

the

volu

mes

una

ccou

nted

for

and

in

the

treat

men

t of

the

res

idua

l wat

er, a

s th

ey o

ccur

in s

ys-

tem

s co

nnec

ted

to th

e m

ains

.

The

Basq

ue m

unic

ipal

ities

are

cle

arly

com

mitt

ed to

ene

rgy

savi

ngs

and

effic

ienc

y. S

treet

ligh

ting

is o

ne o

f th

e ar

eas

that

bes

t re

flect

s th

is a

ctio

n w

ith a

pro

gres

sive

red

uc-

tion

of i

ts e

nerg

y co

nsum

ptio

n. S

peci

al m

entio

n sh

ould

be

mad

e of

the

incr

ease

in r

enew

able

ene

rgy

prod

uctio

n,

whi

ch s

till o

ffers

gre

at o

ppor

tuni

ty fo

r gro

wth

, eve

n th

ough

th

e qu

ality

of t

he in

form

atio

n w

hich

has

impr

oved

in re

cent

ye

ars

mus

t als

o be

con

side

red

whe

n an

alys

ing

that

dat

a.

The

trend

to c

ut w

aste

gen

erat

ion

and

the

incr

ease

in re

cy-

clin

g w

as c

onfir

med

and

it is

bei

ng re

info

rced

with

the

se-

para

te c

olle

ctio

n of

the

orga

nic

was

te. E

U-28

Dat

a (2

013)

: 1.

32 k

g ur

ban

was

te/in

hab/

day

and

42%

urb

an w

aste

co-

llect

ed s

epar

atel

y.

Envi

ronm

enta

l edu

catio

n ac

tiviti

es r

emai

n at

a c

onsi

dera

-bl

e le

vel d

espi

te b

udge

t cu

ts. S

peci

al m

entio

n sh

ould

be

mad

e of

the

wor

k ca

rrie

d ou

t as

part

of S

choo

l Age

nda

21.

(201

3)


21

5. IMPACT OF THE LA21s on LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS SU

STAI

NABI

LITY

INDI

CATO

RS (2

007-

2013

)

Indi

cato

rCL

IMAT

E CH

ANGE

Gree

nhou

se g

as in

vent

ory

of th

e m

unic

ipal

ity (k

gCO 2e/

inha

b/ye

ar) (

with

out

indu

stry

)

- Gr

eenh

ouse

gas

inve

ntor

y of

the

of th

e lo

cal c

ounc

il (k

gCO 2e/

inha

b/ye

ar)

AIR

QUAL

ITY

Days

with

goo

d or

acc

epta

ble

air q

ualit

y (%

)

JOB

MAR

KET

AND

ECON

OMIC

VI

TALI

TY

Unem

ploy

ed la

bour

forc

e (%

)

Unem

ploy

ed fe

mal

e la

bour

forc

e (%

)

Com

pany

cre

atio

n (d

iffer

ence

bet

wee

n es

tabl

ishm

ents

ope

ned

and

clos

ed in

the

mun

icip

ality

/1,0

00 in

habi

tant

s)

Reta

il tra

de s

urfa

ce a

rea

(m2 /1

,000

in

habi

tant

s)

CITI

ZEN

PART

ICIP

ATIO

N

Citiz

en p

artic

ipat

ion

mee

tings

(No.

m

eetin

gs/y

ear)

Atte

ndee

s at

citi

zen

part

icip

atio

n m

eetin

gs

(No.

diff

eren

t tot

al a

ttend

ees

at th

e se

t of

sess

ions

/yea

r)

US21

2007 -- -- -- 8.5

11.1

4.7

1,04

5

7 96

US21

2009 6.8

0.15 90 9.5

10.7

-0.2

1,12

1

6 65

US21

2011 6.0

0.14 97 11.2

13.1 -3 986 8 79

US21

2012 6.4

0.15 98 13.3

14.8

-3.5

929

10 140

US21

2013 6.2

0.12 99 13.5

15.2

-1.7

973

11 131

Evol

utio

nBA

CSp

ain

8.9

(201

3)

-- 99 (201

3)

15.9

(201

3)

17.1

(201

3)

-2.4

(201

3)

1,43

4(2

013)

-- --

7.1

(201

3)

-- -- 25.7

(201

3)

26.2

(201

3)

-- -- -- --

Sour

ce: B

asqu

e Lo

cal S

usta

inab

ility

Obs

erva

tory

(201

5); B

asqu

e Go

vern

men

t Min

istr

y of

the

Envi

ronm

ent a

nd T

errit

oria

l Pol

icy.

Gree

nhou

se G

as E

mis

sion

Inve

ntor

y; B

asqu

e en

ergy

dat

a. E

VE; S

pani

sh M

inis

try

of A

gric

ultu

re, F

ood

and

the

Envi

ronm

ent;

EUST

AT; E

UROS

TAT;

INE.

Calc

ulat

ing

loca

l GHG

em

issi

ons

puts

the

inve

ntor

ies

and

resu

lts m

onito

ring

on t

he lo

cal s

cale

. The

GHG

em

issi

ons

in U

dals

area

21

are

sim

ilar t

o th

ose

of S

pain

and

are

und

er

the

aver

age

for t

he B

AC.

EU-2

7 da

ta (2

011)

: 9.1

kgC

O 2e/in

hab/

year

The

resu

lts s

how

the

impr

ovem

ent

to t

he a

ir qu

ality

tha

t ha

s be

en o

bser

ved

in th

e Ba

sque

Cou

ntry

in re

cent

yea

rs.

The

impa

ct o

f th

e ec

onom

ic c

risis

cou

ld b

e se

en o

n th

e un

empl

oym

ent r

ate

and

on c

reat

ing

com

pani

es. H

owev

er,

the

resu

lts fo

r the

Uda

lsar

ea 2

1 m

embe

r mun

icip

aliti

es a

re

bette

r tha

n fo

r the

ave

rage

for t

he B

AC a

nd S

pain

. EU

-27

data

(201

1): 1

0.6%

labo

ur fo

rce

unem

ploy

ed, 1

0.6%

fe

mal

e la

bour

forc

e un

empl

oyed

.

Diffe

rent

mun

icip

aliti

es h

ave

activ

e ci

tizen

par

ticip

atio

n m

echa

nism

s. T

he L

ocal

Age

nda

21 r

evie

w p

roce

sses

are

of

ten

used

to re

vive

oth

er p

roce

sses

whe

re th

ere

had

been

a

dow

ntur

n in

act

ivity

.


22


5.2 Results of the action in local sustainability

Four areas were then analysed in greater depth as they were considered to be of particular interest for their priority in the Strategic Objectives of the Basque Government’s Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Policy for 2012-2016:

• Sustainable management of resources and waste

• Climate change

• Improving ecosystems

• Economic and social aspects

The action performed as part of the Local Agenda 21 and the results obtained were analysed for each area. Some specific examples of local action, along with a global analysis of Udalsarea 21 have been included.

RESULTS OF THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY POLICIES

> The evolution of the main local sustainability indicators shows the progress made in citizen co-responsibility in recent years. Results such as household water consump-tion, waste generation or separate collection have evolved positively.

> The need is now being considered as how to also transfer this change of habits to the use of energy, an area related to aspects such as climate change or the economy.

> Supramunicipal and local management have consolidated different models and policies that require going further with more sustainable options to improve the results. That is the case of introducing separate collection or organic waste or of the systems to use renewable energies.

> In the social and economic arena, the current climate threatens the quality of life and conditions of the general public, which is clearly a challenge for the different stakehol-ders. The Local Agenda 21 provides a framework for coordinating these actions and for the necessary cooperation to carry them out.


23


THE MUNICIPALITIES ACT

Sustainable management of resources is driven by responsible consumption and production. That opts for products and services that include environmental aspects. During the design, production, use and final destination phases, the emphasis is on cutting the environmental impact by means of prevention, durability, a reuse and recycling and nearby marketing channels.

The generation of urban solid waste per inhabitant continued to fall and went from 1.26 kg/inhabitant and day in 2007 to 1.21 kg/inhabitant and day in 2013. Those values are under of the Spanish average (1.28 kg/inhab and day, 2013) and of Europe of the 28 (1.32 kg/inhabitant and day, 2013). Source: Eustat.Special mention should be made of the implementation of the first waste prevention plans impacting the initial rung of the waste management hierarchy defined by the European Union.Waste collection in the Udalsarea 21 municipalities reached an average value of 34% in 2013. However, this value is now being easily exceeded thanks to the introduction of the separate collection of organisation waste according to different models, such as introducing the 5th container, self-composting and different door-to-door waste collection option, which even reached 75%.In tandem, many different actions have been implemented to foster green procurement and responsible consumption that leads to more efficient use of the resources.

• Supramunicipal Municipal Solid Waste Prevention Programme

• A combined waste collection system implemented by combining containers and door-to-door

• Self-composting of organic household waste introduced

• 5th container for the separate collection of organic waste introduced

Separate collection rate in Spain: 18% (2013)

Separate collection rate

in the European Union: 42% (2013)

Separate collection rate including the organic waste as per different Basque models:

75% (2013)

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES AND WASTE

PLANNING IN LOCAL AGENDA 21

RESULTS

Sustainable consumption and

awareness raising

Commitment 4. Responsible

consumption and lifestyle choices

Waste 374 actions

197 actions

11.7% of the actions

Source: Local Sustainability Observatory of the BAC



24



The need to act regarding mitigating and adapting to climate change is already obvious internationally. Towns and cities have a leading role to play in this task and take up the challenge based on the planning and implemen-tation of actions included in the Local Agenda 21 in very different areas that clearly influence mitigation: energy, mobility, territory, air and waste, etc. As well as regarding adapting by means of the areas of biodiversity and the natural environment, waste and environmental risk, among others.

For the fifth year running, 62 Udalsarea 21 municipalities have calculated the GHG Inventory of the muni-cipality and of the Local Council, which means data are available on the evaluation of GHG emissions at local level. In 2013, GHG emissions in the Udalsarea 21 municipalities were 6.2 tCO2e/inhabitant (without considering the industrial emissions). Transport was the sector with the highest emissions followed by the residential sector. As regards the local councils, there has been special emphasis on cutting emissions from street lighting, first of all, with savings and efficiency actions, and from municipal buildings, which are responsible for most of the emissions of the local councils.The Udalsarea 21 tools to calculate GHG inventories also comply with the Covenant of Mayors and the ISO 14064. Furthermore, they have been reviewed to ensure they comply with the requirements of the Basque Climate Change Strategy - Klima 2050 and with international initiatives such as the UN Compact of Mayors.

• Donostia -CO2 Household Project: Families supporting Climate and Smart Street. 6th campaign to install smart energy meters in homes (Donostia-San Sebastián)

• Municipal Energy Manager created (Balmaseda).

• Introduction of an urban bus to connect the different neighbourhoods of the municipality (Legazpi)

CLIMATE CHANGE

PLANNING IN LOCAL AGENDA 21 RESULTS

Energy

Commitment 10. From local

to global

Mobility and Transport

GHG emissions of the municipality by

sector (2013)

Local council GHG emissions

per sector (2013)

676 actions

344 actions

6.8% of the actions



Waste9%

Services12%

Residential 19%

Transport60%

Buildings62%

Municipal fleet11%

Street lighting27%


25



The loss of biological diversity has increased rapidly in recent years, due to the impact of human activities and the advance of infrastructures and urban development. Conservation and sustainable exploitation of biological diversity are essential to achieve a sustainable development of the ecosystems. The local councils are working in this line in conjunction with the territorial authorities to slow down the loss of diversity.

The majority of the actions included in the LA21s are aimed at recovering the native forest and restoring river beds. As part of Udalsarea 21, two Ekitaldes [workshops] were held and a specific working party set up with representatives of different Basque authorities to address the different areas of Biodiversity and give impetus to municipal action in this arena and work is currently being carried out on invasive species. Along with the courses of action by the municipalities, there is the contribution of the supramunicipal au-thorities to conserve biological diversity, as it is an area which is being approached from a territorial pers-pective.. In this regard, the Basque Government is fostering local courses of action by subsiding projects aimed at conserving biodiversity with an investment of over EUR 2.7 million in 75 projects between 2011 and 2013.

• Acquisition by the local council of the privately owned spaces of natural interest to protect them and promote them (Amurrio)

• Studying and monitoring the behaviour of the invasive species and implementation of plans to eliminate or control them (Donostia-San Sebastián)

• Stewardship of the territory in the Muskiz rivers (Muskiz)

• Fostering the use of native species on the public utility woodland (different municipalities)

20% of Basque territory is

protected by Natura 2000

Network

58 different spaces make up the Natura 2000 Network of the

Basque Country

75 biodiversity projects subsidised by the Basque

Government with a budget of €2.7 million

(2011-2013)

CONSERVING ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY


RESULTS

Biodiversity and the Natural Environment

Commitment 3. Common natural assets

(biodiversity and natural environment actions)

405 actions

16% of the actions



26



The environmental, social and economic crisis that western countries are suffering is directly affecting the citizenry. Local councils, due to their proximity, have undertaken to work with other sectors to foster economic activity and maintain the degree of welfare achieved. The Local Agenda 21, due to its cross-cutting nature, provides an ideal work framework to do so.

The economic indicators –unemployment rate and company creation - have worsened in recent years. Despite this, the unemployment rate in the Basque Country in 2013 was 13.5%, far below the Spanish rate (25.7%, 2013). The Local Agenda 21, with a long proven track record in the integration of sectoral fields and in policy and technical work from mainstreaming, is being an appropriate framework to link the action of the municipali-ties given the urgency of the measures required.The assessed plans include over 2,000 economic and social actions, which account for 41% of total ac-tions.The actions are aimed at fostering the economic activity of the different sectors and to offset the negative effects of the consequences of the crisis in the most badly hit sectors of population.

• Tourism fostered by showcasing the rural environmental and the landscape and natural resources (Cuadrilla de Salvatierra).

• Services to support business initiatives and entrepreneurs (Urretxu).

• Implementation of joint actions with local trade (Ermua).

• Services aimed at sectors to be reinforced: dependent elderly, immigrants, children and youth, etc. (different municipalities).

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASPECTS


RESULTS

Economic Development

Well-being and social

inclusion

Job market

Culture and the Basque

Language

Equality

Coexistence

Commitment 8. Sustainable

and lively local economy

Commitment 9. Social equality

and justice

546 actions

489 actions

212 actions

425 actions

148 actions

93 actions

11% of the actions

19. 8% of the actions



27

The Local Agendas 21 in the Basque Country are at a stage of maturity that means a series of own hallmarks and which in the majority of cases, as they are in their second stage, have become bench-mark local policies that are closely adapted to each municipality.

10 benchmark Local Agendas 21 in the Basque Country in terms of their track records, of the qua-lity of their processes measured using the tak21 assessment system and their participation in the Udalsarea 21 network are described below.

6. 10 OUTSTANDING AGENDAS

The municipality

The keys for success

Characteristics of its Local Agenda 21

Amurrio is a municipality located in the north-west of the province of Ala-va, in the Ayala region, and 35 km from its capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz. With nearly 10,000 inhabitants, it has nine councils, apart from the centre.

Amurrio’s economy is mainly based on industry. Special mention should be made of the sectors related to metal (basic metal industries), timber and derivatives (small workshops and manufacturing furniture), food, construction, etc.

In 2001, Amurrio Local Council signed up to the Aalborg Charter, undertook to work locally for sustainable development, by means of implementing a Local Agenda 21 in the municipality. After implementing two Plans of Actions, it passed its Third Local Plan of Action towards Sustainable Development in November 2014. This plan is the roadmap that will guide the municipal courses of action in order to continue progressing in local sustainability and with the sights sets on 2020.

The Sustainability Committee, made up of both technical and political posts from each area of the local council, is responsible for overseeing and developing the LA21, in order to ensure the mainstreaming of the process.

In 2003, the citizen participation forum Arnasa was set up and whose main task was to represent the joint interests of the com-munity, as the citizen participation consultative body in the field of sustainability. Since 2006, it also has had a Citizen Participation Regulation. This participation forum was set up at a time when the citizen participation processes were still in the formative sta-ges and has been a benchmark in the Basque Country, in the fra-mework of citizen participation in LA21.

The commitment to transparency of this policy is also another key aspect of Amurrio’s success. It annually publishes on its web-site the assessment of the implementation of the commitments acquired in the local plan of action of its LA21 and its results.

AL 21

AMUR

RIO

Further information:www.amurrio.org

i

http://www.amurrio.org/es


28


The municipality


Areatza is a rural municipality, with a surface area of 9 km2, located in the Arratia-Nervión supramunicipal district that has a population of 1,211 inhabitants. An important part of the municipal district is in the Gorbeia Natural Park, where Areatza is one of its main gateways. Apart from its remarkable natural heritage, special mention should be made of its well consolidated Old Town and which is catalogued as a site of historical importance.

Areatza’s commitment to progress towards sustainable development dates back to 2001 and it passed its first Plan of Action (2004-2008) at the end of 2004

In this first stage of the Local Agenda 21, Areatza Local Council focused on improving the LA21 and on defining sectoral policies, which particularly included the incorporation of the gender perspective in its LA21. This integration was carried out as part of a Udalsarea 21 working party, by means of which, not only was the plan of action amended to incorporate this vision, but a map was also produced with the symbolic representation of the presence of outstanding women in the names of streets, square, monuments and buildings of the muni-cipality.

The second Plan of Action, which highlights the whole of the previous track record of the Local Agenda 21, was passed in 2009 and it is a Municipal Strategic Plan for 2020 to pro-gress towards a more sustainable municipality in the coming years, with a special emphasis on fighting climate change, gender equality, immigration, mobility, mainstreaming and use of the Basque Language.

AL 21

The keys for successOnce of the keys of success of the Areatza Local Agenda 21 is that the Plan of Action includes different municipal plans and policies, which allows systematic joint monitoring and analysis of different policies.

AREA

TZA

Further information:http://www.areatza.net

http://www.arratia.net

i

http://www.areatza.net/eu-ES/Orrialdeak/default.aspx

http://www.arratia.net/eu-ES/Orrialdeak/default.aspx


29


The municipality


Donostia/San Sebastián, with nearly 187,000 inhabitants, is a coastal city located in an outstanding natural environment. It is a strategically situated city and connected to the cross-border corridor. The city is the capital of the province of Gipuzkoa and is on the shore of the Bay of Biscay, and has three beaches and a small port. Even though the area is mostly hilly, there are some flat areas where much of the urban centre is located

Trade and tourism are the city’s main activities. Furthermore, thanks to its commitment to culture, Donostia/San Sebastián will be the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

The city of Donostia/San Sebastián has had a Local Agenda 21 since 2004 and it has defined and developed two plans of action up to 2014. Right from the start, the Local Agenda 21 has been seen as a framework to plan the environmental action of the city by integrating those environmental sectoral policies.

The third Local Agenda 21 plan of action, envisaged for the period 2015-2022, also inclu-des the Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy, arising from the Covenant of Mayor and the Noise Pollution Plan.

The new plan of action in force is a programme document and a work and management tool for Donostia/San Sebastián City Council. Furthermore, it is an instrument to achieve the goals set out in the Hiri Berdea 2030 environmental strategy.

AL 21

The keys for successOnce of the keys for success of the Donostia/San Sebastián Local Agenda 21 is having Regulations that regulate not only the acti-vity of the Environmental Advisory Board, but also of the coor-dinated work of different departments that through 6 technical boards, play an essential role in implementing and monitoring the Local Agenda 21.

Another of the key for success of the Donostia/San Sebastián Lo-cal Agenda 21 is that innovative projects are driven from this local policy sufficiently in advance to position the City Council in the most cutting-edge sustainability initiatives.

DONO

STIA

SAN

SEBA

STIÁ

N

Further information:https://www.donostia.org/

i

https://www.donostia.eus/


30


The municipality


Durango is a medium-sized service city, strategically placed in the auto-nomous community. It has an important industrial sector mainly devoted to smelting and tool manufacturing. It is the main town of the Durangue-sado supramunicipal district that occupies the middle and upper part of the River Ibaizábal valley, where the service sector is highly developed in the retail, public services, transport, banks and insurance areas. With a surface area of 10.79 km2, the municipality has 28,618 inhabitants.

Durango signed up to the Local Agenda 21 in 2002 when it unanimously approved the Aalborg Charter in the municipal Plenary Session. After the first plan of action (2007-2011) which was 73% implemented, they passed the second plan of action with a strategic vi-sion of the municipality for 2020 in 2013.

The 2013-2020 Plan of Action represents a decisive step in the Durango Local Agenda 21, for three fundamental reasons: for integrating for the first time sustainability criteria in all the policies and fields of municipal action, for being the framework of all the programmes and measures implemented by the Local Council, and for having incorporated the opinion of the general public, both in the socio-environmental diagnostics and in the forward-looking vision and the future proposals for the municipality and for the community as a whole.

AL 21

The keys for successRight from its start, one of the key for success of this municipal policy was the impetus from the mayor’s office that fostered the mainstreaming of the Local Agenda 21 in the local council, along with the allocation of the technical and human resour-ces necessary to internalise the process in the municipal mana-gement.

Another of the notable keys for success has been the continued running of the Durango Local Agenda 21 Citizen Participation Forum and its mechanisms (working parties) which has kept the Local Agenda 21 active in the municipality right from the start.

In 2014, Durango was received the 2014 Most Sustainable Mu-nicipal Award with a double citation, for fostering public parti-cipation and transparency, and for the integral strategic vi-sion and leadership in the deployment of sustainability policies in the municipality.

DURA

NGO

Further information:http://www.durango-udala.net

i

http://www.durango-udala.net/portalDurango/p_1_final_Principal_1.jsp?language=es


31


The municipality


Legazpi is a municipality of Guipuzkoa located practically in the centre between the three Basque provincial capitals. With a surface area of 41.,8 Km2 and 8547 inhabitants, it is the second most populated municipality of the Urola Garaia supramunicipal district to which it belongs. The Le-gazpi economy is based to a great extent on the industry located in the municipality, whose activity has changed over time and the automobile supply industry currently is important.

Legazpi was one of the first Basque municipalities to opt for the Local Agenda 21, with the signing of the Aalborg Charter in 1998.

In this regard, it took part in the Udaltalde 21 pilot scheme in 2001 to produce Local Agenda 21 plans of action in the Basque Country, driven by Udalsarea 21 and in 2002, it was one of the 16 founding municipalities of Udalsarea 21, the network of municipalities for sustaina-bility.

Since then, Legazpi has continued to be commited to and work for sustainability, and, after a reflection process on sustainable development, in 2008, it passed its third Local Agenda 21 plan of action.

AL 21

The keys for successOnce of the keys for success of the Legazpi Local Agenda 21 has been the stability of the citizen forum, which, has been up and running for over 14 years, has actively participated in the monitoring and preparation of the successive plans of action of the municipality.

The active involvement of the citizenry, the rigour of its internal management of the LA21, inter-departmental mainstreaming and the past results have played a key role in ensuring that the diffe-rent municipal councils that have governed over this period, have supported the municipality’s Local Agenda 21.

In the first awards to recognise the quality of the Local Agen-das 21 in the Basque Country, tak21, Legazpi was awarded the highest distinction tak21 Gold, due to the integral quality of its LA21 once the 5 essential attributes had been analysed. In other words, that it is a participative, operative, cross-cutting and stra-tegic municipal management instruments and with results in local sustainability indicators.

LEGA

ZPI

Further information:http://www.legazpi.eus

i

http://www.legazpi.eus/


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The municipality


Maruri-Jatabe is a rural municipality, located in a natural enclave on the lower slopes of Mount Jata, with a surface area of 15.8 Km2. Located in the Uribe-Butroe supramunicipal district, it has a population of 945 inha-bitants where the majority live in scattered hamlets. Maruri-Jatabe is part of the service association of the Uribe Butroe supramunicipal district, which provides basic services for the local residents and visitors alike.

Maruri-Jatabe took its first steps as regards the Local Agenda 21 in 2001, and took part with the supramunicipal district’s municipalities in the Udaltalde 21 Mungialde initiative for the local diagnosis and preparing Local Action 21 plans of action and its subsequently joining Udalsarea 21 in 2003.

At the end of the erm of its first Local Agenda 21 plan of action, it was one of the 8 munici-palities to guide the methodology included in the Guide to review the Local Agenda 21 plans published by Udalsarea 21, and approved a new plan of action 2010-2020.

Maruri-Jatabe has specifically focused on monitoring the sustainability indicators, and had been involved in defining the sustainability indicators aimed at small municipalities.

AL 21

The keys for successOne of the keys for success of the Maruri-Jatabe Local Agenda 21 is that it has focused on the cohesion of the municipality by means of diverse elements that connect the different neighbour-hoods of the municipality.

Maruri-Jatabe has implemented different sustainability-related actions as part of the Local Agenda 21, thus giving meaning to a local policy of these characteristics in the context of a small municipality. These include the actions in the energy field, with a commitment to clean energies, which are reflected in the different renewable energy systems fitted in the photovoltaic lampposts used for street lighting.

Maruri-Jatabe received a honorary mention for the results re-garding the improvement of the economic, social and envi-ronmental quality of the municipality, as part of the “Basque Sustainable Municipal 2014” awards.

MAR

URI-

JATA

BE

Further information:http://www.maruri-jatabe.net

i

http://www.maruri-jatabe.net/es-ES/Paginas/default.aspx


33


The municipality


Tolosa, the main town of the Tolosaldea supramunicipal district, located in the hinterland of Gipuzkoa, has 18,396 inhabitants, accounting for nearly 40% of the supramunicipal district’s population. Even though the majority of the municipalities of the supramunicipal districts are clearly rural in nature, Tolosa is the municipality with the largest number of in-dustries, many of which are linked to the transformation of paper. The main supramunicipal services, such as the hospital, court, stores, etc., are also located in the municipality.

Tolosa embarked on the Local Agenda 21 in 2001 when it embraced the Aalborg Commit-ments and the approval of the first Local Agenda 21 Plan of Action (2003-2009).

During this initial stage, there was a special emphasis on cutting the emissions caused by road traffic, by means of giving impetus to changes in mobility methods within the munici-pality itself, fostering the use of public transport and improving the cyclist and pedestrian network, work for which it received the Sustainable City award in the atmosphere category from the Environmental Forum Foundation in 2009.

The second stage of the Local Agenda 21 covers the period 2010-2015 and its definition included a significant citizen participation and reflection process that involved over 100 stakeholders and local residents of the municipality.

AL 21

The keys for successOne of the keys for success of the Tolosa Local Agenda 21 is the citizen participation and technical coordination mecha-nism known as Laia in force during the second stage of the Local Agenda 21. The Laia technical panel is made up of representa-tives of different municipal departments and they jointly analy-sed the areas of municipal interest and with a clear crosscutting approach. The areas covered by the technical panel and always involving the local council technical representatives were presen-ted to and worked with the general public by means of different mechanisms, such as forums, visits, chats, etc.

Mainly thanks to this efficient and innovative structure, in 2014, Tolosa received a special mention for the internal organisation and structure for the deployment of sustainability policies in the municipality, as part of the “Basque Sustainable Municipa-lity 2014” awards.

TOLO

SA

Further information:http://www.tolosa.eus

i

http://tolosa.eus/index.php/eu/


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The supramunicipal district


The Uribe Kosta supramunicipal district located in the west of the pro-vince of Bizkaia is made up of 7 municipalities. The identity and activity of the supramunicipal district is closely linked to the proximity to the ca-pital, Bilbao, the coastal and natural setting of the municipalities, where there is a huge inflow of visitors in summer.

The Uribe Kosta supramunicipal district was the first to have a Local Agenda 21 supramu-nicipal plan of action, passed in 2006.

In 2009, the Office 21 of the Supramunicipal Council, Ekogune, was set up in order to dri-ve the sustainable development of the supramunicipal municipalities, in order to foster the identity of the supramunicipal district and consolidate the Local Agenda 21 processes of the municipalities.

In the second stage of its Local Agenda 21, the supramunicipal plan of action of the Uribe Kosta Supramunicipal Council 2020 aims to provide a joint response to the challenges shared by the seven municipalities of the supramunicipal district and complete its muni-cipal strategies.

In 2014, Uribe Kosta took part in the second edition of the tak21 measuring system and was the first supramunicipal authority to measure the global quality of its Local Agenda 21.

AL 21

The keys for successOne of the keys for success of the Uribe Kosta supramunicipal Local Agenda 21 has been its management and impetus through the Ekogune supramunicipal office. This supramunicipal approach allows the local sustainability strategy of the municipalities to be completed with actions undertaken and coordinated from a geo-graphical perspective in areas of shared interest, such as sus-tainable mobility, waste management, citizen awareness raising and participation in responsible ways of life, and sustainable and environmental education.

This office conducts an annual monitoring of the supramunicipal plan, by means of assessing its implementation and the calcu-lation of sustainability indicators, and support is provided regar-ding the assessment and monitoring of the municipal LA21s.

Ekogune also plays a key role in promoting wellbeing, social in-clusion and the health of the local population.

URIB

E KO

STA

Further information:http://www.uribekosta.org

i

http://www.uribekosta.eu/es-ES/Paginas/default.aspx


35


The municipality


Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the province of Álava, is a city with 242,082 inhabitants and is a clear benchmark in sustainable development. A compact, medium-sized city, located in a setting with a great landscape and biological wealth and with a high standard of living. It has a broad sports, cultural, health, educational, commercial and residential offering. The city itself and its surrounding areas have numerous points of recrea-tional, historical and natural interest.

European Green Capital in 2012, Vitoria-Gasteiz has always been opted to be a city model committed to quality of life.

Vitoria-Gasteiz was the first city of the Basque Country to embrace the Local Agenda 21 and signed the Aalborg Charter in 1995.

Since then, the Local Agenda 21 has had two local plans of action, the first in the period 2002-2007, focused on environmental aspects, and the second, 2010-2014, which integra-ted the environmental aspects with the economic and social ones.

Since 1998, it has published the Local Agenda 21 gazette every year, to inform the general public, on the one hand, of the situation and performance regarding social, economic and environmental aspects, by means of a series of sustainability indicators, and, on the other hand, of the key sustainability courses of action implemented in the municipal district in the last year.

AL 21

The keys for successOne of the keys for success of the Vitoria-Gasteiz Local Agenda is the fact that the city believes one of its best values to be the com-mitment to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life and it has argued that the role of the Local Agenda 21 is mainly to be the driver to mainstream both concepts in all local policies.

Since the year 2000, the city has had an Environmental Sectoral Council involving 40 collectives representing ecologist groups, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, universities and ins-titutions.

Vitoria-Gasteiz received a special mention for planning and im-plementing sustainability policies in the municipality, as part of the “Basque Sustainable Municipality 2014” awards.

VITO

RIA-

GAST

EIZ

Further information:http://www.vitoria-gasteiz.org

i

https://www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/we001/was/we001Action.do?idioma=en&accion=home&accionWe001=ficha


36


The municipality


Zarautz is a dynamic and particularly urban municipality in Gipuzkoa, located on the coast and surrounded by wooded mountains that are remarkable natural assets. Zarautz’s beach is one of its most important tourist and natural assets. This natural location and its proximity to the capital of Gipuzkoa means that the municipality has significant tourist potential. With a surface area of 14.8 km2 it has 22,890 inhabitants, but is population increases in summer and it is the most population munici-pality of the Urola Kosta supramunicipal district to which it belongs.

Zarautz has been a ground-breaking municipality in driving policies to foster local sustai-nability. In 2001, it took part in the Udaltalde 21, along with eight municipalities of the BAC, and was one of the first to sign the Aalborg Charter and to approve and implement its Plan of Action.

Since then, Zarautz municipality has had two Local Agenda 21 Plans of Action. The first lasted for 7 years (2002-2008). After a reflection and review process of this first Plan, the second Local Agenda 21 plan of action for Zarautz was approved in 2009, which was one of the first plans reviewed in the BAC that was ground breaking as it incorporated a pro-gramme to fight against climate change.

Zarautz’s commitment to the Local Agenda 21 and to citizen participation that was driven through this policy, has meant that the municipal structure reflects this importance through a specific municipal area which brings together those two areas: The Local Agenda 21 and citizen participation.

AL 21

The keys for successOne of the keys for success of the Zarautz Local Agenda 21 is that the Plan addresses local sustainability in an integral manner and which also includes a programme to fight and adapt to climate change, which enables the simultaneous monitoring of the two plans.

The reflection of close relationship between Local Agenda 21 and citizen participation through a specific municipal area and stable internal resources and with sufficient skills in a municipality of this size is another of main keys for success to ensure the stability of this local policy in the long term.

ZARA

UTZ

Further information:http://www.zarautz.eus

i

http://www.zarautz.org/?sesion=1


37

7. TAKING STOCK AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

Taking stock

1. The Udalsarea 21 work and relationship model is singular in Europe as it reflects the commitment of the institutions and highlights the benefits of authorities working toge-ther to meet sustainability targets.

2. The Basque Country is positioned in the State as the community with greatest implementation of the Local Agenda 21. The number of municipalities committed to the Local Agenda 21 in the Basque Country has been consolidated and stands at around one hundred.

3. The Udalsarea 21 Local Agenda 21 model, in line with the Aalborg Commitments, enables the contribution of municipal local action to them to be quantified annually, by identifying the most important commitments, with Commitment 9: Equality and Social Justice being with one with greatest representation for 2014.

4. The transition to second-generation plans continues to increase, and in 2014, they already accounted for 80% of the plans analysed and characterised to be more integrating and adapted to the real specific features of each municipality.

5. Between 2006 and 2014, the relative weight of environmental actions with res-pect to the economic and social aspects of the local plans of action, was re-versed, and the economic and social aspects gained in representation, with a rise from 23% to 41% in 2014, while the actions linked to environmental aspects took a minor role as they dropped from 50% to 35% of the total.

6. There are municipalities that are firmly committed to the Local Agenda 21 and to the continuous improvement towards excellence in municipal management, as can be seen from the fact that 41 municipalities took part in the tak21 programme in 2014, where the agendas of greatest integral or global quality were rewarded.

7. The annual assessment of public policies in the framework of the LA21 that Udalsa-rea 21 has promoted since 2006 has generated a culture of local public management by objectives. Furthermore, their alignment with the Transparency Act, access to public information and good governance, helps its members to respond to the principle of active publicity of that legislation.

8. Udalsarea 21 continues to be committed to innovation and is thus a driving force to get the municipalities of the Network to open up new initiatives in emerging areas such as coexistence of LA21 plans with smart city plans, the circular economy as an approach in the area of waste, adaptation to climate change, or health as an approach in the Local Agendas 21.


38

Future challenges

1. In 2016, the Basque Country is hosting the 8th European Conference of Sus-tainable Towns & Cities, which is an opportunity to showcase the model of the Basque Local Agenda 21 and the Udalsarea 21 network, as well as to share experiences and discuss cutting-edge alternatives for sustainable local action.

2. Ensuring the consideration of the environment in the economic and so-cial reconstruction faced from the crisis climate. Considering this environmental approach in municipal sustainability planning in economic and social areas, which have achieved a particular importance in Local Agendas 21 and which therefore must be particularly observed.

3. Showcasing the Local Agenda 21 as a coherent framework for private-public partnership to address the most significant current challenges and trends, in response to local sustainability policies and to the economic interests of the pri-vate sector, by opting for innovation and emerging areas.

4. Fostering the participation of young people who have taken part while at school in the School Agenda 21, which is widely consolidated and widely ac-cepted, in the citizen participation mechanisms of the municipalities. With a forward-looking vision of a society that is more involved in public management and more co-responsible.

5. Ensuring a governance model marked by social participation in decision-ta-king, the institutional responsibility of managing according to acquired commit-ments and accountability. In this regard, fostering the commitment of the mem-bers of the Network so that the second generation of Local Agendas 21 ensures a budgetary programme in keeping with the municipal targets established in Local Agenda 21.

6. Delving into the need to improve cross-cutting incorporation in the orga-nisation of the local councils, as the basis to continue improving the mana-gement by objectives and progressing towards Local Agendas 21 that are more based on programming than on assessment.

7. Numerous sustainable initiatives are emerging from the basis of the co-res-ponsible and active citizenry and present an opportunity to generate solu-tions, achieve results and progress towards a more democratic society.

8. Reinforcing institutional cooperation and communication, to avoid duplicity in disjointed messages and action, getting a return on endeavours and producing a maximum multiplying effect at a low cost.

7. TAKING STOCK AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

V REPORT ON THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

LA AGENDA LOCAL 21

EN EUSKADI EN CIFRAS

6.103 acciones evaluadas

812 agentes municipales

implicados en Agenda Local 21

80% de municipios vascos con Agenda Local 21

81 municipios evaluando anualmente su

plan de acción y/o calculando indicadores

de sostenibilidad local (40.5% en 2014)

4.601 indicadores de sostenibilidad calculados

calculan su Inventarios de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI)62

municipios

Basque Declaration

VIDRIO

PAPEL Y CARTÓN

ENVASES YPLÁSTICOS

TEATRO

IKA

ST

OLA

8ª CONFERENCIA EUROPEA DE CIUDADES Y PUEBLOS SOSTENIBLES

AZOKA-MERCADO

V Report on the Local Sustainability of the Basque Country 2012-2014

Documents

Transcript of V Report on the Local Sustainability of the Basque Country 2012-2014