By Judy Sheahan
September 9, 2002

Thousands of delegates from throughout the world gathered from August 26 - September 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa for the World Summit on Sustainable Development to discuss such issues as climate protection, safe drinking water and sanitation, protection of soil and food, assurance of biodiversity, and health issues. A United States mayoral delegation that consisted of Conference of Mayors Vice President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James Garner who was also an official U.S. delegate, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle represented The U.S. Conference of Mayors at the World Summit's parallel event, the Local Government Session (LGS), sponsored, in part, by the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).

The LGS, which ran from August 26 - August 30, gathered over 750 local government officials, including approximately 50 mayors, from 65 different countries, to discuss sustainable development practices in each of their respective communities. Most of the communities discussed how they implemented Agenda 21, which is a "road map" to create a sustainable community. Agenda 21 was established at the previous Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Presentations were made by mayors and local government officials from around the world at the LGS. They expressed their commitment to provide their citizens with a healthy, safe, and vibrant community that also did not harm, and in fact, improved, the environment. Mayors Garner, Brown and Clavelle each had an opportunity to share their ideas and best practices with the other meeting participants. (See related articles).

The LGS focused on the topics of transit-oriented development, recycling and solid waste management, renewable energy, climate protection, water reclamation and desalinization projects, brownfields redevelopment, congestion reduction, smart growth initiatives, and protecting biodiversity. Most of the local officials expressed their frustration with their national governments in providing very few resources and tools to assist them in their efforts to create more livable communities.

The LGS session culminated in a Local Government Declaration that was presented to the World Summit delegates. The declaration strongly urged the delegates to recognize the important and vital role that local governments play in creating sustainable communities.