TOPIC 12 STAKEHOLDERS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Introduction to Agenda 21 The Earth Summit held in Rio De Janerio, Brazil was attended by 178 country leaders (including Malaysia) on June The Earth Summit provides world's action plan towards sustainable development. This action plan was known as Agenda 21 - an agenda to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century.

Agenda 21 is designed as a bridge between environment and development between the public and private sectors between governments and civil society between global and national goals between current and future generations between knowledge and action between developed and developing countries.

Agenda 21 Consists of 40 Chapters in 4 Sections as following :- Social and Economic Dimension Maintaining and managing resources Strengthen the roles of dominant groups (the women, children, NGO,LAs) Methods of Accomplishment Under Section 3 of Agenda 21, dominant group such as the women, children, NGO, youth, employee, business and industrial sectors including aborigines hold major role implementing Agenda 21 towards sustainable development at local level. Thus, it was known as Local Agenda 21 - Local Action Plan towards sustainable development in 21st century.

LA 21 PRINCIPLES Holistic perpective in thinking and action among sectors Active participation from all partnership to create togetherness and love feeling Community thinking and action in lifecycle World perspective in local issues “think globally act locally” Long term perspective for local issues

Characteristics of LA 21 The following are some characteristics of an LA21 program: It addresses economic, social and ecological needs together. It includes a consensus on a vision for a sustainable future. It includes a participatory process with local residents. It establishes a Stakeholders Group, Forum or equivalent multi sectoral community group to oversee the process. It contains an Action Plan with concrete long-term targets. It has a monitoring and reporting framework. It has indicators to monitor progress. It has tangible activities and programs to actualize its Action Plans.

Definitions Participation is defined as: A process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them. (World Bank) A Stakeholder can be defined as: Any individual, community, group or organisation with an interest in the outcome of a programme/project, either as a result of being affected by it positively or negatively, or by being able to influence the activity in a positive (+) or negative (x) way

Stakeholders: Yet another term! Stakeholders: Those who have an interest in a particular decision, either as individuals or representatives of a group. This includes people who influence a decision, or can influence it, as well as those affected by it.

Deciding on a Strategy for Consultation It is important to develop a consultation strategy not just a series of one-off events: – A strategy helps planners obtain more of the information they need – It helps educate stakeholders and planners so that it is easier to implement the completed plan Questions that need to be asked: – What information do I need to develop my Plan/strategy? – Who do I need to consult? – When do I need to consult them? – How or what methods can I use?

Principles to Apply Ideally a stakeholder consultation strategy should: – Begin early in the preparation of a plan/strategy – Be broadly representative – Continue throughout at multiple stages in the preparation and implementation of the strategy – Be a two-way process (information exchange for all parties including planners) – Include a right of reply – Include feedback from the planners to the stakeholders

Stakeholder Analysis A tool used in the design and management of policy development programmes to identify: – The interests of all stakeholders who may affect or be affected by a policy/ programme; – Potential conflicts and risks that could jeopardise a programme; – Opportunities and relationships to build upon in implementing a programme to help make it a success; – The groups that should be encouraged to participate in different stages of the activity cycle – Ways to improve the programme and reduce, or hopefully remove, negative impacts on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups

WASTED PROJECTS

How to do it? Three basic steps: – Identify the main stakeholders and the reasons for their interest in the policy or activity using a Stakeholder Table – Identify the influence and importance of each and show them in a matrix – Identify the risks that may affect policy or activity design and discuss how they can be addressed

How to do it? A variety of techniques can be used to identify stakeholders, including: – Workshops (one of the most successful) – Individual interviews – Focus groups Whatever approach is used, the aim is to identify all key stakeholders and to be aware of their potential impact on the policy or activity