Rio+20's Local Side

My experience at Rio+20 last June illustrated the importance of networking across scales and modes of governance, and the vital role of local governments and their partner institutions in implementing solutions for environmental problems, even those at the global scale, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

There was more going on in Rio than just the national government negotiations being hyped in the press, and I am not referring to delegates on the beach scene.  In fact, national level decisions were so loaded down by political maneuvering that most national delegates had locked in their decisions, either behind closed doors or in the many preparatory forums, in advance of the conference.  That June, the action happened at the side events, where the scale and typology of participating institutions reflected the true diversity of groups responsible for environmental governance today.   After the conference, many attendees came away thinking that local governments are now carrying the baton for many global environmental issues (Llana 2012, Smith 2012, Tsay 2012).

The main pavilion at Rio+20, with its impressive security, huge food court, and direct shuttle drop-off was not the only venue for the conference, though it did host the national government delegates and their negotiation events.  About a ten minute walk down from the main pavilion was another large section of the Rio+20 event.  Called Athlete’s Park, this field of Astroturf was dotted with huge tent structures representing NGOs, multinational corporations, national governments, and Brazilian local and regional governments.  Here, the “hollowing out,” or devolution, of governments (Kettl 2000) played out in the obvious diversity of participants from vehicle manufacturers to activist groups.  A decommissioned tank covered in pita bread reminded delegates that the money spent on defense could feed the hungry.  Taiko drummers showcased the beauty of Japanese culture.  The atmosphere suggested an acceptance of the stalemate of national governments and the coupled responsibility and opportunity for anyone with a loud enough voice to be a player in the global arena of environmental issues.  Here, delegates come ready to share their environmental sound bytes with others and to find out what everyone else is up to.  Here, collaborations are initiated, new ideas are adopted (or co-opted), and here, the importance of scale comes to the forefront.

My role at Rio+20 was to assist ICLEI, an international NGO that supports environmental solutions for local governments.  I was to seek out potential partners for an initiative we launched just days prior, called URBIS.  URBIS is a network for local governments to connect with other institutions to share and collaborate on urban biodiversity conservation.  So, I was on the lookout for local government representatives, smaller networks of cities for the environment, and other local institutions.  These groups were not hard to find.  In addition to the many programs initiated by ICLEI, I found representatives of the following groups:

·      C40 Cities, 58 of the world’s largest cities combat climate change by sharing best practices.

·      Cities and Climate Change Initiative, a UNHABITAT program that supports poverty alleviation and climate change policies and strategies at the local level.

·      Cities for Life Forum, with 19 municipalities, 32 NGOs and 6 universities in Peru to promote the implementation of local environmental initiatives.

·      CityNet, a network of Asia-Pacific local governments, NGOs, CBOs, research institutes, and private companies aiming to build capacity for local governments.

·      European Covenant of Mayors, 4,227 European cities voluntarily commit to exceed the EU’s CO2 reduction objective by 2020.

·      FutureCity Initiative, select Japanese cities receive additional support from the Japanese government, and serve as sustainable case studies showcased worldwide.

·      Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability, a public-private partnership between cities in the U.S. and Brazil by the US EPA, starting with a Rio de Janeiro and Philadelphia pilot, and offering an online portal of local solutions.

·      United Cities and Local Governments, represent and defend local government interests on global platforms.  They represent more than 1000 local governments whose constituents make up over half the global population.

·      World Mayors Council on Climate Change, 80 municipal government leaders allied to find solutions to climate change.

This list includes only those groups that I encountered at the event.  No doubt others, such as the Transition Network and the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network, escaped my notice.  Why so many local groups?

Because, the local scale is where action and collaboration happen.

In Ban Ki Moon’s address during the “Cities Leadership Day” at Rio+20, he stated “the road to global sustainability runs through the world’s cities and towns.”  His support for local movements was clear, and he showed a respect for the on-the-ground actions being put forth every day by local governments who are not waiting for their national governments to mandate action, nor quibbling amongst themselves about who should bear the highest burdens to solve global problems.  While the outcome agreement for Rio+20 between national governments lacked breakthroughs (Ong 2012), and was called weak (Reuters 2012), limp (The Economist 2012), a dismay (Watts 2012), modest (EEA 2012), a failure (Woods 2012), and other disappointing adjectives, Ban Ki Moon said that local initiatives, such as those shared at Athlete’s Park, were “at the forefront” of creative solutions.

Certainly, local leaders agree that municipal governments and community groups are the closest to the people, and can prove effective at solutions that national governments struggle to implement due to incorrect scale.  They also represent the majority of global economic power, population, and ecological footprint.  This means that their potential to improve environmental problems, even those at the global scale, cannot be overlooked.  To achieve global imperatives, strong local actions must be supported through international networks that are integrated both vertically through scales of government and horizontally through partnering institutions.

Maybe next year, cities will earn their place at the table as a recognized vital piece of global environmental legislation.

I welcome your comments on this article, especially additional global/local networks and initiatives for the environment not mentioned here.