Desenvolvimento sustentável de municípios da região centro interior: Agenda 21 Local

• Autor(a) principal: Cavaco, Carminda
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34632/povoseculturas.2010.8661

This article discusses the central issues of sustainable devel-opment in small municipalities in the central inland area from the perspective of the Local Agenda 21, some of them engaging more in farming and forestry, some more devoted to industry and others to tourism. It describes the steps in the methodology used and the different options, targets and commitments. They include multisectoral and systemic approaches to local realities (environmental, economic, social, cultural, information, knowledge, political and institutional dimensions) and detailed, very up-to-date diagnoses from different secondary sources of information and information collected directly on a participative basis. It identifies the most important local problems, the people’s concerns, particularities, specificities and identities and internal and external disparities and analyses different local sustainability strategies. It also builds a strategic prospective vision, a desired future and drafts a local plan for sustainable development, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and valuing the intervention of municipalities and social control of the process. It is a clear, participative plan with joint responsibility based on consensus, commitments and bridges, with agglomerative axes and projects with different scales and actions, new or under way, to be continued or reformulated. It is a concise plan that defines expectable results, targets, responsible players, different levels of participation, the necessary resources (financial and technical, implementation times, deadlines with targets and timelines for access to potable water, sewerage systems, various goods and services, environmental conservation, poverty reduction and security problems. It is a process of transition to progressive, more extensive sustainability, ongoing improvement based on reality, potential and distances to be overcome, reflected in monitoring and assessment indicators. The perspective is always one of conflict-free integration between territories and their human groups, between ongoing development plans, projects and actions, between existing practices, local initiatives, and innovations, reducing resistance to change and fostering preservation of the environment and sustainable development. It also clearly defines responsibilities, including those of central governments, in areas such as education, health, social security and innovation.