Agenda 21 is a program adopted by the UN in 1992 to promote sustainable development globally. It calls for action across sectors to improve quality of life without depleting natural resources. The Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21) lays out the country's plan, including poverty reduction and empowerment goals. It defines sustainability as meeting needs without limiting future generations' ability to meet their own needs.

1. THE AGENDA 21

2. Agenda 21 is a program of action into 21st century
for bringing the Earth into a sustainable future. It
was adopted by the participating government of
the world in the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED),
otherwise known as the Earth Summit, in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992.
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Introduction

3. Introduction
It focuses on improving the quality of life for all
of the Earth’s citizens without increasing the use
of natural resources beyond the capacity of the
environment to supply them indefinitely. It requires
an understanding that inaction has consequences
and that we must find innovative ways to change
institutional structures and influence individual
behavior. It’s about taking action, changing policy
and practice at all levels, from the individual
to the international.
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4. Introduction
Economic, Social and Environmental processes are
interlinked. Public and private agents alike cannot
be permitted to act one-dimensionally and isolation.
Instead, their actions must take into account the
interplay between the three dimensions
Schematically using three circles for the target
dimensions of Environment, Economy and Society
Sustainable development goes beyond environmental
conservation. In order to satisfy our material and immaterial
needs, we require economic prosperity and solidarity
in our society.
The sustainable development calls for long-term structural change
in our economic and social systems, with the aim of reducing the
consumption of the environment and resources to permanently
affordable level while maintaining economic output potential and
social cohesion.
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5. The Philippine
Agenda 21
PA 21 is our own national agenda for sustainable
development. It is basically made up of:
The Principles of unity
The Action Agenda
The Implementation Strategies
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6. The PA 21 envisions a better quality
of life for all through the
development of a just, moral, creative, spiritual,
economically-vibrant,
caring, diverse yet cohesive society
characterized by appropriate
productivity, participatory and democratic
process and living in
harmony within the limits of the carrying capacity
of nature and the integrity of creation.
The Philippine
Agenda 21
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7. The Philippine
Agenda 21
1. Poverty Reduction: Poverty is a central concern of sustainable
development. Consistent with this, the various consultations for the
updating of PA 21 have yielded poverty reduction agenda that
includes measures to create and enabling economic environment
for sustained and broad-based growth; improve employment,
productivity and income; and attain food security.
The Enhanced PA 21 has five (5) goal elements as follows:
2. Social Equity: Social equity should mean allocation of resources on
the bases of efficiency and equity to achieve balanced development.
3. Empowerment and Good Governance: Empowerment is a
precondition of informal choices. Good governance is a necessary
precondition to empowerment, as empowerment is to
good governance.
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8. The Philippine
Agenda 21
4. Peace and Solidarity: The cycle of poverty and conflict goes on as
the cost of war escalate in terms of various kinds of destruction while
withholding funds for basic services, resulting in more poverty and
underdevelopment.
The Enhanced PA 21 has five (5) goal elements as follows:
5. Ecological Integrity: in general, the path towards enhancing the
integrity of the country’s ecological domain will have to involve
heightened and sustained implementation of environmental laws,
as well as the continued pursuit of resource conservation, and
environmental restoration/enhancement programs.
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9. The Philippine
Agenda 21
1. Business, the key actor in economy, which is mainly
concerned with producing goods and services for people.
The three (3) Key Actors in Sustainable Development Work:
2. Government, the key actor in polity, which is concerned
with democratic governance and security of human rights.
3. Civil Society, the key actor in culture, which is concerned
with the development of the social and spiritual capacities
of human beings.
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10. The Philippine
Agenda 21
1. Jobless Growth results when economic output increases amidst
high unemployment and underemployment.
Five forms of growth are identified as leading to
unsustainable development.
2. Ruthless Growth is forcing millions of Filipinos to live in poverty
constraining them from developing as full beings. Meanwhile, few
individual billionaires/millionaires enjoy an income level equivalent
to the combined income of the millions in poverty.
3. Futureless Growth results from the destruction of nature through
improper mining practices, use of pesticides, insufficient and improper
environmental planning for the construction of dams and a range of
other ecologically unsound development projects.
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11. The Philippine
Agenda 21
4. Rootless Growth refers to the cultural decay and loss of meaning
and identity which often accompany economic growth fueled by
globalization and the entrance of materialistic lifestyles of
industrialized countries.
Five forms of growth are identified as leading to
unsustainable development.
5. Voiceless Growth is economic growth racing ahead of direct human
rights and democratic processes and participatory governance
essential to modern societies.
To these five undesirable forms of growth can be added a
sixth. Meaningless Growth results when come combination of the
other five forms of undesirable growth blocks the creativity of the
human spirit. The resulting loss in creativity, perspective, meaning,
hope, and morality necessarily expresses itself in suicide, violence,
drug addiction, crime, corruption and other social ills.
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12. The Philippine
Agenda 21
PA 21 is part of the country’s response to fulfill its commitments in the
historic Earth Summit in 1992 where government and key sectors
of society agreed to implement an action agenda for sustainable
development known as Agenda 21. PA 21 seeks to answer
four (4) questions:
Where are we now?
What is sustainable development?
Where do we want to go?
How do we get there?
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13. The Philippine
Agenda 21
Where are we now?
The current and Emerging Landscape for Sustainable Development
Achieving sustainable development is a formidable task. Hence,
the journey towards sustainable development must be grounded on
a clear understanding of the challenges trends and opportunities
that lie ahead.
Demographic Trends
Cultural Trends
Science and Technology Trends
Economic Trends
Urbanization Trends
Human Development Trends
Environmental Trends
Institutional Trends
Political Trends
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14. The Philippine
Agenda 21
What is Sustainable Development?
A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Development
The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED),
in its report “Our Common Future” published in 1987, defines
sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present
generation without compromising the ability of the future generations
to meet their own needs”
Thus, the essence of sustainable development is in the harmonious
integration of a sound and viable economy, responsible governance,
social cohesion/harmony and ecological integrity to ensure that
development is a life-enhancing process. The ultimate aim of
development is human development now and through
future generations.
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15. The Philippine
Agenda 21
Where do we want to go?
Elements of a Shared Vision
In concretizing the vision, PA 21 describes a path of images for
individuals, families, households and communities; for each
ecosystem and across ecosystems in consideration of the interaction
of the various life capes and landscapes found therein. The PA 21
adheres to the following principles of sustainable development.
- Primary of Developing Human Potential
- Holistic Science and Appropriate Technology
- Cultural, Moral and Spiritual Sensitivity
- Self Determination
- National Sovereignty
- Gender Sensitivity
- Peace, Order and National Unity
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16. The Philippine
Agenda 21
- Social Justice and Inter-,Intra- generational and Spatial
Equity
- Participatory Democracy
- Institutional Viability
- Viable, Sound and Broad based Economic Development
- Sustainable Population
- Ecological Soundness
- Biogeographical equity and Community Based Resource
Management
- Global Cooperation
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17. The Philippine
Agenda 21
How do we get there?
Operational Framework and Action Agenda
The Operational Framework of Philippine Agenda 21 consists of a
multilevel guide for decision-making consisting of sustainable
development criteria, parameters and descriptors.
Operationally, sustainable development is development that draws
out full human potential across ages and generations. It is, at the same
time, ecologically friendly, economically sound, politically
empowering, socially just, spiritually liberating, gender sensitive,
based on holistic science, technologically appropriate, builds upon
Filipino values, history, culture and excellence and
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18. The Philippine
Agenda 21
PA 21 advocates a fundamental shift in development thinking and
approach. It departs from traditional conceptual frameworks that
emphasize sector based and macro-concerns. PA 21 promotes
harmony and achieves sustainability by emphasizing:
- A scale of intervention that primarily are-based. The national
and global policy environment builds upon and support
area-based initiatives.
- Integrated island development approaches where applicable.
- People and the integrity of nature at the saltier of
development initiatives.
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19. The Action Agenda
The Action Agenda at the level of ecosystems consists
of strategic and catalytic interventions covering the
following ecosystems and critical resources.
Ecosystems
Forest/upland ecosystem
Coastal and marine ecosystem
Urban ecosystem freshwater ecosystem
Lowland/Agricultural ecosystem
Critical Resources
Minerals
Biodiversity
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20. The Action Agenda
Operationalizing sustainable development involves the interlocking
components of an ecosystem and how these interrelate towards
defining specific roles and addressing specific needs of individual
sectors. The identification of key players and their interaction provide
a basis for deepening our analysis and treatment of the ecosystem,
as well as the definition of the varying roles that various stakeholders
are expected to play for achieving sustainable development.
Categories of major Stakeholders
Basic Sectors – comprise the major poverty groups;
Farmers, Landless rural workers, fisherfolk, Indigenous
people and the urban poor.
Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
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21. The Action Agenda
Intermediaries – serve as the fulcrum upon which
socio-economic, cultural and political interventions towards
sustainable development depend. These are the Formal
institutions that include Government Organization,
Church-based Organization, civic groups and professional
associations; mass media; and the international community.
Roles of the Major Groups in Sustainable Development
The roles of the major stakeholders in sustainable development
are defined according to sectoral needs, motivation, or interest
and perspectives. But there are basic key holders that are
considered “common” among the basic sectors and the
intermediaries. In the performance of this role, its interventions
must go beyond the protection of the environment. It implies
a responsibility to effect a balance between development
and ecological dimensions. Equity and social justice are
primary goals that should also be achieved.
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22. The Local Agenda 21
The PA 21 emphasizes the importance of localization as a strategy
for its implementation. It defines as a process that involves the
formulation of local sustainable development action agenda, and the
establishment of local SD councils to implement the said agenda.
PA 21 sees that localization will ensure that SD takes root in each
region, province, city and municipality.
On the 25th day of January 1999, M.O. No. 47 was issued by the Office
of the President to strengthen the operationalization and localization
of PA 21 and to monitor its implementation.
A number of regions have already formulated their own Local
Agenda 21, serving as the region’s guide and springboard for the
formulation by the local governments, regional line agencies, and
all other entities of their respective Sustainable Development Agenda.
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23. THE AGENDA 21