RAPID ACTION RADICAL SOLUTIONS Connecting Leaders World Congress & Annual Report 2008-2009 www.iclei.org 2 ICLEI WORLD CONGRESS FINAL RePORT FINAL RePORT ICLEI WORLD CONGRESS 3 Congress Highlights / ICLEI Facts & Figures Letter from ICLEI‘s President and Vice President Monika Zimmermann, local governments and to help them in form- • Global Budget of over 16 million USD hat a thrill to welcome the ICLEI World Congress to our home continent! We could not ITC Director presents Facts from ing their strategies. With a focus on concrete (22% increase from 2008) have hoped for a more gracious and welcoming host than the City of Edmonton. Each the World Congress action and measurable results, the World • Doubling of members, staff and projects Wdelegate felt at the same time at ease in the city and also felt the buzz in the air when so Congress provided local government partici- in three years (2006-09) many friends and colleagues from around the world gathered to share and learn from each other. • The ICLEI World Congress 2009 was a joint pants with tools, operational mechanisms, Our congratulations and gratitude to the City and the local host committee for pulling off such an project of ICLEI – Local Governments for and practical support. extraordinary event! Sustainability and the host City of Edmon- “The City of Edmonton has done ton. Teams from both sides worked and Connecting and Exchanging a wonderful job… we, from all Action on sustainability has never been more urgent. Evidence is overwhelming that our food planned for 30 months for the arrival of over The Congress provided a platform for inter- over the world, are delighted to supplies, the vegetation surrounding us and the water supplies we depend on will soon be stressed 600 delegates from around the world. action and strengthened the connection be- beyond repair. Temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising, weather patterns and storms • Edmonton’s River Valley is one of the longest tween ICLEI Members and United Nations be here” are intensifying and our urban world is rapidly expanding. We have reached a defining moment in urban river valley parkland in North Amer- agencies, governments, financing institutions, history and are capable of prodigious achievement, but must accelerate our pace now. ica at 7,400 hectares. There are 22 major NGOs and other partners. During the Con- Congress Participant parks and over 150 kilometres of trails to gress interactive small-group discussions, re- The over 1000 Member cities that make up ICLEI have heard the call, taken on responsibility walk, cycle, snowshoe, and cross-country gional meetings and round tables created op- for current and future citizens and committed to action. These Members who have gathered in ski on! portunities for interaction and networking. Edmonton have highlighted that they are: • 600 participants from 51 countries partici- “Peak everything is happening. pated in “Connecting Leaders” – ICLEI’s Mobile Workshops and Social Events Dave Cadman, • At the international level, championing the role of cities in addressing global first World Congress in North America. Social activities provided opportunities to mix While it is a global scenario it ICLEI President, Councillor, environmental challenges; Vancouver, Canada • The Edmonton Climate Legacy has resulted business and pleasure. Participants also had has local manifestation... For cit- • Using ICLEI‘s ecoBUDGET system to plan, monitor, and report consumption of natural in the establishment of an ICLEI carbon the opportunity to go beyond conference venue ies, the benefit of acting is over- resources within the municipality; offset fund whereby ILCEI Member local through mobile workshops that explored sus- whelming. An idea once unfold- • Using software developed by ICLEI to measure greenhouse gas emissions and address governments will be able to apply for co- tainable practices around Edmonton. their sources; funding of municipal mitigation projects. ed will grow any way and cannot • In Europe and Latin America, they participate in the ICLEI EcoProcura campaign to ICLEI Facts & Figures be put in a box once again.” integrate ecological purchasing principles in their processes; Congress Highlights (as of June 2009) • Working on water conservation and showing significant achievements, for example in drought-affected Australia; and A Diverse Group of Experts and Leaders Mathis Wackernagel • 1,098 Members representing over • BIODIVERSITY Over 500 delegates from local governments, 400 million people Executive Director international agencies, national governments, Global Footprint Network • 14 offices on 5 continents In Edmonton we reunited with colleagues and made new friends from around the world; it was a and the business community came together • 223 staff delight to see the ICLEI network has grown and strengthened. We look forward to welcoming you in Edmonton. These leading political decision Martha Delgado-Peralta all to the next World Congress in 2012 and why not challenge ourselves again to double membership makers, researchers, and managers identified ICLEI Vice President, Secretary of Environment in those coming three years! opportunities to strengthen and advance the Mexico City, Mexico sustainability achievements of local govern- ments. The purpose of the event was to foster the exchange of ideas among innovative and leading local governments and to help them in forming their strategies. With a focus on concrete action and measurable results, the Letter from Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel World Congress provided local government participants with tools, operational mechan- isms, and practical support. hank you for coming to Edmonton! Our city – our province’s capital – was honoured to be the Critical, Cross-cutting Issues host of ICLEI’s World Congress 2009; the passion and enthusiasm that you brought to the city The numerous sessions, seminars, workshops Tresounded through the halls of the Shaw Conference Centre and the streets of Edmonton! and events addressed a broad range of sus- tainable development and urban issues. How We hope that you came away from the Congress with best practices to share with your councils and can local governments most effectively ad- administrations back home and that you also went home with sustainability examples from around dress climate change, water and biodiversity? Edmonton that can be replicated in your communities, Edmontonians are proud of our commit- How can we prioritize sustainability in the face ment to sustainability and I hope that we shared this with all of you. of economic difficulties? Read on for specific results! As a new member of the Executive Committee, I am excited to be more actively involved with ICLEI and help further ICLEI’s activities both within Canada and internationally. Practical Examples and Learning The purpose of the event was to foster the ex- Thank you for your commitment to local action on sustainability and thank you for making Edmon- change of ideas among innovative and leading ton a part of that. Monika Zimmermann, ITC Director and Stephen Mandel, Barry Anderson, Chair of the Local Host Committee for the ICLEI World Congress 2009 Mayor of Edmonton 4 ICLEI WORLD CONGRESS FINAL RePORT FINAL RePORT ICLEI WORLD CONGRESS 5 Secretary General Editorial (to be written) Protecting Urban Biodiversity CLEI’s biodiversity program assists local In May 2008, the 8th Conference of the Parties governments in their efforts to conserve (COP) to the UN Convention on Biological Iand sustainably manage biodiversity. This Diversity took place in Bonn, Germany. Bio- is in recognition of the important conserva- diversity in the context of local government tion role local governments have as the level reached an important milestone at this confer- of government most directly responsible ence. ICLEI, the City of Bonn and the Service for implementation, and of the necessity of Agency Communities in One World organized healthy and functioning biodiversity for the a parallel event, the Mayors’ Conference on delivery of services to citizens. Local Action for Biodiversity. The conference served to promote the role of local authorities Kobie Brand, Launched in 2006, the highly successful 3 in conserving biodiversity in an increasingly Regional Director, ICLEI Africa year pilot project Local Action for Biodiversity urbanized world. Mayors and decision-makers (LAB) involved 21 cities globally, representing the Secretariat of the UN-CBD and the Inter- from local governments convened to demon- national Union for Conservation of Nature 6 continents, 15 countries, 54 million inhabit- strate their commitment to biodiversity. To- ants and a variety of different ecosystems. At (IUCN). Examples of progressive and innova- gether, they submitted the “Bonn Call for Ac- tive biodiversity management from around the 2009 ICLEI World Congress, the ICLEI tion” to the Ministers participating in the COP Council officially adopted LAB as a global the world were presented at the Congress and high-level segment and requested a multi- showcased a diverse range of cities including ICLEI program with the immediate aim of ex- level partnership for the global improvement panding it beyond the 21 pilot cities. Edmonton (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Seoul of biodiversity. This initiative led to an official (Republic of Korea), Barcelona (Spain), Wal- acknowledgment of local governments’ role vis Bay (Namibia), Brussels (Belgium), Cape in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Town (South Africa), Montreal (Canada), and (UN-CBD) and