Attitudes to Sustainable Development

The finds of a survey (PDF of report below) carried out by Sustainable Northern Ireland in May 2007 indicate that:

• The last five years has seen a decline, rather than an increase in the way in which Northern Ireland's district councils are promoting Sustainable Development.
• Local authorities now see this as a lower priority, placing a greater emphasis on awareness raising around SD, rather than integrating SD with core council functions.
• There is still a range of good practice in SD being undertaken by Northern Ireland's district councils, mostly focussed on environmental initiatives rather than the economic or social dimensions of SD.
• Since 2002, there have been a number of global, international and regional initiatives for promoting Sustainable Development - for Northern Ireland's councils the most critical have been the Northern Ireland Sustainable development Strategy and the establishment of a the Statutory Duty to promote SD. While these are positive developments, they have not yet been supported by guidance on how Councils are expected to promote SD.
• There is a need for dedicated expertise and guidance in local sustainable development issues in Northern Ireland.
  

These findings suggest that for district councils to further promote sustainable development, the following will be required:

• Government should immediately issue good quality guidance on how district councils are expected to fulfil their new Statutory Duty to promote sustainable development.
• Councils should review the skills they require to more effectively promote SD and invest in qualified staff if required. The Northern Ireland Assembly should consider providing additional financial resources for this.
• Government should establish more formal and regular mechanisms for engaging with district councils on local sustainable development issues.
• Councils would benefit from the transfer of practical experience and good practice in local sustainable development and should therefore establish a Northern Ireland Local Sustainable Development Forum through which this can be undertaken.