Proven model enters its third round

Most of the Municipal Partnerships for Sustainability are new or still in their early stages. For the stakeholders involved, the kick-off conference was the first time they met their partners in person. As such the event was buzzing with energy and the partners’ eagerness to find out about other municipalities in the project.

Presentations given by partnerships and municipalities demonstrated the project’s diversity and range of intersections. Several municipalities are rural in nature. Organic farming and biodiversity are important issues for municipalities and local societies, as are the significance and work of farmers. A well-known quotation by the musician Jorge Velosa captured the spirit of the event. He praised the tireless efforts of Colombian farmers during the Covid pandemic to provide food for the population: “¡Que vivan los campesinos!, y que los dejen vivir, que el campo sin campesinos, existe sin existir.” Freely translated, this means “Long live the farmers! Let them live, as without them, the land cannot exist.”

The partnerships are also interested in waste management, water and flooding, and climate protection. Several municipalities are already engaged in protecting and reforesting mangrove forests. These are considered highly effective at storing carbon, defending against erosion, and protecting species diversity.

Smaller municipalities are also represented and have a strong voice. Their representatives made it clear that promoting sustainability and successful global engagement is does not depend on the size of a municipality.

An opening ceremony set the stage for the project municipalities to get to know each other. Marc Herter, Mayor of the host city of Hamm, opened the conference, and in his welcome address he stressed the importance of collaborative partnerships in implementing Agenda 2030. He expressed his conviction that the best way to deal with a challenge is always by working together. But it’s not about hitting the brakes or bringing everything to a standstill. Instead, he urged the municipalities to create “sustainable development which allows development to continue”.

Anne Bolling welcomed the participants via video link in her role as Head of Section for States and Municipalities at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Berlin. From her perspective it was vital that Agenda 2030 SDGs should be integral to local development plans. This project also allows participants to develop long-term strategies and work together to address global challenges. According to Anne Bolling this is urgently needed, as the half-time review of Agenda 2030 which was conducted this year made for sobering reading.

Niels Albers, Division Manager for the Service Agency, was similarly emphatic, arguing that efforts to promote sustainability must be made now, in concrete action, not in theory. He also argued that those doing the work at the coalface, and hence municipalities as well, need support – actual support right now. He also pledged that the Service Agency was happy to provide this support, now and going forward.

In his talk, the Executive Director of the Global Policy Forum Europe Jens Martens, encouraged the audience to consider the scope for action available to municipalities. The 17 SDGs of Agenda 2030 (and their 169 sub-goals) are relevant to all cities and municipalities, and municipalities are in turn vital to implementing the SDGs. In his view, doing that was the goal in and of itself, and comprised the following stages: raising awareness around SDGs – working hand-in-hand with civil society to build networks – laying the policy foundations – developing sustainability strategies – making SDGs an integral element of municipal budgets – implementing strategies – monitoring progress – progress reporting.

The framework programme for the conference also included plenty of opportunities for participants to connect with issues and people. The City of Hamm laid on an official reception at Oberwerries castle, an excursion to the Lippeauen renaturing project, along with a dinner and evening get-together, all of which were filled with lively conversations and discoveries of common interests.