Moving towards Local Agenda 21 in Rufisque

This paper describes the consultation processes in Rufisque, Senegal that h ave laid the foundations for a Local Agenda 21. These consultations have he lped to establish new relationships between municipal government, community organizations and the private sector and have encouraged a range of initia tives to address local economic and environmental problems. New community-l evel and district committees have developed to bring different stakeholders together to identify problems and develop responses. The success of a deve lopment committee formed in Cherif, a district within Rufisque, has led to a similar approach being extended throughout Rufisque. There are also vario us community-based and NGO programmes underway to address environmental pro blems and improve health care and education, and various initiatives by loc al businesses to help address environmental problems. The paper also descri bes how decentralization in Senegal has encouraged this, although local aut horities remain weak because the decentralization of responsibilities has n ot been accompanied by measures to ensure local financial capacity to meet them. In addition, local authority staff still need to recognize the validi ty of work undertaken by other groups locally and to learn how to work in p artnership with them.