Environmental responsibility and co-operation between Baltic and North Sea municipalities: Part 1: The Baltic Eco-Cities programme and its pilot function for the municipalities bordering the North Sea

National governments have greater legislative authority than local governments in marine environmental protection, on the global basis, but local governments both invest more money than national governments in environmental protection and often execute more environmental policies. When national governments have established regional marine resources management programmes, e.g. the Baltic, the Mediterranean, or the Great Lakes region, the final remediation planning responsibility has ultimately been delegated to local authorities.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 did not consider this dichotomy and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and a coalition of other local government associations are considered to have a role within the two sectors, national governments and non-governmental organizations. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 on Protection of the Oceans gives little attention to the primary role presently being played by the local authorities in controlling marine pollution. Chapter 17 states that 70% of the marine pollution comes from land-based sources, and that more than half of the world's population is settled in coastal communities. But the Chapter does not present the fact that local authorities are the primary force in organizing and managing the coastal settlements concerning the greatest sources of marine pollution. The role of local authorities in Agenda 21 and the partnership between the international community and local authorities to achieve Agenda 21 objectives must be defined.