Specific knowledge and skills are required to work with local authorities to implement EU New Deal and SDG.  Localization is described as ‘the process of defining, implementing and monitoring strategies at the local level for achieving global, national, and sub-national sustainable development goals and targets’ (Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Goals 2014.). The starting point of implementing localization is understanding the roles of the local authorities.

Local authorities have roles in:

  • Developing green infrastructure. Green infrastructure means environment resource that supports people and wildlife. It comprises: protected sites, nature reserves, green spaces such as local parks, sports grounds, cemeteries, gardens, river and canal corridors and floodplains,
  • Ownership and management of land and buildings in correspondence with biodiversity conservation objectives.
  • Planning, as the spatial tool that integrates social, economic and environmental considerations.
  • Provision of formal and informal education, and facilitation of community engagement, to inspire people and in understanding of biodiversity conservation.
  • Commissions and delivers community services, including environment-related ones and social protection ones.
  • Regulatory activity.

Blending roles and responsibilities to obtain local sustainable development

From local authorities roles, SDG localization stimulates upper governance levels and develops into Voluntary Local Reviews.

The SDGs localization translates the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into local actions; also integrates all level of governments and stakeholders in the elaboration of strategies and the use of transformative means.

Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) are relevant for better localization of SDGs. VLRs are elaborated by the local governments on their achievements and strategies for sustainable development. In 2022, to the best available information, no local government in the Eastern European countries has published a VLR.

The main building blocks of a VLR are the following:

  • Organizational alignment and institutional process.
  • Structural issues and challenges.
  • Review of the progress towards the SDGs, including both qualitative and quantitative information.
  • Means of implementation: challenges, bottlenecks and resources to tackle shortcomings.
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