The Power of Mayors, Multiplied

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Anyone seeking a model of civic-level success would be wise to look to Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. In 1998, mudslides and an earthquake devastated the urban landscape. Citizens took the opportunity to overhaul basic city services and declare Bahia an ecological city. Seven years later, Bahia is 'an evolving model of urban sustainability,' Matthew Hirsch reports in The San Francisco Bay Guardian.

An ambitious Ecological City Plan guided reconstruction. The results -- such as Bahia's zero-garbage policy -- resonate with the 21 action items of the Accords. Hirsch notes that Bahia has fewer resources than many industrialized cities. Perhaps Bahia's success could embolden the Accords pledges of mayors from developing countries, some of whom acknowledged meeting all 21 actions could be a formidable task. Dr. Carlos Mendoza Rodriguez, Bahia's mayor, has some advice for them: 'The most important thing is education, to keep the people educated about the importance of having an ecological city.'

Go there >>UN Urban Environmental Accords

Go there too >>World Environment Day 2005

Related Links:

• International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICELI)
• United Nations Environment Program
• Blogging the UN Green Cities Conference
• Guayaquil Green City 2003: An Outline for Bioregional Action
• Newsom, World's Mayors Sign Urban Environmental Accords
• Adaptation
• Ecological City Plan for the Development of Canton Sucre (Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador)
• World Green Building Council
• City Mayors: Mayors Running the World's Cities

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