On 30 November, the virtual closing event of the project "Palatinate Forest - Model Region for a Sustainable Rhineland-Palatinate" took place. Mr Wieder, Chairman of the Pfalz District Association and Dr Winkelmann from the Service Agency of the Communities of One World (SKEW) welcomed and congratulated the eight model communities on their sustainability strategies.
The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, also emphasised the importance of sustainable development in her welcoming address. Mr. Frein from the State Chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate was more specific and emphasised in his keynote speech the importance of municipalities for sustainable development and the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030. Furthermore, he stated that the involvement of citizens is of central importance. With this, he also underlined the importance of the so-called core teams, the group of responsible persons from citizenship and municipal politics and administration. In the project, these teams were responsible for the creation of the sustainability strategies in the respective municipalities and were supported by the consulting office KOBRA and the IfLS with the implementation of two workshops and individual guidance days.
In a panel discussion moderated by Dr Ulrich Gehrlein, representatives of SKEW, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the model municipalities reported that initial projects had already been initiated as part of the strategy development process. However, it also became clear that it is often a challenge, especially for volunteers, to familiarise with funding opportunities. Ms. Bui, representative of Students for Future, pointed out that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires comprehensive efforts from the individual to politics at the highest level. She urged those present to consistently expand the path of sustainability strategies in order to act in line with international commitments.
The event ended with the honouring of the model municipalities by State Secretary Dr. Erwin Manz. The municipalities now have to implement their strategies and make their contributions to the 2030 Agenda. Here, they will be supported by a follow-up project. This project will also include a second generation of model municipalities that will benefit from the experiences of the pioneers in the Pfälzerwald biosphere reserve.
Contact: Christoph Mathias (mathias[at]ifls.de) and Dr Ulrich Gehrlein (gehrlein[at]ifls.de)
