NGOs and civil society groups have become increasingly well established and organized in many countries during the past decade. By addressing issues that matter to the individual, they now form influential lobby groups in many national and international arenas as well as spearheading a wide range of environment-related activities at grass-roots level. These groups have much to offer, particularly in an intermediary role. NGOs and community groups will become more important and more influential in the years to come. They need to be given more and specific responsibilities for environmental management. Their involvement should also be enlisted more widely in, for example, environmental monitoring and assessment.
This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends involving non-governmental organizations in national mechanisms or procedures established to carry out Agenda 21, making the best use of their particular capacities, especially in the fields of education, poverty alleviation and environmental protection and rehabilitation.