Americans that read Agenda 21 are outraged—and rightfully so. Even a quick glimpse of Agenda 21 and the most casual observer will recognize it as socialist engineering. Its strongest critics call it planned genocide.

Agenda 21 was unveiled at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro on June 13, 1992. The Rio conference was known as the Earth Summit. Since then the United Nations convened in Johannesburg at the 2002 Earth Summit. And they plan to gather again in Rio for the 2012 Earth Summit.

The purpose of Agenda 21 is to create policy that protects the global environment.

It’s stunning, however, how broad Agenda 21 is—and how it aims to control all aspects of society—using the excuse of protecting the environment. If Karl Marx was asked to author a global planning document, it very may well have looked like Agenda 21.

How broad is Agenda 21? There are 40 chapters and they are divided into 4 main sections.

Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions
Includes combating poverty, changing consumption patterns, changing trade policy, promoting health, changing population, sustainable settlement and integrating environment in decision-making

Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development
Includes atmospheric protection, combating deforestation, protecting fragile environments, conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity) and control of pollution

Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
Includes the roles of children and youth, women, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and their trade unions

Section IV: Means of Implementation
Includes science, technology transfer, education, international institutions and financial mechanisms

The United Nations wanted its plan to be recognized by the smallest governments and created what was called Local Agenda 21. This has spawned a new group called ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives). ICLEI is the local government implementation of Agenda 21.

Agenda 21 already reaches down into 32 local Washington governments. Our local governments pay a membership fee of up to $5,750 per year. ICLEI dues are based on the local government’s population and start at $600 per year.

These are the Washington local governments that have already joined ICLEI: Auburn, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bothell, Clallam County, Coupeville, Edmonds, Everett, Issaquah, King County, Kirkland, Lacey, Lynnwood, Mercer Island, Oak Harbor, Olympia, Port Townsend, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Sequim, Shoreline, Skagit County, Snohomish County, Snoqualmie, Spokane, Tacoma, Thurston County, Tumwater and Whatcom County.

You may ask, why do freedom-loving people recoil so sharply when reading Agenda 21?

Think about our own Washington State Constitution. Article I, Section I reads, “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.”

Here at the Freedom Foundation, we believe that environmental stewardship begins with individual landowners—that individuals are better stewards of the environment than any government regulation. We believe that individuals have the right to do with their property as they wish provided they don’t negatively impact their neighbors under a rule of law. And we believe that when conflicts occur between neighbors, they should seek to work them out neighbor-to-neighbor before asking government to help. And we further believe that property rights are fundamental to prosperity.

Contrast those ideas with Agenda 21.

When a local government subscribes to ICLEI, they subscribe to an uber-top-down approach to governance and planning. ICLEI subscribers accept that we should first consider the United Nation’s ideas when planning—not individual rights.

ICLEI subscribers believe that we should plan for the collective and that individual rights are secondary to the United Nation’s global ideas.

ICLEI subscribers use climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity, habitat conservation and more as excuses to implement strident land use policy. The underlying goal of the policy is to force people into high density urban cores, change consumption patterns, change economies, change social behaviors, change populations and change our financial structure.

ICLEI subscribers empower regional government planning agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), and special interests. Think about how your local government has connected with People for Puget Sound, Puget Sound Partnership, Puget Sound Regional Council, Futurewise, Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy and others. Individual rights aren’t even on their radar.

We shouldn’t continue giving up our rights to these regional and state planning councils made up of people who don’t care about your property ownership.

One saving grace is the Washington State Legislature has given local governments huge latitude in how to implement planning. Get involved! Work with your local governments and demand individual rights be considered before the implementation of any regulation.

You can start with this one idea—ask your local government to immediately repeal their ICLEI membership.

More resources and information are available for you to help in this effort. Visit www.myFreedomFoundation.org and check out the Property Rights section.