ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how metropolitan development issues have undergone a significant change in planning and operational terms. Metropolitan environmental management strategy should be viewed as a consensus document by local authorities, community groups, central and regional sector agencies, the business community and others. There has to be a custodian of this strategy, whose responsibility is to get it implemented; in the absence of any better expression, let this custodian be the ubiquitous “environmental governance”. Cities in developing countries are faced with serious pollution problems before controls over traditional pollution sources have been put in place and before strong institutions have been developed. Any environmental agenda for developing metropolises has to aim, whenever possible, at a convergence of pro-development and pro-environment goals. International support programs have been developing, through years of experience, a variety of increasingly effective strategies for cooperating with, and supporting, cities in implementing their urban environmental agenda.
