OSAKA -- As an official of the Yasu Town Government in Shiga Prefecture, Yoshitaka Endo knew it would be easy to draw up a plan of action for improving the local environment. But from experience, he also knew such a plan would not work unless the townspeople viewed it as their own. So he called on local residents to form a group comprised of people from various sectors to study environmental policies.

"Although it takes time, getting local people actually involved in the planning process raises their awareness and sense of responsibility," Endo says.

As he predicted, the group became an officially designated nonprofit group in February, called Ecolocal Yasu.Com, and worked to promote the use of natural energy through solar power systems and intelligent use of local forests.

As in the case in Yasu, an increasing number of local governments across the country are bringing citizens from various sectors into the environmental policymaking process. The move was prompted by the adoption of Agenda 21, an action plan for sustainable development, at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which encouraged local authorities to consult with their populations.

Such an approach was new to most local governments in Japan. Until then, local government officials assumed that planning was their job and not the task of the community. Citizens, on the other hand, relied on their authorities for any and all services and promptly criticized them if unsatisfied.

The participatory process of Agenda 21 offers empowerment, says Satoru Noumura, a member of Citizens Environmental Foundation, a Kyoto-based citizens' group. But it isn't automatic.

"The success of a local Agenda 21 plan depends on community initiatives and on how much individuals can cooperate beyond self-interest for the greater good of creating a better community," says Noumura, who has extensive experience in helping municipalities develop interactive environmental projects.

The Toyonaka Municipal Government in Osaka Prefecture was one of the earliest local governments in Japan to adopt the Agenda 21 proposals. In May 1996, the Toyonaka Citizens' Council, comprising 155 groups covering all sectors of the city, was created. It drew up the Toyonaka Agenda 21 Plan the following year, and today has four working groups -- on lifestyle, nature, traffic and industrial policies -- and three project teams, whose activities include composting kitchen garbage and making charcoal from bamboo.

Council member Michiko Arai, who is also a member of a local environmental group, points out the merits of a diverse council makeup.

"As the council covers a wide range of sectors, it makes it easy to implement various projects in cooperation with those concerned," she says.

For example, the compost project brought in people from City Hall, restaurants, schools, the agriculture industry and other professions.

Another key facet of local interpretations of Agenda 21 is the integration of local economies and the environment. For example, the Miyako no Agenda 21 Forum, created in October 1998 to oversee the activities of Kyoto's Agenda 21, has implemented a program to make businesses greener.

One result was the Kyoto Environmental Management System. Based on ISO 14001, an international standard for environmental management systems, it encourages small and medium-size companies to obtain recognition for their good environmental performance. While major businesses can obtain ISO 14001 recognition also, smaller companies have been slow to follow suit due to lack of knowledge and the high cost of certification. However, with the Kyoto system's support, those costs fall by as much as 90 percent.

According to Takahiro Hisa, an assistant professor of urban planning at Kinki University, partnerships among different sectors have started in some municipalities, but they are still in their infancy. Many obstacles will have to be overcome before environment-related projects can bear any fruit. Hisa says that their success depends on the strength of cooperation and support coming from local people.

"Trust among the people from different bodies is born only through many honest meetings and discussions," Hisa says. "People should lend a sympathetic ear to those in other sectors and not just insist on their demands."

A free exchange of information is also crucial. To encourage local governments to promote their environmental initiatives, the Citizens Environmental Foundation launched an eco-city contest in April.

Participating municipalities will answer detailed questionnaires, which cover such issues as waste, energy and transportation policies, nature conservation and the participation level of local citizens. At least 60 local governments have expressed interest in the contest. The results -- rankings based on the questionaire responses and followup hearings -- will be announced in March.

"By taking part in the contest, local governments can learn each other's efforts and measures," says Ikuo Sugimoto, chief coordinator of the Kyoto-based group. "We cannot expect anything from the central government. Changes can only occur at the local level through good cooperation between local governments and the citizens."