Bethlehem 21 project entitled ″Environmental Sustainability for a Better Life: An Integrated Approach for Localizing Agenda 21 in the Bethlehem District″ is a Palestinian initiative responding to Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 whereby local authorities are called upon to undertake a consultative process to develop and implement a ″Local Agenda 21″ for and with their communities.

Bethlehem 21 project will develop the capacities of local and national authorities including Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Za'tara, Al Khader, Ed Doha municipalities, the rural council of Battir, the Ministry of Planning (MoP), the Ministry of local Government (MoLG) – Department of Joint Councils for Services, Planning and Development (DJCspd), the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (PEQA), the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Bethlehem Governorate (BG), the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Water and Sanitation Authorities to reinforce them to enter into dialogue with citizens and local organizations in order to develop local sustainability action strategies or ″Local Agendas 21″. The participatory approach will be in the form of a visioning process that focuses on bringing together a broad section of the community with the local authority to develop a shared vision for the sustainability of their community and plan how to achieve it.