Background Previously, much research has focused on the formulation of sustainable development strategies and policies in the Palestinian Territories. However, less attention has been paid to the development of local strategies and action plans and to the promotion of environmental responsibility of the communities and the dissemination of national research results at local level. Furthermore, participation of the local communities and population in sustainable development issues has been limited. Objectives The project objectives were to formulate shared community visions and, on this basis, to develop local sustainability strategies. By involving the local population in the process, the project aimed to prompt the continuous involvement of local stakeholders in planning and implementing sustainable development initiatives. The ultimate goal was to be able to transfer the gained knowledge and information on the process to other local authorities in the West Bank and encourage them to carry out similar initiatives. In the framework of its main objectives, the project pursued the following specific goals: To secure and maintain the involvement of the targeted local and national authorities throughout and after the course of project implementation; To establish an effective participatory process; To assess the communities’environmental and socioeconomic conditions as well as the institutional arrangements, structures and practices. To establish a GIS based information system and reinforce the technical capacities of the selected municipalities and rural councils in GIS, database management and environmental monitoring. To develop local sustainability action strategies “Local Agendas 21” based on the baseline community profiles and the outcomes of the community visioning process. To transfer the gained knowledge to other local authorities in the West Bank. Results The project developed the capacities of decision-markers in sustainable development by starting a process of localising “Agenda 21” through thematic group meetings and workshops with local and international experts, followed by a statement on the sustainability planning effort. It then gained the support of relevant national authorities to endorse such a statement, and established a steering committee involving the members of the seven local authorities from the Bethlehem Governorate and the relevant Palestinian authorities. Following the launching of the sustainability initiative , a community awareness raising campaign was organised. Data collection through the review of available databases and publications on environmental and socio-economic themes was initiated. The project set-up a comprehensive GIS-based information system composed of environmental and socio-economic databases, transferred (together with hardware equipment) to the targeted councils; the personnelconcerned had been previously trained on GIS techniques, database management and environmental monitoring by the project. Baseline community profiles were established,stating environmental and socio economic conditions and also describing driving forces having led to unsustainable conditions;based on these findings and on the outcomes of the community visioning process,elaborated by participatory forums,a local agenda 21 was developed for each community, fixing priorities and an implementation mechanism. Finally, the beneficiary integrated the outcomes of the visioning process, the actions' description and the findings of the community profiles to develop local sustainability action strategies. These strategies were finalised in a national workshop held in Bethlehem under the auspices of the Prime Minister, as well as adopted by the relevant councils. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).