The increasing involvement of civil society alongside the public and private sectors is a significant new development in environmental governance. In North America, for instance, there were civil society consultations in late 1996 leading to the Hemispheric Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development.
Civil society groups in many parts of the world are involved in community indicator networks, watershed-based initiatives, efforts by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, Habitat's network of community initiatives, and the environmental activities of indigenous people's and women's movements. This localization of national and global initiatives is an appropriate way to tackle many types of environmental problems and should become increasingly important in the future.