The principal mechanisms, recommended for implementing the Habitat Agenda are national and local plans of action, complemented by partners' plans of action and support programmes of multilateral and bilateral cooperation agencies. The periodic updating of action plans and programmes, based on a continuous process of monitoring and assessment of progress at all levels, is an implicit objective of the Habitat Agenda. Given the global scope and complexity of monitoring and evaluation, however, these tasks must be widely adopted as a shared responsibility among all partners and promoted through appropriate capacity-building and networking mechanisms. Habitat will publish an annual global report on progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda, including an assessment of current human settlements conditions and trends based on indices, indicators and nominated best practices. 1.4 Plans of Action 1.4.1 National Plans of Action At Istanbul, Member States committed themselves to implementing the Habitat Agenda through local, national, sub-regional and regional plans of action.
Most plans also outline priorities for international technical cooperation.
By collecting urban and shelter indicators and other information and by identifying best practice in improving the living environment, countries were able to start the process of self-assessment, producing baseline information on human settlements conditions and trends and establishing priorities for action. In most of the countries that produced NPAs, broad-based national committees were set up to guide the reporting and planning processes. They included representatives of local authorities, the private sector, NGOs and other partners. These Habitat Committees should be retained and strengthened where they have already been established and should be re-established in countries where they no longer exist. Their functions should be to review settlements conditions and trends, advise the Government on national housing and urban policy development and ensure that the strategic objectives outlined in the NPA are incorporated into national policy formulation and implementation processes.