Background The Government of Syria has prioritised the inclusion of environmental protection policies into local sustainable development planning. However,lack of capacities, of financial support and of awareness were the main obstacles. Objectives The overall objective of this project was to promote sustainable local development planning and the implementation of Local Agenda 21 (LA21) in Syria, in setting up several planning initiatives with local communities. Specific objectives were: strengthening structural capacities to support local planning processes; ensuring managerial, organisational, and conceptual readiness for project implementation; creating awareness and training local communities in development planning skills; and ensuring the continuation and sustainability of local development planning processes. Results This LIFE TCY project successfully supported the Syrian Government in identifying the necessary legal and institutional measures to be put in place for addressing at local level the priorities defined in the National Environmental Action Plan elaborated by the National Committee for Sustainable Development. This approach was in accordance with LA21 principles and a Consultative Committee for LA21 was established . Overall, the LIFE project's objectives have been achieved and its results included a number of awareness raising and capacity building activities: workshops on LA21 planning involving several Syrian municipalities; training and coaching of stakeholders from three pilot cities on elaboration of LA21 Action Plans; publication and dissemination of guidelines and resource material on how to initiate LA21 projects. The pilot projects experienced some initial challenges but they were successful in engaging local stakeholders in a dialogue on sustainable local planning and in the identification of pilot initiatives for implementation of LA21. For the first time, the participatory approach had been used for local planning in these cities . Moreover a number of follow-up initiatives, such as events like "cleaning voluntary days" have been launched by the local municipalities in Banias and in Bosra. In Mlieha ,the local authority, with the support of Damascus Chamber of Commerce, has created an institute to support education of local communities. In addition to the positive outcomes of the pilot projects, the project had an impact on the implementation of LA21 in Syria and facilitated a more active collaboration between local and national authorities.