CITYNET at the Fifth Asia-Pacific Urban Forum

Forming and strengthening partnerships as well as the building of awareness were central to the fruitful outcomes of CITYNET’s participation at the 5th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF) organised by UNESCAP in Bangkok on 20-25 June 2011. “Cities of Opportunity: Partnerships for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future” was the focus of this key event where CITYNET members and partners took the opportunity to network, share and most importantly develop practical solutions. CITYNET brought more than 60 participants to APUF which UNESCAP coordinates every four years (the 4th APUF was organised in conjunction with the 2005 CITYNET Congress in Hanoi).

Over 700 delegates from national and local governments, academia, private sector and civil society participated in a wide range of innovative and interactive events such as an urban planning café and webcast plenary sessions allowing a wider audience to watch and ask questions via Twitter. There was a call for more decisive actions, and more practical tools and programmes to support initiatives.

The Forum was opened by Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand who reminded delegates of the urgency for a green economy. United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, stressed the need to take a fresh look at how cities are managed. "The frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters will increase. We simply do not have the luxury of growing first and cleaning up later," said Heyzer.

CITYNET is pleased to announce the signing of Memorandum of Agreements with CDIA on capacity building and also with ACHR on a community-housing and livelihood improvement programme. The signing of the Bangkok Declaration for Achieving the MDGs was also a major highlight of the Forum. These will only serve to secure cities’ commitment to put MDGs on-track to achieve the Goals by 2015.

CITYNET co-organised five sessions focusing on the MDGs, human security, disaster risk reduction, urban planning and the role of the private sector. Furthermore, CITYNET and members jointly participated in an exhibition which boasted hundreds of attendees to bring awareness to our programmes and activities.

Mayors’ Round Table on MDGs Challenges & the Way Forward
Cities play a major role in the quest for countries to fulfil their pledge and achieve the MDGs. Unfortunately; we are a long way from achieving this goal. Identifying new and practical methods needed to move forward was the goal of the Mayors’ Roundtable discussion organised by CITYNET, UCLG ASPAC, UN Millennium Campaign and UN-HABITAT.

The session was opened by CITYNET Secretary General Mary Jane Ortega and UCLG-ASPAC Co-President Mr. Krishna Prasad Jaishiand featured a presentation by UN Millennium Campaign Regional Director Mr. Minar Pimple covering key MDG challenges and opportunities for local governments. He highlighted issues such as fostering local economic development and delivering services among others. In addition, he indicated that there must be promotion of local governance and MDG acceleration monitoring and tracking of MDGs by citizens.

Moderated by Mayor Linda Gonzales of Ligao City, the Roundtable was well attended by mayors and local government representatives from Asia who provided the status of MDGs in their respective countries. They were able to report on accomplishments such as those in health and sanitation, education, environmental management coupled by disaster risk reduction practices among others. They also expressed their approaches to governance having applied participatory planning process, creating partnerships, and developing more sustainable and innovative programs in delivering services in some cases.

Of course major challenges of resource constraints, bureaucratic impediments, threats of disasters, lack of job security, and continuing rural-to-urban migration are growing daily. City presentations from Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka shared practices on economic improvements such as eco-tourism.

Some suggested ways to move forwards were the use of score carding for more awareness, promoting global justice and prosperity, and to create a stronger voice against poverty. It was also recommended that the CIA approach (control, influence, and appreciate) could be used. Control what can be done at the local level by selecting what are possible, build partnerships with the private sector to mobilise resources, and work for environmental sustainability. Influence the council to focus on MDGs and encourage women to participate in local elections. Demonstrate appreciation through awareness programmes, skill building, and sharing of good practices.

Mayors and participants signed the Bangkok Declaration for Achieving the MDGs to affirm their commitment, to give priority to the MDGs and to ask the national governments to keep their promises and recognise the role of local government as an essential and unique partner in meeting the MDGs.

Urban Planning Café
UN-HABITAT has chosen the Asia-Pacific region as the first region to engage with local governments and partners focusing on the critical areas of urban planning – one of the core priority areas for the “UN City Agency”. Using a dynamic and participative process, participants discussed issues related to congestion, slums, urban economy and resiliency. Four core areas core concerns were considered including: administrative, institutional and financial capacity as well as the availability of relevant planning tools.

The group highlighted a severe lack of capacity in each of the four facets. One of the conclusions of the session was that cohesiveness is only possible through strong coordination between national governments and local authorities. To do so, sectoral organizations and departments need to embrace a broader agenda to be able to undertake effective planning which responds to challenges posed by rapid urbanization. Curitiba was cited as an example of a city that has utilised a more systematic strategic planning process.

As a follow-up, CITYNET and UN-HABITAT will be piloting a “Quick Guide to Urban Planning” for mayors and elected officials as a means of addressing some of these needs. This series will also be introduced at the annual integrated urban planning training course which has been held at KLRTC since 2003. The Urban Planning Café was co-organised by UN-HABITAT and CITYNET.

Human Security, Governance and Social Inclusion in Asian Cities
Jointly organised by UN-HABITAT, CITYNET, Huairou Commission and Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, local government representatives from Jakarta, Kathmandu, Marikina, Makati, Dhaka and Colombo highlighted safety concerns in their own cities. The session provided more than 40 participants with the experiences of various cities in mainstreaming safety and security in city planning and management. Local governments can and do use different entry points to address human security issues ranging from city planning and women’s safety in the communities to conflict prevention, disaster preparedness and hazard mapping.

The rich discussions shows that the issues regarding human security vary greatly from city to city and that local authorities can start implementing safety and security measures at any time. During the roundtable session some key priority areas to include in an integrated framework/strategy for the region were identified. Other issues which were highlighted was the need for local governments to understand the needs of the community, and also the importance of social inclusion, especially grassroots women groups in the planning and decision-making processes.

Cities members are urged to use the on-line urban safety toolkit with twenty good practice case-studies from the region and training modules. Committed cities/local governments are invited to be the model cities on human security that CITYNET and UN-HABITAT are promoting.