Urban Planning and Sustainable Development

by Taking into Account Surface and Underground Conditions of Land Resources

This one-year project intends to shift focus to the Central and South Asian subregions, building on the momentum generated in East and South-East Asia, where the notion to incorporate the advice of national geological survey departments is gradually gaining recognition and being adopted as policy.

The project will start with a regional study of urban geological problems prominent in Central and South Asia, based on field missions to those areas conducted by an international expert. The resulting report will be presented at the fifth session of the Forum on Urban Geology in Asia and the Pacific, to be held 18-20 June 2001 in Bangkok, Thailand.

1. Raise awareness among geoscientists of their ability and mandate to assist planners and decision makers.
2. Raise awareness among planners and authorities of the huge benefits of taking natural (geological) conditions into account.
3. Expose geoscientists to examples of best practice in user-friendly presentation of science-based information; conduct training in such presentation skills as needed (thematic mapping; the use of GIS).
4. Foster routine communication between geoscientists and planners, who are often from different government departments with limited contacts.
5. Induce governments to set aside funds for "urban geology teams" to cater to the needs of planners and decision-makers on a permanent basis.

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