|
1. Introduction
One of the key emphases in the 1992 Rio Declaration is: "human
beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development.
They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with
nature". Although major efforts have been made along this line,
today, achieving this entitlement remains a serious challenge. Nearly
30 percent of Asians have no access to safe drinking water while
nearly 70 percent have no access to adequate sanitation (1). With
the rapid increase in urban populations over the last 20 years,
the number of people not served by safe water supplies and adequate
sanitation has increased, not declined.
Rapid urbanization is expected to continue. Projections show that
over half of the world's population will live in urban areas by
the year 2005 (2). Countries of the Asia-Pacific region are no exception,
given their very high population growth rates. Nine out of the world's
thirteen mega-cities, with populations exceeding 10 million, are
in Asia (3). The population in the region is expected to reach 4.8
billion by the year 2025 and 5.3 billion by the year 2050 (4). By
2025 the number of mega-cities in the region will have risen to
20; more than half of the population will live in mega-cities; and
another 300 million inhabitants will live in 45 large cities with
populations over 5 million (5).
This hyper-urbanization trends and the concentration of urban population
in the big cities in developing countries bring not only the problem
of resource limitations to the fore, but add new problems as well.
Traditional environmental risks such as high poverty incidence,
malnutrition, dysentery, skin and eye infections, and other water-sanitation-
related diseases are exacerbated by modern environmental risks such
as exposure to hazardous and toxic substances, industrial water
pollution, air pollution from industries and vehicles, noise, and
stress due to lack of space and lifestyle (6).
Environmental management approaches are often too bio-physical
in nature. There is also a need to factor in the socio-economic
and cultural, even political, context as an integral part of the
problem-solving process. There are also equity considerations, as
environmental risks often have a disproportionate impact on women
and children. People living in poverty are also particularly vulnerable.
The management of the urban environment is a complex and difficult
task. The increasing momentum of urbanization has both direct and
indirect impacts on a variety of concerns and sectors. There is
a distinct need to take a good look at how effective historical
efforts to resolve urban environmental problems have been. Of particular
concern are the scope and magnitude of these efforts in relation
to the needs of a dynamic urban environment.
2. Agreed Actions
The identification of what needs to be done was accomplished at
Habitat II in 1996. This was incorporated in the Istanbul Declaration
on Human Settlements; in particular in the Global Plan of Action
and the section on Environmentally Sustainable, Healthy and Livable
Human Settlements. The specific action points agreed were as follows:
a. Improve the health and well-being of all people throughout
their life-span, particularly people living in poverty.
b. Improve environmental conditions, and reduce industrial and
domestic waste, and other forms of health risks in human settlements.
c. Recognize the need for an integrated approach to the provision
of those environmental services and policies that are essential
for human life.
d. Promote a healthy environment that will continue to support
adequate shelter for all and sustainable settlements for current
and future generations.
e. Secure for all reliable supply of safe drinking water and
meeting the competing demands of industry and agriculture.
f. Improve the livability of human settlements.
g. Develop further international legal mechanisms.
h. Develop mechanisms for assessing the environmental impact
of proposed activities.
These agreed actions are comprehensive and an integrated, inter-sector
approach is emphasized. Concern is not only directed at environmental
matters and their links to health, but also to social and economic
issues.
3. Review of Regional Experiences and Initiatives
Related to Urban Environment
A number of urban environmental management initiatives have been
implemented during the 1996-2000 period in the Asia-Pacific region.
Several major regional initiatives having environmental management
components are summarized below (7):
a. Healthy Cities
The Healthy Cities programme was launched by the World Health
Organization (WHO) European Regional Office in the 1986. Healthy
Cities projects aim at developing health-enhancing public policies
that create physical and social environments that support health
and strengthen community action for health. They also emphasize
the principles of health promotion to develop new styles of enabling,
facilitating, mediating, advocating and building new partnerships
and coalitions for health.
There are currently more than 1000 cities worldwide, implementing
Healthy Cities projects. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Healthy
Cities approach was first introduced to Australia, Japan and New
Zealand in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was introduced to
the rest of the Asia-Pacific region in 1993-94. Countries in which
Healthy Cities are implemented include: Bangladesh, Cambodia,
China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Thailand, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea,
Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam.
b. Sustainable Cities
The Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) is a joint programme of
the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT) and
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The programme
was established in 1990 and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
Its principal goal is to provide municipal authorities and their
partners in the public and private sectors with an improved environmental
planning and management capacity. In the Asia-Pacific region the
SCP is active in China, India, and the Philippines. Preparatory
activities are underway in Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The term, "sustainable cities", has also been used
in programmes of other international agencies, including regional
development banks and the World Bank.
c. Local(ising) Agenda 21
This capacity-building programme responds to Chapter 28 of Agenda
21, where local authorities are called upon to develop and implement
a "Local Agenda 21" with their communities. This process
is reinforced through supporting key actors in selected secondary
towns to implement environmental action plans with a view towards
long-term sustainability. Local Agenda 21 has been widely used
by UN agencies for environmental management and planning projects
in cities.
The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) has been
implementing the Localising Agenda 21 Programme, in collaboration
with a wide range of international, national and local partners.
The programme is operational in Vinh City, Viet Nam, the only
one in the Asia-Pacific region.
d. Urban Management Programme
The Urban Management Programme (UMP) is a global technical cooperation
programme of the United Nations, executed by the United Nations
Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS), with core funding from the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and several bilateral
agencies. Beginning in 1997, UMP has been implementing its third
phase, the thrust of which is to build the capacity of governments
and other stakeholders to address urban problems specifically
through consultations involving partner institutions at the regional,
country and local levels. These consultations focus on urban poverty
reduction, urban environmental management and participatory urban
governance. In this respect UMP-Asia has engaged 11 regional and
local partner institutions to suuport UMP consultations in 14
cities in the region.
e. The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI)
The Urban Governance Initiative is an endeavor of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), building upon its earlier
investment and insights from the Urban Management Programme for
Asia and the Pacific (UMPAP) and Asia Pacific 2000 (AP2000). TUGI
is directed to assist local governments in making cities in the
Asia-Pacific region more livable through strengthening capacities,
promoting good governance principles, and enhancing the quality
of governance tools available to urban administrators and decision
makers.
The initiative is open to all cities from the developing countries
in the Asia-Pacific Region. A selected number of them will serve
as nodes for demonstration of good governance. TUGI's executing
agency is the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
- Asia Office. UNDP Kuala Lumpur is the Designated Field Office
and hosts the Project Secretariat. The Principal Project Resident
Representative is the UNDP Resident Representative in Malaysia.
f. Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management
of Human Settlements (CITYNET)
CITYNET is a network of cities, NGOs and CBOs that aims to promote
the creation of conditions and appropriate mechanisms for communities
to plan and manage their own settlements and environment. It serves
as a catalyst to encourage partnerships for technical exchange
of expertise among local authorities, NGOs and grassroots organizations
in Asia and the Pacific. It also contributes to self-reliant development
and international understanding among its members.
g. Metropolitan Environmental Improvement Program (MEIP)
The MEIP is a regional programme established in 1989 by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank to support
and learn from the environmental management efforts of Asia's
large, rapidly-growing metropolitan areas. Six cities have joined
the programme: Beijing, China; Bombay, India; Colombo Sri Lanka;
Jakarta, Indonesia; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Metro Manila, Philippines.
h. Local Initiative Facility for the Urban Environment (LIFE)
LIFE is a UNDP programme whose objective is to promote "local-local"
dialogue and collaboration through supporting small-scale activities
by municipal authorities, NGOs, and CBOs to improve the urban
environment. The programme began with two countries per region
with Pakistan and Thailand for the Asia-Pacific region. The LIFE
programme also supports regional and inter-regional projects that
promote interchange of information concerning successful approaches
to urban environmental improvement.
i. City Development Strategies (CDS)
The City Development Strategies (CDS) is a "partnership
approach" to city assistance launched by the World Bank.
This approach calls for broad coalitions of stakeholders and development
partners, both local and international, to work together to develop
a strategy for a particular city/urban area. The city development
strategy is both a process and a product that together identify
ways of creating the conditions for sustainability of the city
along four dimensions: livability, competitiveness, good management
and governance, and bankability.
Initial pilot cities that are active in the Asia-Pacific region
include: Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam); San Fernando, Olongapo,
Roxas, Sagay, Lapu Lapu, Dapitan and Dipolog (Philippines); Phitsanulok
(Thailand); Fuling (China); Bandung (Indonesia); and Dhaka, Khulna
(Bangladesh).
j. Network of Local Government Training and Research Institutes
in Asia and the Pacific (LOGOTRI)
LOGOTRI is a network whose members are governmental, autonomous
and private sector institutions and organizations involved primarily
in local government training and research. It was initiated by
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (ESCAP) in March 1999.
The objectives of LOGOTRI are to: establish technical cooperation
among local government training and research institutes in Asia
and the Pacific; and strengthen the institutional and technical
capacities of local government training and research institutes
in Asia and the Pacific. LOGOTRI has currently twenty-five institutes
from 13 countries as its members.
Many of these programmes were initiated before the 1996 Istanbul
Declaration. They have supported cities and countries in the Asia-Pacific
region in implementing the agreed actions mentioned in Section
2 over the past decade. As described above, these programmes emphasize
local or community participation as well as networking and the
exchange of information and experience.
4. Opportunities and Challenges for the Future
The path ahead is difficult and has myriad of issues and concerns,
each vying for attention. Making decisions on priorities can be
facilitated by looking at opportunities available and the key challenges
for the future.
4.1 Opportunities
4.1.1 Growing Environmental Awareness
There is increasing environmental awareness particularly by citizens
in the industrialized countries of the Region. The growth of such
awareness in developing countries has been late and slow; yet, it
is also gaining ground. Concern for global warming, ozone depletion
and trans-boundary pollution in the form of acid rain from industrial
pollution or haze from forest fires, has helped bring home the concept
of everyone belonging to just "one planet".
Environmentalism in the region has thus grown from being the sole
concern of a few activists to that of a popular movement. Support
from educational institutions and media has placed even the schoolchildren
at the forefront of environmental advocacy. This is a significant
development as these schoolchildren represent the future generations.
4.1.2 Improved Tools and Mechanisms for Integrated Planning
There has been progress in developing tools that can facilitate
more integrated approaches. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)
have already been institutionalized in many countries of the region.
The scope of EIA is being expanded with the addition of Environmental
Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) and Risk Assessment (RA). Environment
and Natural Resources Accounting (ENRA) as well as Strategic Environmental
Assessments (SEAs) are also being developed.
These tools are related to mechanisms for participatory decision-making.
In most EIA systems, public consultations or hearings are required.
These tools also require multi-disciplinary approaches thus assuring
that most, if not all, sector concerns are heard.
One of the most important mechanisms for integrated planning and
implementation is that of networking across sectors, groups, cities
and even countries. Such networking has already been started. Environmental
NGOs, for example, have established national coalitions as well
as regional and global networks. City-city linkages such as CITYNET,
the Inter-City Network for Sustainable Development and the International
Cooperation Network of Asian Cities have been organized (8).
4.1.3 Advances in production and information technology
Technology can help provide solutions to pressing environmental
issues. This capacity of technology to provide a solution is illustrated
by the way ozone-depleting substances were phased out within just
a few years time and replaced with new ozone-friendly alternatives.
Biotechnology is being harnessed to remove toxic metals and organic
wastes from industrial effluent (9). Other biotechnology applications
include environmentally friendly processing techniques, pollution
prevention technologies, the development of new biodegradable plastics,
and the development of biological air and water filters (10).
Advances in technology are also utilized in industrialized countries
to meet both resource efficiency and environmental goals. Many industries
in such countries have shifted to newer, clean production technologies.
Energy efficient technologies such as thermal storage, energy-efficient
lighting, and electronic controlled motors and pumps have been in
use in industrialized countries. The potential savings from these
energy efficient technologies are enormous. For Example, it has
been estimated that developing countries could avoid spending $1.7
trillion on new power plants, oil refineries, coal mines and all
the attendant infrastructure if they could invest in energy saving
technologies (11).
In the field of transport, energy savings as well as air pollution
control are achieved through the development of low emission vehicles
(e.g. either battery-driven or hybrid), the running prototypes of
which have already been developed.
The rapid advance of information technology is another opportunity
supportive of sustainable development. Information technology (IT)
allows instantaneous global connectivity, increased transparency,
enhanced governance and sharing of technology. Alternative public
or corporate management systems (i.e. at-home offices and work)
as well as the ability to continuously adjust to the process of
change, at local and global levels, by being well informed, are
additional IT advantages.
4.1.4 Utilizing Globalization: Investments and Market Standards
Global economic integration will bring in new markets and investments.
In the region, it is projected that in the next 15 years new capital
stock will be built at least equal to that which exists today and
an opportunity exists to influence the nature of that new investment
(12). Partnerships between local and foreign firms will increase
access to new and cleaner technologies. International consumers
and shareholders will also exact stricter environmental behavior
on the managers of such firms and higher environmental standards
for their products.
The increasing consideration of environmental concerns in the
global market, further supported by industry's voluntary initiatives,
is helping make the shift to more environmentally friendly investments
both attractive and profitable. International standards such as
the ISO 14001 series for environmental management systems are gaining
prominence within the region. In mid-1999, the World ISO Records
had 2,124 firms in Japan listed as certified under the system. Other
developing countries have followed suit, with the following number
of industrial firms being certified: Thailand (121); China (81);
India (60); Indonesia (48); and Philippines (30).
Eco-labeling or environmental labeling has also been started in
several countries of the region such as Japan, the Republic of Korea,
and Singapore. The main purpose is to influence consumption and
lifestyles by guiding consumers towards environmentally friendly
products. The criteria, however, for eco-labels go beyond the product.
Singapore's Green Label Scheme, for example, sets specific guidelines
for the manufacturing, distribution, usage, and disposal of products.
The demand to expand eco-labeling beyond the national scope is gaining
ground and the more strategic-thinking governments and industries
have started to create shifts in their policy and management systems.
4.1.5 Decentralization Trends
Developments in the region show a trend towards decentralization
of environmental responsibilities.There will be increasing demands
for a decentralized approach to environmental management. Increased
political pluralism seeks participatory governance. Local governments
are best positioned to listen to the ideas of the local populace
than remote central agencies.
Globalization and its demands for economic liberalization has also
led to a declining tolerance for inefficiency and ineffectiveness
of state enterprises and the consideration of restructuring and
privatization (13). This will provide additional pressure for decentralized
approaches.
4.2 Future Challenges
The key strategic challenge of the future is: How can opportunities,
opened up by previous efforts including socio-economic changes,
be utilized to the fullest and scaled up so that future actions
are able to match future needs. As WHO pointed out in 1996: "What
is more important for health as well as for environment is not the
speed with which cities are growing but the extent to which effective
local responses are developed from all sectors and possible resources"
(14).
The operational challenges are many and may vary among sectors.
The following sub-section presents a discussion of some of these
various challenges:
4.2.1 Developing A Comprehensive and Integrated Approach
While there is increasing awareness of environmental concerns
in the region, such awareness has to be expanded to include the
notion of sustainable development. The root causes of environmental
degradation lie in issues related to poverty. Lasting solutions
similarly lie in dealing with environment and poverty issues in
an integrated manner. The objective is to break the vicious cycle
of poverty and environmental degradation. The challenge is to shift
attention from simply "caring for the environment" into
"sharing for the environment", as the Rio Summit noted
in 1992.
Projects on the urban environment should thus be designed to focus
on both environment and poverty alleviation. For example, in planning
for housing and settlements, it is important to consider not just
solid and liquid waste management but also the elements that provide
income. This includes generating new sources of employment or providing
access to sources of employment through proper siting and transport
planning.
Security of land tenure must also be addressed. Asian cities have
20% to more than 50% of their residents located in slum areas (15).
These slum areas are disaster-prone and are examples of man-made
ecological problems. They encroach on ecologically sensitive uplands,
waterways, parks and coastal areas, and comprise the most unhealthy
and hazardous settings.
Apart from poverty or economic considerations, environmental management
needs to address social benefits and cultural values. Socially,
cities should be "cities for all" with strong programs
for social inclusion. City design should be supportive of the needs
of vulnerable groups: children, women, elderly citizens, disabled
persons, migrants, and refugees. Urban architecture should also
create cultural unity and respect heritage. Singapore, for instance,
protects most of its remaining traditional buildings while India
is experimenting with the concept of "Heritage Economic Zones"
(16). With globalization, a major challenge is how to prevent cities
from turning into soul-less settlements or cultural deserts (17).
As an approach, comprehensive and integrated city environmental
planning and management has several implications. One is that preventive
measures and not just curative ones are emphasized. An example is
working to reduce the generation of garbage rather than focusing
on dump construction and management. With limited resources, recycling
and reuse programs become increasingly vital. In the same vein,
shifts to cleaner production technologies alone are not enough.
The promotion of sustainable consumption is also necessary. Life
cycle assessments of products and eco-labeling can help, but need
to be supported by value and lifestyle changes. Community institutions
such as churches and schools have to take a more prominent role.
From a spatial perspective the links of cities to coastal/marine
areas and surrounding upland watersheds have to be considered. Such
links are especially important for small islands that have or will
soon have (i.e. Pacific island states) urbanization- related problems..
Another link to be considered is that of the urban-rural nexus.
The urban-rural dichotomy is becoming a blurred one. In reality
a large part of the rural population works in urban areas or in
urban related occupations such as services and manufacturing industry
located in rural areas (18). Migration into cities is also related
to rural neglect. Rural development could therefore help stem the
tide of urban congestion and give cities the breathing space to
build capacity for services that match its population growth requirements.
The challenge is how to improve cities without neglecting rural
areas. The challenge in East and Southeast Asia is not so much to
accelerate growth further. It is to ensure that growth is sustainable
in the long-term; that the rural areas are not neglected; and that
the urban poor have a better chance to improve their lives (19).
Globalization and its impact on health and the environment should
also be considered. Trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes
is expected to increase with globalization either through movement
of products or substances through trade (e.g. expired drugs and
foodstuffs) or other transfer mechanisms (e.g. oil spills and haze
from forest fires). There are also concerns about the possible dumping
of old and polluting technologies from the industrialized to the
developing countries. The emergence of food-borne diseases will
be promoted by the globalization of food supply, changes in demographics
and consumer lifestyles, international trade and travel, and microbial
adaptation (20).
4.2.2 Improving Tools and Mechanisms
Tools for integrating environment and development such as environmental
impact assessments (EIAs), environmental health impact assessments
(EHIAs), strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) and environment
and natural resources accounting (ENRA) are in various stages of
development and institutionalization. The development of EIA systems
started earliest and can be considered as the most advanced. Yet
a survey of selected Asian cities show that many countries are considered
"in between" in capacity and a substantial number are
still in the "beginning" level (21).
The other "newer" tools are expected to have more methodological
problems as well as issues of institutionalization similar to when
EIAs were just being started. These include the lack of procedural
guidelines and lack of expertise. There is also the lack of baseline
data upon which to base analysis. In an assessment of the progress
of ENRA development in ASEAN countries, for example, it was strongly
recommended that there should be closer examination of the usefulness
of various accounting approaches, collaboration in statistical development,
and the development of protocols for data generation, sharing and
use (22). Further work on these tools includes the improvement in
accessibility of impact data and the development of methodologies
to monetize environmental impact data for use in economic evaluation
(23).
As tools for integration are developed, so should the mechanisms
to put them in place. Interagency coordination, communication and
networking is vital to be able to set up monitoring and evaluation
systems that could provide baseline and trend data for impact analysis.
Unfortunately, even for EIAs, there are serious problems of lack
of inter-agency coordination, inefficient communication of results
to decision-makers, and insufficient commitment for follow-up and
monitoring by government agencies, development proponents and affected
groups.
Networking also helps popularize successful efforts and the tools
used in such efforts. This allows the scaling up of successful demonstration
projects. The challenge is how to trigger a critical mass of community-based
micro-activities for urban environment improvement and to influence
national urban policy to become people and environment-friendly
(24).
Regional and global networks are also critical in that they provide
venue and capacity to resolve problems that have common roots in
the process of global economic integration and trade (e.g. trans-boundary
movement of toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, unsafe foodstuffs,
outdated, polluting equipment, etc.). The challenge is how to further
develop or strengthen networks with regional and international bodies
so that support at the local level is relevant and hews closely
to Agenda 21 and Habitat II provisions.
4.2.3 Technology Transfer, Adaptation and Innovation
As mentioned earlier, opportunities exist for utilizing advances
in technology that lead to the provision of high quality and more
environmentally friendly public transport systems, increased recycling,
and increased efficiency of energy and water use. Innovative approaches
can also be implemented to reduce the "ecological footprint"
of urban areas - an 'Ecopolis' concept of settlements where urban
agriculture, urban forestry, urban biodiversity conservation, and
building designs to save energy and materials become important aspects
of the city.
The challenge, however, lies in fully achieving the objective
of Agenda 21 that seeks "to promote, facilitate, and finance,
as appropriate, the access to and transfer of environmentally sound
technologies and corresponding know-how, in particular to developing
countries, on favorable terms, including on concessional and preferential
terms, as mutually agreed, taking into account the need to protect
intellectual property rights as well as the special needs of developing
countries for the implementation of Agenda 21."
Technology transfer often requires certain adaptations to particular
developing country situations. A case in point is the small-and-medium
enterprises (SMEs) that are unable to adopt clean technologies designed
for the investment capacities, production scale, and management
systems of large enterprises. Yet providing technology support to
these enterprises is very important, as SMEs, by their numbers,
have significant economic and environmental impacts. In India, the
sector accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the total turnover
in manufacturing (25) and as much as 60 to 65 percent of pollution
(26).
In certain cases, innovation can provide the solution to environmental
problems. Plastic foam food containers, for example, are used by
billions of people daily resulting in mountains of waste. Join-in
Green Products, a Hong Kong company has developed the solution,
winning for itself a gold prize at Hong Kong's first Eco-Products
award: biodegradable tableware made from a composite of grass and
sugarcane pulp (27).
The rapid development in information technology is another opportunity
for improving the urban environment. It could improve monitoring
and database management. It could create the foundation for communication
and advocacy networks. The challenge is how to make it work for
urban environmental rehabilitation and management and how to bridge
what is seen as a growing digital divide between those that can
afford and have access to such technology and those that cannot.
4.2.4 Financing and Resource Generation
The magnitude and momentum of urban environment problems are such
that significantly massive financial resources are needed to deal
with them. The cost, for example of providing half the population
of a city of 2 million with a sewerage system would be about $200
million (28). Yet investments are expected to flow into the region
in greater amounts and cities are key conduits of this flow. The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that 80 percent of the region's
growth in the 1990s was generated by urban economies. A key challenge
for developing countries is how to mobilize local resources and
create the substantial finances needed.
One approach is to encourage the recognition of the value of market-based
instruments in augmenting "command and control" approaches.
The Republic of Korea subjects wastes to environmental taxes through
a Volume-Based Waste Fee System and Waste Treatment Charge System
while the Philippines has initiated an environmental user fee system
for industries discharging wastewater into the Laguna de Bay. These
market-based instruments have succeeded in shifting individual behavior
and corporate decisions towards increased consideration for reducing
waste while at the same time raising revenue for important monitoring,
protection and rehabilitation activities.
There are, however, certain equity issues raised by using some
market-based strategies. The treatment of certain basic goods such
as water, for example, as an economic good and the privatization
of its management and distribution has been questioned in relation
to the impacts on the poor. The additional challenge in many countries
in the region is how to develop and institutionalize market-based
or economic instruments to improve efficiency in the use of scarce
resources while at the same time taking care of equity considerations.
Financing needs are also met through savings in costs. Community
participation becomes vital as volunteer work and even community
contributions in both cash and kind reduce costs.
Improvement in efficiency of resource use is another way of cutting
costs. In ensuring adequate water supply, attention has been given
more to conventional centralized approaches that are expensive.
Yet a cheaper approach would be to improve water resource management
so that limited water is more efficiently utilized (29). The same
holds true in the provision of energy supplies.
The challenge lies in developing changes in thinking as well as
in the knowledge base and skills of administrators, decision-makers
and the providers of funding.
4.2.5 Promoting Decentralization and Good Governance
The improvement of governance is perhaps the greatest challenge
for many countries of the region in that the root causes of problems
as well as the capacity to initiate, implement and expand on solutions
are dependent on it. The goal is good governance as described by
the following criteria: participation; rule of law; transparency;
responsiveness; consensus orientation; equity; effectiveness and
efficiency; accountability; and strategic vision (30).
Many countries and city governments of the region will have to
work hard to meet the criteria of good governance. Despite optimism
generated by some success in some model cities, more effective governance
has not succeeded in many areas because of a lack of decentralization
of power, a weak bureaucracy, and a weak commitment to public involvement.
To effectively deal with these constraints will require more participative
political processes. There is thus a need to make full use of the
growing public awareness of environmental issues, pluralization
of environmental management, and democratization trends.
The participation element of good governance is important in that
it enables integrated approaches to solving environmental problems
to be initiated locally. Local and community-based efforts have
the advantage of more affordable resource requirements, simpler
management structures, and greater flexibility in institutional
arrangements and decision-making. The challenge is how to initiate
local efforts and yet be able to place these efforts within a larger
context of an integrated strategy where each local effort complements
the other.
A related challenge is how to speed up decentralization of power
(involving autonomy of local bodies and legislative changes in decision-making)
while at the same time speeding up capacity building in managing
new responsibilities. Meeting this challenge is critical as inter-sector
cooperation has been found to be easier to initiate and sustain
at the local levels.
Strengthening local governance and a shift from purely regulatory
roles to enabling roles is necessary to encourage the participation
of other key stakeholders in environmental management. Public-private
partnerships in urban environmental services, for example, succeed
only where local governments have the requisite capacity for good
governance. From experience in developing countries of private sector
involvement in solid waste management, it has been observed that
there should be transparency and accountability in the system. Local
governments have to have competent, professional staff and the autonomy
to enter into multi-year agreements that capture economies-of-scale
as well as efficiencies (31).
5. Conclusions (What do we need to focus on?)
A major question, given so many issues and challenges, is how
can we practically move the urban environmental management agenda
forward in the coming years? There is too much to do at once, so
where do we start? In this regard, the following priority areas
are suggested as the focus of action:
a. Identifying the interrelationships between environment and
poverty, and addressing both to meet the needs of urban residents,
especially the urban disadvantaged.
b. Developing, disseminating and applying environmental assessment
and planning tools to better understand the complex problems at
hand and help create more holistic approaches to problem-solving.
c. Promoting local empowerment (individuals, collective individuals,
local governments, civil society - private sector - local government
partnerships) as this provides the foundation for strengthening
local governance, resource mobilization, and networking.
National and local governments, research institutions and the
academe, NGOs, the private sector, and international agencies
will all have a role to play to support priority actions in these
areas. Such roles depend on the expertise, resources and opportunities
available to each sector. The most immediate question for each
sector then is what are these roles?
Data Sources:
1. Opening Statement of Mr. Tadao Chino, President of the Asian
Development Bank at the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment
and Development in Asia and the Pacific, 4 September 2000, Kitakyushu
City, Fukuoka, Japan.
2. United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, UN, 1995.
3. ADB, Sustainable Cities, Environmental Challenges in the 21st
Century, Asian Development Bank, 1999.
4. UN Population Division, 1999.
5. ADB, 1999, op. cit.
6. ibid.
7. Data excerpted from: Our Cities Our Homes, A to Z Guide on Human
Settlements Issues. Compilation by Sri Husnaini Sofjan and Eugene
Raj Arokiasamy, AP 2000/UNDP; http://www.unchs.org/habrdd/capagd21.htm
(for Localising Agenda 21); http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/urban/city_str/cds.htm
(for City Development Strategies); http://www.unescap.org/huset/logotri
(for LOGOTRI).
8. Office for International Environmental Cooperation, City of
Kitakyushu, For People, the Earth and Coming Generations, City of
Kitakyushu, 2000.
9. Wong, Y.S. and Nora F.Y. Tam, 2000. Research Projects on Environmental
Biotechnology: Project 2 Algabiotor - An Innovative Biotechnological
System for Removing Toxic Heavy Metals and Organic wastes from Industrial
Effluent, http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~opyswong/research.html
10. Application to Pollution Prevention, Chapter 7. Biotechnology
(Government of Canada, revised CEPA), http://www.ec.gc.ca/cepa.govtresp/echap07.html
11. Serageldin, et al (eds), "The Business of Sustainable
Cities", The World Bank, ESD Series No. 7, 1995.
12. ADB, Asian Environmental Outlook (Second Discussion Draft),
presented as background material, Asian Environmental Outlook 2001
Regional Workshop, 26-27 July 2000, ADB, Manila.
13. ibid.
14. WHO, Creating Healthy Cities in the 21st Century (WHO Background
Paper): Dialogue on Health in Human Settlements, United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) Istanbul, Turkey, 3-14
June 1996.
15. ADB, 1999, op. cit.
16. AP 2000, Cities and Citizens, The AP 2000 Experience, Inter
Press Service, Asia-Pacific.
17. ibid.
18. UN Global Report on Human Settlements 1996.
19. AP 2000, op. cit.
20. WHO, Environmental Health and Sustainable Development In the
Asia-Pacific Region, 1996-2000, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office,
August 2000.
21. ADB, Mega-city Management in the Asian and Pacific Region,
Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996.
22. ASEAN, A Comparative Assessment of Environmental and Natural
Resources Accounting in Four ASEAN Countries, Vol. I, Integrative
Report submitted to the ASEAN Working Group on Environmental Economics,
September 1998.
23. ESCAP, Selected issues with reference to the work of the Committee
on Environment and Sustainable Development: refinement and promotion
of methodologies for the integration of environment and development.
E/ESCAP/ESD (4)/1, 14 August 1997.
24. AP 2000, op. cit.
25. ESCAP, The Role of the Private Sector and Privatization for
Industrial and Technological Development in South Asian Economies.
ST/ESCAP/1777, New York 1996.
26. Serageldin, 1995, op. cit.
27. Asiaweek, Special Report Environment. March 10, 2000.
28. WHO, 1996, op. cit.
29. International Symposium Highlights, Innovative Ways of Finding
Water for Cities, UNEP IETC Newsletter, September 1999, p. 5.
30. UNDP, Governance for Sustainable Development, In: Urban Links
No. 24, January 1999, p. 4.
31. Cointreau-Levine, S., Private Sector Participation in Municipal
Solid Waste Services in Developing Countries. Vol. 1. The Formal
Sector, Urban Management, 1994.
go to the beginning of this document
|
