Local Government in Asia and the Pacific

Introduction

In the past 30 years the urban population in the Asia and Pacific-region has increased by 560 million people (or 260 per cent) and in the next 30 years it is expected to increase by about 1,450 million people (or 250 per cent). This unprecedented urbanization process will make it increasingly difficult for limited natural and human resources to cope with the pressures of modern society.

Midway through the 1990s the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing rapid economic growth and even more rapid industrialization and urbanization. Clearly the major influences on the future of the region are the changes in and growth of the urban areas. Several more mega-cities and large cities, with populations over a million have emerged. Cities in Asia and the Pacific are centres of both hope and despair: while being engines of economic and social development, they are also congested centres of poverty and environmental deterioration.

If present global trends continue, the twenty-first century will be an Asian century, with Asia poised to become the world's dominant economic powerhouse. By the year 2025, most Asians will be urban dwellers. With most of its value added economic activities and populations located in urban areas, how well cities function, as systems, will determine the future of Asia.

While Asian and Pacific economies and societies are undergoing rapid transformation, government structures and systems in most countries of the region have been slow to change and respond to the new challenges. To meet the challenges of the twenty-first century new paradigms based on partnership between local governments and the civil society, including the private sector, are required. This requires a fundamental reevaluation of the form and nature of local governance in Asia and the Pacific.

Realizing this most countries of the region are undertaking reforms aimed at decentralizing and devolving government functions to the local level. To assist policy makers and researchers in undertaking this task, ESCAP, in partnership with the Asian and Pacific Section of the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA-ASPAC), the Korea Local Authorities Foundation for International Relations (KLAFIR) and the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) initiated a study of local government systems in 15 countries of the region. Funding for the research and publication were provided by ESCAP, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) and by KLAFIR.

The country reports were prepared by experts identified jointly by ESCAP and IULA-ASPAC. These were:

To appreciate the functioning of local government in any one country or the region as a whole the reader is referred to the reports. Individually and collectively they provide a unique and valuable snapshot of local government in fifteen countries in which nearly half the world’s population live. The country papers went through two rounds of peer review before final editing and publication. An attempt has been made to maintain the individual style and perspective of each author. Editing has been done to make the country reports more readable and easily comparable. The country reports have not been edited formally by the United Nations.

Note: Mention of any firm or organization does not imply endorsement by the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.