ASIAN MAYORS TACKLE WORSENING URBAN POVERTY

United Nations: urban poor worse off now than 1997

United Nations Information Services (Bangkok) -- Mayors and other representatives from more than 50 Asian cities are gathering at a United Nations meeting in Bangkok to find joint solutions to the problems of urban poverty in the region.

The mayor of war-ravaged Kabul, Afghanistan will join counterparts from Kathmandu, Nepal and Colombo, Sri Lanka, among others, to exchange experiences, knowledge and tools, and study possible solutions to contemporary urban problems.

The Fourth Asian Mayors Forum and Regional Workshop on Good Governance for Poverty Reduction and Social Development - Exchange of Tools, Techniques and Good Practices, co-sponsored by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), will be held from 8-11 July 2002 at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok.

According to ESCAP, cities face unprecedented challenges due to rapid urbanization and economic globalization. Many local governments and civil society organizations are experimenting with innovative practices because contemporary urban problems such as poverty and environmental degradation require new approaches. It is important that cities learn from each other's experiences. The objective of this meeting is to develop mechanisms to collect and analyze good practices in poverty reduction and to make the experiences available for replication and up scaling.

Some 150 participants from 30 countries are expected to attend the meeting, which will include mayors, government officials, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, and urban experts. Participants of note include ESCAP's Executive Secretary, Mr. Kim Hak-Su, Professor Jean-Louis Armand, President, Asian Institute of Technology, and Mr. Jesse Manalastas Robredo, Mayor, Naga City, Philippines. Case studies from six cities, which outline successful practices that may be applied to others, will be presented to the conference.

United Nations figures show that 1.3 billion Asian presently live in cities. Of that figure, 600 million reside in cities of more than one million inhabitants. However, by 2015, nearly 2 billion Asians will be classified as urban dwellers with one billion people living in cities of more than one million.

The meeting is co-sponsored by Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), CityNet, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), Sustainable cities Programme (Asia), UNDP The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI), Untied Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Urban Management Programme (Asia), and the Urban Partnership Foundation (UPF).

Note to Editors: Your or your representative are invited to attend the substantive portion of the meeting to be held at the United Nations Conference Centre from Tuesday, 9 July to Thursday, 11 July. A press conference is tentatively set for 9 July at 13:30 hours.

For further information please contact:
Mr. Kioe Sheng Yap, Chief, Human Settlements Section, ESCAP
Tel: +662 288-1600; Fax: +662 288-1097; E-mail: huset.unescap@un.org
United Nations Information Services/Bangkok
Tel: +662 288-1862-69; Fax: +662 288-1052; E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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