..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 14 October 2005
Press Release No: G/26/2005

'NEW URBAN REALITY' SEEN AS OPPORTUNITY TO ACHIEVE MDGS IN ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

Urban poor recognized as essential partners in development

HANOI (United Nations Information Services) – At the close of the 4th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum today a “new urban reality” - where more than half the population in Asia-Pacific will live in cities and towns by the year 2025 - was called an opportunity to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Mr. Yap Kioe Sheng, a senior UNESCAP expert on poverty reduction, told delegates that, "Urbanization in the region is an irreversible trend creating a new urban reality. It is in the cities and towns where the demands for political inclusion, a healthy environment, accountable local governance, and extreme poverty will have to be met.

This is both a challenge and an opportunity not to be missed in achieving the MDGs, and it puts the spotlight squarely on the cities and towns of Asia and the Pacific."

Mr. Yap’s remarks came at the close of the three-day meeting, held in Hanoi from 12-14 October in conjunction with the CITYNET Congress. The Forum and Congress focused on making the MDGs work for cities in the region.

Some 300 participants from 25 countries including mayors, local officials, urban specialists, NGOs, policy makers from national and local governments, and representatives from research and training institutes and the private sector, as well as members of CITYNET, attended the meeting.

According to UNESCAP, by the year 2015 the number of cities in the region with a population of 10 million or more is expected to grow significantly with the region's mega-cities having a combined population of 241 million people - bigger than many smaller countries in Asia and the Pacific. By 2025 a majority of the region’s population will live in urban areas.

During the meeting participants identified key issues and regional trends, and mapped out innovative approaches to urban challenges.

They concluded that good urban management must be complemented by inclusive governance to reduce poverty and to ensure that all urban residents - rich and poor, men, women and children, internal and international migrants, ethnic and social minority groups - can share in the benefits of development.

"Only an inclusive development strategy based on urban partnerships, both within and between cities, can bring lasting peace, sustainability and prosperity to mega-cities, smaller cities and towns in the region," Mr. Yap noted.

A prevailing lack of human and financial resources was also identified as a pressing issue. Participants urged greater capacity development of cities and towns, particularly the smaller ones, including staff training and a strong financial commitment to urban development.

Governments were called upon to recognize the role of the poor, not only in improving their own conditions, but in urban development as a whole. The Forum asked Governments to rethink how they deliver basic services to the poor and recommended that the range of service providers to be broadened beyond the Government, to include the formal and informal private sector, civil society and communities themselves.

The outcome of the meeting will be synthesized into a policy paper and discussed at the 62nd Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to be held in Jakarta in 2006. Once approved, it will serve as a guideline for UNESCAP and its partners in developing technical cooperation programmes to assist stakeholders in localizing the MDGs in urban areas.

The Millennium Development Goals were established by world leaders five years ago as qualitative and qualitative targets to eradicate extreme poverty in the world by 2015. The eight goals focus on income and hunger, education, gender equality, health, environmental sustainability, and global partnerships. More information on the MDGs may be found at: www.un.org.

The Bangkok-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is the regional arm of the United Nations Secretariat in Asia and the Pacific. Combating poverty and making globalization work for all are the main thrusts of its work. More information on UNESCAP and the Forum may be found at: www.unescap.org.

CITYNET, a regional network of local authorities for the management of human settlements, is based in Yokohama, Japan. Established by UNESCAP, it became independent and self-financing in 1994. The CITYNET Congress, which is held once every four years, aims to provide a platform for the cities to showcase good practices, benchmark themselves with counterparts in Asia and beyond, and assist cities in forming fruitful partnerships with international agencies and the private sector. More information on CITYNET and the Congress may be found at: www.citynet-ap.org.

For further information please contact:
Mr. Miguel Perez Ludena
Poverty Reduction Section, UNESCAP
Tel:+(66-2) 288-1346
Fax:+(66-2) 288-1056
E-mail: perezludena@un.org

For media inquiries please contact:
UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66
Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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