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

Date: 11 December 2009
Media Advisory No. N/46/09

Pacific states not showing enough progress in addressing major urban issues, UN finds

BANGKOK (UN/ESCAP Information Services) -- Pacific island governments are not showing enough progress in addressing major urban problems such as housing, sanitation and waste management, the United Nations says after a six-month examination of city planning in the region.

The assessment by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) expresses concern at the lack of action by governments and regional donors in addressing pressing urban development and management issues.

“Governments need to give urban planning greater attention,” says UN-HABITAT Pacific Programme Manager Sarah Mecartney. “We discussed in Palau how the main urban area of Koror is the gateway to the nation, and yet the national government provides little support for planning [there].”

The same issues are magnified in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, where poor high-density housing and inadequate sanitation pose major social and environmental risks, particularly given the lack of land and few, if any, open spaces. “In Jenrok village [in Majuro] we have nearly 2,000 people living in a tiny area. Household sizes range between about 9 and 30 adults and children. This is one of the most densely populated places in the Pacific,” Ms. Mecartney says.

According to ESCAP Regional Adviser Alastair Wilkinson, Pacific cities are important as they provide employment, are responsible for a significant proportion of GDP and are the only places where key social services are provided, particularly major hospitals, schools and tertiary training institutions.

“Our mission to Vanuatu focused on the need for a national policy framework for urban development, and in the Solomon Islands we focused on informal or squatter settlements. The results of the November 2009 census in the Solomon Islands will provide important insights into population growth in Honiara,” he says.

Ms. Mecartney notes that Papua New Guinea is starting to address its serious urban planning issues through the development of a national policy, which is in the final stages of development, while Samoa has established a Planning and Urban Management Agency to address planning in Apia. “Fiji has also made good progress over the last few years, although expanding squatter settlements in greater Suva threaten to overwhelm local authorities. We can learn from the experiences of other Pacific Island countries,” she says.

Mr. Wilkinson says the UN provides technical expertise to support national efforts at the request of governments, and has seen an increase in demand for assistance over the last few years. “We expect to do more over the coming years. Even the smaller atoll countries such as Tuvalu are struggling to come to terms with urban planning, housing and waste management,” he says. The UN is planning a joint mission with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum to Funafuti, Tuvalu, early next year, and is also hoping to explore in detail community planning concerns within squatter settlements around Honiara in collaboration with the Honiara City Council and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.

UN-HABITAT and ESCAP work closely with a range of other regional organizations to assist and advise Pacific Island countries to implement the Pacific Urban Agenda on urban planning and management. The Pacific Urban Agenda was developed at a regional workshop convened by ESCAP, UN-HABITAT and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in 2003. The Pacific Urban Agenda was identified in the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat’s Pacific Plan as a priority concern in 2005.

ESCAP and UN-HABITAT, together with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum Pacific Office, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, make up a coalition of organizations based in the Pacific region with expertise to assist countries address urban development concerns.

For more information please contact:

Ms. Sarah Mecartney
Pacific Programme Manager
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Tel: +679 3319669 Extension 105
Mobile: +679 9085795
Email: mecartney-unhabitat@un.org

Mr. Alastair Wilkinson
Regional Adviser Social Development and Planning
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,
Pacific Operations Centre (UN-EPOC)
Tel: +679 3319669 Extension 103
Mobile: +679 9997958
Email: wilkinsona@un.org