UNCRD Kyoto Mayors Dialogue Mohanty

 Background of EST Initiative and Objectives of the Mayors’ DialogueChoudhury Rudra Ch. Mohanty23-24 April 2007, Kyoto, Japan: 

Background of EST Initiative and Objectives of the Mayors’ Dialogue Choudhury Rudra Ch. Mohanty 23-24 April 2007, Kyoto, Japan

Components of the Presentation: 

Components of the Presentation Part 1: What is the concept behind EST? Part 2: Why is EST essential for Asian cities? Part 3: Asian EST Initiative Part 4: Objectives of the Mayors Dialogue

Part 1: What is the concept behind EST?: 

Part 1: What is the concept behind EST?

Key considerations under EST: 

Key considerations under EST Economic dimensions Social sustainability Social equity for all Quality of urban environment & life International obligation (wrt global climate change)

Key considerations under EST: 

Key considerations under EST Economic dimensions City locked in congestion loses a significant portion of its economic productivity and opportunity Total economic damage of air pollution represents up to 10% of GDP in some Asian cities and reduces capital for other investments Dependence on petrol-based mobility affects national energy security

Key considerations under EST: 

Key considerations under EST Social sustainability Ability to safely and cost effectively access jobs and public services/facilities

Key considerations under EST : 

Key considerations under EST Social equity High quality public transport services and non-motorized transport (NMT) – safe and quality footpaths and cycle ways - keeping in mind transport sensitive groups such as poor, women, children, elderly and physically disabled (Photo by Lloyd Wright) (Photo by Marie Thynell)

Key considerations under EST: 

Key considerations under EST Quality of urban environment and life Vehicle emissions harm human health, children IQ, & natural environment Noise affects productivity and health Flyovers, elevated roadways, cars destroy city beauty and cause loss of living space by consuming large amounts of urban space (Photo: William H.K. Lam, Lloyd Wright, and Fumihiko Nakamura) (Photo: Swisscontact)

Key considerations under EST: 

Key considerations under EST International obligation Vehicles are responsible for roughly 25% fossil fuel based GHG emissions (CO2) poor countries suffer the most by global climate change with estimated cost ranging from 5-9% of GDP (IPCC, 1996) – several times greater than the relative effect in industrialized countries CDM as solution – e.g., BRT system in Bogotá has been qualified as a CDM under Kyoto Protocol and will sell/trade the credits earned from GHG emission reduction of nearly 250,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year – achieved through more efficient passenger transport and the substitution of private vehicle use – to Netherlands Government.

Part 2: Why is EST essential for Asian cities?: 

Part 2: Why is EST essential for Asian cities?

Shared issues …..: 

Shared issues ….. In case of many developing cities/mega-cities, efforts to introduce/enforce cleaner fuels and vehicle emission standards, may greatly reduce vehicle emissions, but on the other hand the number of vehicles is growing rapidly, which may off set much of the emission control progress!

Shared issues …..: 

Shared issues ….. WHO estimates SPM leads to the premature death of over 0.5 million people per year world wide. SPM level in many Asian cities often exceeds WHO standard by more than a factor of two! In 2004, 41% percent of the total population in Asia lived in urban areas and cities.

Shared issues …..: 

Where much of the poor people’s movement rely on foot and bi-cycles, NMT receives very low priority in the conventional transport planning and infrastructure design and management, which is most often oriented to promote motorized transport rather than to support people movement …. Shared issues ….. As a consequence thousands of pedestrians and cyclists are killed by accidents each year in developing countries!

Slide16: 

Issues in Developing Countries Weak enforcement of Traffic Safety Regulations Lack of Licensing and Drivers Education Poor Road Design and Maintenance Inadequate Traffic Management Nearly 0.5 million die and up to 15 million are injured in urban road accidents in developing countries each year. ASEAN 75,000 people die each year on roads and 4.7 million are injured. Economic cost of such tragedies for developing countries is estimated to be between 1~2% of their GDP. ASEAN  US$15.1 billion or 2.2% of regional GDP, (Source: ADB, WB) Shared issues …..

Shared issues …..: 

Shared issues ….. Most cities have gone business-as-usual without adequately addressing the complex inter-linkages among land use mix, public transport planning, travel choices, travel demand management (TDM), environmental externalities, and quality of life (green areas, recreational parks/open spaces, amount of residential space per person, etc.).

Part 3: Asian EST Initiative: 

Part 3: Asian EST Initiative A joint initiative of UNCRD and MoE-Japan

Slide19: 

Regional Component Regional EST Forum Regional Trainings National Component National EST Strategies Pilot/demonstration projects In-country policy-dialogues & trainings on EST

Objectives Regional EST Forum: 

Objectives Regional EST Forum Facilitate high-level policy dialogues on environment and transport issues on a periodical basis; Provide a strategic/knowledge platform for sharing experiences & disseminating among Asian countries best practices, tools, technologies, policy instruments, in response to various issues concerning EST; Provide a platform for discussion on specific issues of concern through expert group meetings, policy consultations. Provide platform for interagency coordination both at national and international level to efficiently address/promote EST

Composition of Regional EST Forum: 

Composition of Regional EST Forum National Governments – - MoE & MoT - MoH (through WHO) Subsidiary Expert Group – 9 thematic areas of EST and 1 cross-cutting area

Manila Policy Dialogue on Environment and Transportation in the Asia Region, Jan’2004: 

Manila Policy Dialogue on Environment and Transportation in the Asia Region, Jan’2004 Participating Countries: 14 Countries - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, ROK, Thailand, Vietnam International Organization: ADB, ASEAN, IGES, JBIC, UNCRD, UNEP, UNDP, UN HABITAT, UNU/IAS, The World Bank, WHO, etc. Manila Statement was adopted with recommendation to (a) establish Regional EST Forum as a platform to facilitate regular policy dialogues and consultations and (b) formulate national EST strategies for Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam (1st Phase).

EST Inception Meetings in Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, Sep’2004: 

EST Inception Meetings in Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, Sep’2004 National Focal Point established National Collaborating Centre identified Interagency network established National EST Working Group established Outline of National EST Strategy agreed National processes to formulate EST strategy defined and agreed

First Regional EST Forum, 1-2 Aug 2005 in conjunction with World Expo-2005: 

First Regional EST Forum, 1-2 Aug 2005 in conjunction with World Expo-2005 Regional EST Forum launched Subsidiary Expert Group formally established Aichi Statement adopted Participating countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam Organizers: UNCRD, MoE-Japan, NIC-Nagoya Supporting Organizations: ADB, Sida, and WHO

Second Regional EST Forum: 

Second Regional EST Forum 11-12 Dec 2006, Yogyakarta, Indonesia during BAQ-2006 Week Participating countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam Organizers: UNCRD, MoE-Japan, MoE-Indonesia Supporting Organizations: Sida, WHO, CAI-Asia, GTZ, SDI

Linkage with other partners….: 

Linkage with other partners…. CAI-Asia/ADB - SUMA AWGESC (Intergovernmental Group) WB (through GEF mechanism) UNEP (through GEF mechanism) GTZ (SUTP) – for Forum, training WHO – for health sector Sida – Expert support for the EST Forum in Gender and Social Equity areas JICA – Urban Transport and Environment training program

Linkage with other partners/processes….: 

Linkage with other partners/processes…. 1st, 2nd, 3rd JICA-UNCRD Group Training Course for Government Officials on Urban Environment and Transportation in 2004, 2005, 2006 respectively Covering 9 thematic areas of EST

Part 4: Objectives of Mayors Dialogue: 

Part 4: Objectives of Mayors Dialogue

Slide29: 

share best practices and initiatives of cities in EST areas identify city priorities and issues to facilitate international cooperation and intervention of donor communities for required capacity building address city-specific elements under the overall framework of the Regional EST Forum to bring about greater coordination and collaboration among national and city level efforts to realize the goal of sustainability in the urban transport sector. adopt a Declaration to set in motion an EST momentum in Asian cities for the promotion of people and environment friendly urban transport. Main Objectives of Mayors Dialogue

Slide30: 

“Any City, whether small or large, can be agent of change” Jaime Lerner, former Mayor of Curitiba