un-habitat in partnership with asia and ther pacific brochure

7/29/2019 UN-Habitat in partnership with Asia and ther Pacific Brochure

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UN-HABITAT IN

PARTNERSHIP WITH

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

UN-HABITAT IN

PARTNERSHIP WITH

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

B a n g k o k

, T h a i l a n d .

©

U N - H a b i t a t



UN-Habitat in Partnership with Asia and the Pacific

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Overview of Fukuoka City, Japan © Fumio Hashimoto




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Introduction

The dynamic and populous Asia-Pacific region is home to 3.7 billion people and represents56 percent of the world’s population. Comprising of 58 countries that stretch from Iran in thewest to the Pacific Islands in the east, the region is perhaps also the most diverse in terms ofeconomy, society, culture, environment and human settlements. UN-Habitat, the United Nationscity agencys’ partnership with the Asia Pacific Region spans more than three decades and sinceAugust 1997, has embedded a stronger footprint in the Region through its regional office for

Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), located in Fukuoka, Japan. UN-Habitat has played an importantrole in bringing technical expertise and financial assistance to developing countries to cope withenormous and complex challenges posed by rapid urbanization, disasters and conflict.

UN-Habitat has also spearheaded the establishment of the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conferenceon Housing and Urban Development APMCHUD, which was hosted for the first time in India in2006. The conference serves as a major platform to promote sustainable development of HumanSettlements in Asia and Pacific Region and takes place every two years in different countries inthe region. The next conference will be hosted by Amman, Jordan in October 2012.

Inaddition, UN-Habitat’s commitment to the region continues to be strengthened with theperiodic publication of The State of the Asian Cities report. The next report will be launched in2013.

Half of the world’s urban population now lives in Asia. Over the next two decades, this regionwill come to account for 60 per cent of the demographic expansion of all urban areas acrossthe world. During this period and on current trends, two unprecedented, inter-related eventsare expected to characterize the overall demographics of the continent: for the first time in theregion’s history, the rural population will decline in absolute numbers; and the urban populationwill almost double. With these two landmark events combined, the decades ahead may have

legitimately been nicknamed the “Asian Urban Century” . 1

The above phenomenon coupled with the reality that the region stands to be the most affectedby climate change, and that Asian cities are among the most vulnerable in the world to naturaldisasters, places huge demands on countries in the region to develop and implement sustainableurban development policies and actively address urbanization.

This brochure provides a broad overview of UN-Habitat’s support to the region, reflecting on whathas been achieved , how this was made possible and what lies ahead, in this dynamic and rapidlybecoming the economic hub of the world.

1 Mohan Rakesh (2006) Asia’s Urban Century: Emerging Trends, Bank for International Settlements , ReserveBank of India.




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UN-Habitat presence in the Asia and the Pacific

Source: UN-Habitat 2012

Thailand

Australia

Sri Lanka

China

Bhutan

Iran

Pakistan

India

New Papua Guinea

New Zealand

Japan

Republic of Korea Philippines

Indonesia

Mongolia

Nepal

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Lao PDR

Vietnam

Myammar

PacificFiji, Samoa,

Solomon Islands,Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Maldives

Cambodia

Singapore

Timor-Leste




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Our Presence

Project Portfolio, Target Countries, and Main Contributors

UN-Habitat is currently active in 28 countries in the region with a robust portfolio of projectsamounting to USD328 million. This represents 43 percent of the current total global portfolioof the organization. The growth of portfolio over the last ten years as reflected in the Figure 1below, has been impressive, expanding from USD50 million in 2000 to USD328 million in 2011.The rapid expansion of the portfolio is the result of our response to the climate-related disasters,humanitarian emergencies, violent conflicts and economic turbulence experienced by the regionand the recognition by the donor countries of the effective results of the “people’s process’ thatUN-Habitat is spearheading. More than 47 percent of the current portfolio is concentrated inAfghanistan followed by significant engagement in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam. While post-disaster and post-conflict recovery area predominant feature of the current portfolio, UN-Habitat’s coverage of the region is diverseand its engagement with countries spans an entire spectrum of human settlement issues. It’simplementing partners are also extensive, ranging from civil society organizations, to governmentdepartments, to academic institutions and regional networks.

UN-Habitat’s impressive portfolio in Asia Pacific as reflected in Figure 3 has been possible due tothe generous and unwavering contributions from, amongst others the Government of Japan,United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), United Kingdom through Department for International Development (DFID),Canadian CIDA, the European Union, Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID)as well as national multi-donor trust funds and thematic funds available to the UN Country Team.

Support to countries in the Region on sustainable urban development is facilitated primarily byHabitat’s Regional Office for Asia and Pacific and further strengthened and complimented by it’ssub-office in Bangkok which was established in 2009 to support regional coordination and policyengagements.




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FIGURE 1: Progression of UN-Habitat Project Portfolio 1998-2011 in Asia Pacific

FIGURE 2: Geographic Distribution of Ongoing Projects in Asia Pacific 2011-2012

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

1 9 9 8

1 9 9 9

2 0 0 0

2 0 0 1

2 0 0 2

2 0 0 3

2 0 0 4

2 0 0 5

2 0 0 6

2 0 0 7

2 0 0 8

2 0 0 9

2 0 1 0

2 0 1 1

P r o j e c t a n d P r o j e c t B u d g e t ( U S D m i l l i o n )

Year

47.93%Afghanistan

19.92%Pakistan

0.11%Nepal

0.13%China

0.14%Global 0.18%

Philippines0.31%

Regional

0.36%Vietnam

0.76%Indonesia

1.56%Japan

9.66%Sri Lanka

15.03%Bangladesh 1.78%

Mongolia

2.13%Myanmar




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FIGURE 3: Major Contributors to the current portfolio of projects in Asia Pacific 2011 - 2012

* UN Agencies UNOPS, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN-ISDR, UN-Habitat, UNCERF* Others are ADB, Cities Alliance, Salvation Army, Jiangyin City

35%Japan

16%USAIDUnited States Agency forInternational Development

16%UNDPUnited Nations

Development Programme

6%DFID

UK aid from the Department forInternational Development

6%CIDACanadian International

Development Agency

5%EU

European Union

4%AusAID

Australian Agency forInternational Development

2%UN Agencies*

2%EC

European Commission

1% MDTF

Multi-Donor Trust Fund

1% MRRD

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation andDevelopment (Afghanistan)

1% KOICA

Korea InternationalCooperation Agency

1% Norway

1% Others*

1% Germany




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Accomplishments

The secret to UN-Habitat’s success in the Region rests with two important methodologies namely(i) the Peoples Process and (ii) Building Capacities and Strengthening Institutions, which havedemostrated its ability to provide cutting edge technical support to address newly emerging issues inurban development for the region.

People’s Process

UN-Habitat’s philosophy and principles in providing support to countries in the region are founded

on the belief that people are at the center of development. UN-Habitat has introduced variousmechanisms to activate community-based responses to addressing various urban issues in differentcontexts in the region.

The approach promotes seamless transition from recovery to development, forming resilientcommunities as a result. It has been applied to post-conflict reconstruction and post-disasterreconstruction recovery programmes in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Indonesia.The people’s process has also been tested and proven effective in urban poverty reduction andsettlements upgrading context such as in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Mongolia. This

process has been recognized by several development partners as UN-Habitat’s strength in deliveringresults on poverty reduction and sustainable development; targeting the poorest people in areaswhere progress against the MDG’s is lagging.

Building Capacities and Strengthening Institutions

Institution-building and forming strategic partnerships at the local and national level, has been akey strength in UN-Habitat’s programmes in the region which are uniquely anchored in nationalministries working with teams of pilot city officials and partner Non-governmental Organizations/Civil Society Organizations (NGOs/ CSOs) to connect to urban poor communities. This has lead to the

introduction of innovative solutions to address stronger management capacities, improved pro-poorservice delivery, the experiences of which are disseminated to better inform policy and legislastivechange. In this way creating broad national and regional network of cities (20 cities in 12 countries)working on the Cities and Climate Change Initiative following the vulnerability assessment pilot-testing developed UN-Habitat in Sorsogon City, to creating strategic alliances as initiated in Vietnamwith national government ministries, associations of local governments, academic institutions andthe United Nations Country Team on various themes such city and regional development strategies,housing and urban planning. In both cases, UN-Habitat has proven itself as adding value andinnovative thinking to local and national institutions.

(Further details of our accomplishments and results achieved by country are noted in Box 1).




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Expantion of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.© UN-Habitat

The Road Ahead

UN-Habitat’s engagement and support to the region over the last decade has been remarkableand its commitment to the region remains unaltered. No developing region has invested morethan Asia in advanced knowledge infrastructure for economic development. A combination of

public and private sector capital expenditure has provided the modern infrastructure required forindustrial expansion, research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship, which in turnhave enhanced the economic potential and competitiveness of so many cities in Asia.

While the region’s over-all economic dynamism over the past decades have been at a scale andspeed that are impressive, there are still issues that are relevant for UN-Habitat to look into, suchas: addressing economic disparities and poverty reduction, managing the growth of cities andtowns, preventing the proliferations of slums and informal settlements, addressing environmentalchallenges, and re-building communities ravaged by wars and conflicts.




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Through the State of the Asian Cities reports, a collaborative effort with the United NationsEconomic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UN-Habitat will continue

to provide valuable and strategic data on urban trends and development to support and guidesustainable urban development in Asia and the Pacific. The first State of the Asian Cities Reportwas published in 2010, the next report is due in 2013.

The rapid and consistent growth of Middle Income Countries (MICs) in Asia-Pacific also requiresUN-Habitat to work with national and local government institutions, civil society partners andbusiness sector in providing strategic policy advice in coping with challenges of urbanization. Theopportunities in working with and expanding operations with MICs is an area which UN-Habitat isfully expanding in countries such as China, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Muslim women in the village of Svay Khleang, Cambodia.© Brendan Brady/IRIN




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Reconstruction in Pakistan.

© UN-Habitat

Overall, UN-Habitat’s activities in the region are driven by three forces: the first, is recovery andreconstruction after disasters, whether natural or human-made; the second is those that area consequence and driven by global or regional Agendas, such as climate change or regionalwatershed management; and the third is providing and improving basic services at the settlementlevel.

To service the region better, and facilitate sustainable urban development, UN-Habitat isdeveloping more innovative methodologies to support the needs of cities and aims for a higherlevel of involvement which seeks to address future changelles arising from rapid urbanization,

climate change and rapid economic growth. Furthermore we are also endeavoring to help theregion to enhance and link urban planning and development to support and sustain it’s vasteconomic growth. As we move toward the “Asian Urban Century” UN-Habitat counts on thesupport and engagement of our major contributors, including new partners, to forge newpartnerships and continue supporting the urban development of a sustainable Asia Pacific Region.




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A g i r l p r o u d l y s h o w i n g o f f a n e w d

r a i n i n K a b u l ’ s D i s t r i c t

1 3 .

©

D o m i n i c O ’ R e i l l y




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BOX 1: Detailed Accomplishments and Results of UN-Habitat’s engagement in Asia-Pacific

Country Achievements

Afghanistan UN-Habitat has been present in Afghanistan for the last 20 years and working in urbanand rural areas with a presence in 8 cities and 20 provinces out of 34. Its approachto development is through the “people’s process by mobilizing and empowering menand women to form Community Development Councils to plan and manage their own

development and building institutional capacity in urban governance, service delivery andmunicipal finance.

Supported the Government of Afghanistan’s in the design of the flagship programme,National Solidarity Programme (NSP). Under this programme governance structures areestablished at the village level to plan and undertake infrastructure and services projects.

Provided policy support to Ministry of Urban Development Affairs, and developed StrategicMunicipal Action Plans for 6 cities.

Strengthened the capacity of local governments to deliver services and raise revenue

through property registration and taxation.Reintegrated returnees and internally displaced persons to support the process of peacebuilding through consolidation of community solidarity, support for basic services,community infrastructure, housing and livelihoods.

Reduced illiteracy through a literacy programme reaching over 250,000 people of whom 64percent are women and girls linked to improved livelihoods and community banking.

Over the last ten years UN-Habitat’s programmes in Afghanistan have assisted over 15million people improve their lives.

Partners: Ministry of Urban Development Affairs, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation andDevelopment (MRRD), Ministry of Education and its Department of Literacy, IndependentDirectorate of Local Governance, Municipalities and Communities.

Japan, USAID, CIDA, DFID, EU, MRRD (Afghanistan)/ World Bank, UNICEF




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Australia andNew Zealand

Australia and New Zealand are important partners to UN-Habitat, with respect tosupporting development and recovery / rehabilitation needs of developing countries in theAsia Pacific Region.

Besides the traditional role in development assistance, Australia and New Zealand, throughtheir key tertiary institutions i.e. the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and TheUniversity of Auckland are major partners of the UN-Habitat University Partnership Initiative(HUPI). The HUPI harnesses the strengths of universities, promoting cooperation in the fieldsof education, research, professional development and policy advice towards progressiveuniversity-city collaborations on sustainable urban development.

The University of Auckland, which also represents the Pacific on the HPUI steeringcommittee works closely with UN-Habitat on an internship programme. In 2012, internsfrom University of Auckland supported our offices in Loas, Fiji and Kenya. UN-Habitatalso collaborates with University of Auckland in the field of Disaster Preparedness andMitigation.

With the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)we work closely on Cities and

Climate Change Initiative (CCCI) in the context of urban education, and supporting theCCCI programme in the Pacific.

Partners: Government of Australia, Government of New Zealand, Royal Melbourne Instituteof Technology, University of Auckland

Bangladesh In 2000, UN-Habitat and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) collaboratedto design and implement in 11 towns and cities the Local Partnership for Urban PovertyAlleviation project to alleviate poverty in urban communities through people’s process andsupported through improving community level basic services and infrastructure and skills

training.In 2008, Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction (UPPR) project, building upon thesuccessful community-centered approach of the previous project, was expanded to 23towns and cities.

Cumulatively, by the end of 2011, the UPPR project covered over 2.8 million peoplein 685,000 households. They were mobilized into 24,678 primary groups in 2,221Community Development Committees (CDCs) where 98 per cent are femalemembers. Among the households 81 per cent are extremely poor. These numbers places theUPPR project among of the largest organized urban community based programs.




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Bangladesh During the past four years, UN-Habitat has processed 2,500 community contracts with abudget of USD16.4 million to provide better physical access and environmental conditionsfor 230,000 households.

• 167,000 households have improved drinking water

• 142,249 households are benefiting from 284 kilometers of footpath and 122kilometers of drainage

•

94,000 households benefited from improved latrines• 42,000 households have improved cooking stoves

Partners: Ministry of Local Governance, Ministry of Housing and Public Works, RuralDevelopment and Cooperatives, Local Government Engineering Department, 23municipalities

UK- (DFID), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Bhutan UN- Habitat has been working in Bhutan for more than 25 years in the areas of urbanplanning and management, urban and rural housing, water and sanitation, training and

institutional development.

In the 1990s, UN-Habitat provided technical advice in urban management and humansettlements sector planning; focusing in Thimpu and Phenstholing, and contributed to thedevelopment of the land registration system, enhanced municipal finances through capacitybuilding, improved local area planning and stimulated lending schemes.

Under the Water for Asian Cities (WAC), rainwater harvesting, sanitation hygiene wereimproved in the province of Mongar.

Since 2011, policy and technical advice has been provided to the Royal Government of

Bhutan in the formulation of the National Human Settlements Policy.Partners: Ministry of Works and Human Settlements

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)




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Roadside fish vendor in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

© Brian Philipps


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Cambodia UN-Habitat has been working in Cambodia since 1996, through a number of urbandevelopment projects, focusing primarily on the city of Phnom Penh.

Urban Poverty Reduction: Major interventions supporting urban poor communitieshave ranged from in-situ upgrading, planned relocations, policy and capacity development,strengthening of local governance and institution building for urban poor communities’organizations. As a result, more than 160 new community organizations have been formedand more than 350 community based infrastructure and urban basic services improved,benefiting more than 31,000 families. These efforts resulted in a resolution on temporarysettlements on state land, which was previously illegal as well as key inputs to the NationalHousing Policy.

The Mekong Region Water and Sanitation Initiative (MEK-WATSAN) regionalprogramme has been supporting four provincial towns in Cambodia, providing improvedsanitation facilities to 80,988 beneficiaries and safe piped water to 26,982 beneficiaries.Through Coca-Cola funding on water supply, 445 poor households have access to improvedwater services, and 2000 have an awareness of WASH issues. The Water for Asian Cities

programme also supported community-based and local governance initiatives on water andsanitation in 4 urban centres in 4 provinces of Cambodia, including Phnom Penh.

Climate Change and Cities Initiatives (CCCI): A City Vulnerability Assessment has beencompleted and a technical assistance project is ongoing under the Climate Change andCities Initiative in Sihanoukville with support from the Cambodia Climate Change AllianceTrust Fund, under the Ministry of Environment.

Partners – Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning andConstruction, Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Ministry of Rural Development,Ministry of Environment, Municipality of Phnom Penh and Provincial Government of Preah

Sihanouk Province, Center for Development

UK-DFID, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Security Trust Fund,Cities Alliance, Coca-Cola




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China UN-Habitat has been working with the Government of China since the 1980s. A UN-HabitatBeijing Information Office was jointly established in 1992. It publishes and distributes UN-Habitat publications in the Chinese language.

The State of China Cities Report was published in 2011. China hosted the fourth WorldUrban Forum, which was held in Nanjing in 2008, and the 2010 Shanghai Expo with thetheme of ‘Better City, Better Life’. Both were well attended and offered opportunities forknowledge sharing and advocacy. In 2012, a new MOU between UN-Habitat and theMinistry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development was signed to extend the in-country andinternational technical cooperation activities.

UN-Habitat supports many international and national conferences organized by the ChineseGovernment to promote sustainable urban development, housing for low income residentsand related issues. UN-Habitat works together with Chinese institutions and universitiesto conduct training and capacity building in human settlements both for domestic andinternational participants. A city to city cooperation initiative is ongoing with cities from theLake Victoria region in West Africa.

In recent years, UN-Habitat successfully extended into China the Water for Asia CitiesProgramme and the Mekong Water and Sanitation Initiative. The programmes have focusedon improved community-level water and sanitation services, household water demandmanagement and education in Nanjing, Kunming, Puer, Jinghong, Shuangjiang andMianyang.

UN-HABITAT contributed to the preparation of the 2008 “UN China Appeal for WenchuanEarthquake Early Recovery Support”. Pre-fabricated classrooms and an earthquake-resistantschool were set up in Gansu and Sichuan province. Environmental management andplanning programmes are still ongoing, as part of the earlier Sustainable City Programme

and the present Cities and Climate Change Initiative.

Partners: Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Science andTechnology (ACCA21), China Mayors Association, Urban Planning Society of China,China Council of Human Settlements of China Real Estate Research Association, ChinaArchitectural Culture Center, China Urban Construction Design and Research Institute, ChinaAcademy of Urban Planning and Design, Wuhan Planning and Design Institute, NationalAcademy for Mayors of China, Tongji University, and The Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning& Design Institute, Qinghua University, Nanjing University, Construction Bureau of JiangyinCity and several local authorities.




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Assessment meeting with ex-refugee community members. West T imor.© UN-Habitat


India UN-Habitat’s engagement with India spans more then 3 decades, in the areas of UrbanDevelopment & Management, Slum Upgrading, Promoting best practices in communityparticipation, Local Government Capacity Building as well as supporting initiatives underthe Water for Asian Cities (WAC)Programme.

UN-HABITAT and the Government of India jointly organized the First Asia-Pacific Ministerial

Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD). The Government of India issupporting the activities of the Bureau of APMCHUD since APMCHUD-I.

UN-HABITAT in partnership with National Housing Bank (NHB), an apex Financial Institutionin India, has established a revolving fund to microfinance water and sanitation services forthe poor in India.

Initiated training of trainers programme in collaboration with HUDCO – Human SettlementsManagement Institute for Elected Leaders from the Asia Pacific region belonging to nationallocal government training institutes. This training programme has over the last 10 yearsbenefited 500,000 users.




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India The city of Chennai also hosts the UN-Habitat Information office, which plays a key role indisseminating information on sustainable urban issues across the country. The informationoffice will be relocated to Delhi in this current biennium (2012-2013).

Establishment of local urban observatories in Ahmedabad and Kolkata

The WAC Programme is a collaborative initiative of UN-HABITAT, Asian Development Bank(ADB) and the Governments of Asia. In 2005, on the request of the Government of India,

UN-HABITAT started undertaking several pro-poor initiatives initially in the four cities ofMadhya Pradesh i.e. Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur in support of State Government’sUrban Water Supply and Environmental Improvement Project. Subsequently, UN-HABITAT has expanded its WAC Programme activities across five states in India (MadhyaPradesh,West Bengal , Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar) from 2005 to now.

Partners: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, State Authorities of MadhyaPradesh,West Bengal , Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, Mangalore CityCorporation (MCC), Huosing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO),Human Settlements Management Institute, Centre of Environment Education (CEE),

Ahmadabad Centre of Environment Education (CEE), Ahmadabad, All India Institute of LocalSelf Government, National Housing Bank,

Coca-Cola India, BASF Germany, Water Aid Australia, Asian Development Bank, NationalHousing Bank of India, Sulabh International


Indonesia Indonesia has been a strong Habitat Agenda partner over the past decades and thecollaboration with UN-Habitat has been wide, dealing with urban housing poverty firstand with sustainable urbanization more recently. Before 1999, Indonesia was able toshow innovations in slum upgrading (Kampung improvement) and access to affordablemortgages. Political decentralization and local democratization since 1999 has promotedsecurity of tenure and participatory planning and budgeting.

During the past ten years, UN-Habitat’s development partnerships with governmentagencies have focused on city development strategies and capacity building for municipalauthorities, with regard to land management, planning, environmental management andbudgeting.




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Indonesia The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 saw UN-Habitat becoming a leading partner of the

Indonesian Government for the reconstruction in Aceh and Nias. UN-Habitat’s integratedsettlement upgrading programme provided support for eight years, covering, policy advice,coordination support, urban planning, housing reconstruction, reconstruction of basicservices and capacity building of cities and districts in the management of basic services.4,500 houses were rehabilitated in total.

Building a new clinic in Panjshir.© Dominic O’Reilly




22 Community group in Bangladesh.© UN-Habitat


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Indonesia Towards 2013-2014, UN-Habitat continues to collaborate with the Ministry of Public Worksto improve participatory budgeting protocols for cities, with support of Cities Alliance anda number of successful mayors of the cities of Solo, Pekalongan and Banjarmasin. Withfunding of the EU, UN-Habitat is also supporting two districts in West Timor, Kupang andBelu, overcoming tenure and other legacy issues still related to the refugee influx whenTimor Leste became independent. UN-Habitat also collaborates with the City DevelopmentInitiative for Asia (CDIA) to develop the capacity of national partners in support of sound

decision making for municipal infrastructure projects.Partners: Ministry of Public Works (Directorate General of Human Settlements), Ministryof Housing, The National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Ministry for theDevelopment of Disadvantaged Areas, National Land Agency, various provincial and localauthorities, Diponegoro State University, Syah Kuala State University, City DevelopmentInitiative for Asia (CDIA), Huairou Commission, NGOs.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), CitiesAlliance, European Union (Aid for Uprooted People programme).


IslamicRepublic ofIran

UN-Habitat’s engagement with Iran dates back to the late 1980’s, where UN-Habitathas been playing a very active role together with the Government in post-earthquakerehabilitation after the Manjil earthquake of 1990.

National Capacity for organizing and managing reconstruction and rehabilitation effortshave been enhanced.

Produced and disseminated guidelines on earth-quake resistant construction, design codes,improvement in quality control building materials, and earth-quake damage evaluation, inEnglish and Farsi.

In 2006 the Islamic Republic of Iran and UN-Habitat signed an MOU for the establishmentof a disaster mitigation office in Tehran, which is fully financed by the Government, theoffice primarily brings the awareness of the earthquake-resistant building methods andhelps the local governments to implement them.




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IslamicRepublic ofIran

UN-HABITAT is on the Governing Board of the Regional Centre on Urban WaterManagement, (RCUWM), Tehran. RCUWM is the regional capacity building hub for WaterManagement with which UN-HABITAT has partnered during the last six years and organisedsome regional training and capacity building programmes for urban water management.

The Government of Iran through the Post Bank, Ministry of Information CommunicationTechnology, signed in June 15, 2012, a Contribution Agreement with UN-Habitat for USD850,000 to assist in the preparation of the State of the Iranian Cities Report 2013 and for

the organization of an international conference on “Rural-Urban Linkages for SustainableDevelopment”.

The Municipality of Teheran and UN-Habitat are currently preparing ContributionAgreements for the establishment of a Regional Center for Urban Research and Training;creation of an urban observatory; organization of an “Urban innovations and ResearchFestival”, strengthening of UN-Habitat Best Practices Database; an international conferenceon “Urban Management’; as well as setting up a join research mechanism to analyze“Urban Futures” . These Contribution Agreements are expected to be concluded duringWorld Urban Forum 6.

Partners: Housing Foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran Regional WaterBoard, Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Building and Housing Research Center),Municipality of Tehran

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Japan UN-Habitat has been enjoying strong support of Japan since its establishment, and thispartnership was further strengthened when its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific(ROAP) was established in Fukuoka in August 1997. The office has since been overseeing

and backstopping effectively a number of field projects and programmes in the Region,and has been mobilizing significant amount of resources, including those from Japan. Thenational and local partners in Japan have been providing financial assistance to UN-Habitatfor the operation of the ROAP Office.

UN-Habitat ROAP has developed positive relationships with various in-country partners,including the local academia, business community and social associations. In recent yearsUN-Habitat has supported national and local government offices in strengthening theirinternational partnerships with the other countries of the Region through several projectssuch as “Enhancement of Technical Cooperation towards Environmentally Sustainable

Development in Asia and the Pacific” and “Enhancement of Sustainable RegionalDevelopment through Technical Cooperation from Japan.”




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Japan With support of Japanese government, UN-Habitat has also developed an emergencyresponse arrangement to facilitate efficient and effective rehabilitation and reconstructionfrom natural disasters through the “Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Response Facility,”Further, in March 2012, ROAP implemented “Emergency Workshop for the Great East JapanEarthquake Project” in support of early reconstruction of the disaster-stricken prefectures.

Partners: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism,Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka City, Cooperating Committee of

UN-Habitat ROAP

Korea,Republic of

UN-Habitat has been active in the Republic of Korea since the mid 1990s.

In 2000, UN-Habitat’s partnership with Republic of Korea was enhanced when HanamCity adopted the Sustainable Cities Programme Environmental Planning and Management(SCP-EPM) approach. This was then replicated by Seogwipo City who dissemimated theexperiences nationally through the Sustainable Cities Programme Eco-city network. Ina period of five years Jeonju City and Gangwon Province (with a further 18 cities andcounties) joined this initiative.

In September 2010, in the context of the Cities Climate Change Initiative, Changwon Cityhosted “UN-Habitat CCCI Asia Pacific Regional Partners Meeting 2010 – Cities Respondingto Climate Change” to review activities by cities and build momentum for a regionalresponse and strengthening of support mechanisms. Approximately 100 cities participated,including 60 from CCCI-Asia Pacific cities and countries. The Changwon Declaration wasadopted, where cities, national governments and regional development partners agreed to join forces to develop and implement “Asia/Pacific Cities Climate Changes Strategy”.

Partners: Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of

Construction, Gangwon Province, Hanam City, Seogwip City, Changwon City, Seoul NationalUniversity.

Government of Norway, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific (UNESCAP)




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Flower vendors in Suva, Fiji.© Alastair Wilkinson


Lao PDR UN-Habitat office was opened in Lao PDR in 2005, now operating as a sub-regional hub forwater and sanitation programme for South-East Asia.

UN-Habitat has been engaged in provision of community-based water supply and sanitation

services in settlements across Lao PDR through its two programmes Water for Asian Cities(WAC) -programme and Mekong Region Water and Sanitation Initiative (MEK-WATSAN):Policy level interventions, in Laos, through the Millennium Development Goals WaterSanitation Hygiene programme. UN-Habitat is also actively involved in issues related todisaster response, climate change, renewable energy and decentralisation of basic services.

Under the MEK-WATSAN programme, 27 projects were implemented in 14 provinces, with atotal volume of USD11 million, UN-Habitat has contributed to the significant improvementof water and sanitation facilities in the country.

Partners: Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT), Communities, The Nam Papa

State Enterprise (NPSE), Ministry of Health (MoH), NGOs.

Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF)




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Maldives UN-Habitat strengthened its operational presence in Maldives in 2005 in the wake of the2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

From 2005 to 2008, UN-Habitat implemented “Post Tsunami Shelter Recovery Project”,addressing the urgent emergency needs for shelter and laying the foundation for anintegrated long-term recovery of the housing sector in each atoll. 2,739 houses wererepaired and 162 houses reconstructed across 7 atolls.

In 2009 to 2010, UN-Habitat assisted the Government of Maldives in building capacityfor the implementation of its rights-based “Affordable Housing for All” Policy, focusing onpoverty reduction. Analytical framework was developed to evaluate housing supply anddemand and identify effective strategies.

Partners: Ministry of Housing, Transport and Environment


Mongolia UN-Habitat has been active in Mongolia since 2006 focusing on upgrading living conditionsof the ger areas, which are unplanned informal areas of the city.

UN-Habitat had assisted the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (MUB) in the preparation of theCity wide Pro-poor Ger-area Upgrading Strategy and Investment Plan (GUSIP) throughthe support of Cities Alliance. Through the process of developing GUSIP, it was recognizedofficially that the issue of the Ger-area should be mainstreamed in the Municipality’s prioritypolicy agenda. The strategy was approved by the Ulaanbaatar City Citizens’ RepresentativeCouncil in July 2007 for its implementation.

In 2009, through the support of Japan, UN-Habitat commenced the Community Led GerArea Upgrading Project in Ulaanbaatar City in Mongolia, assisting the Government inaddressing the under-urbanization problem in selected five priority areas with over 50,000target population. The community mobilization approach was applied; and 47 communitygroups and additional 5 upper-level community groups were organized. UN-Habitat assistedcommunity groups in prioritizing and determining their needs in terms of improving thequality of life in Ger-area. 15 Medium-sized public service centers (called Sub-projects, suchas kindergarten, public bath house, etc.) and 123 small community inf rastructures (calledmicro-projects, such as water kiosks, street lights, foot-paths, playgrounds, bus-stops, etc.)were designed are being implemented. 64 saving groups were organized, out of which 18started to lend out to the members.




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Mongolia UN-HABITAT has also supported the Ministry of Road, Transportation, Construction, andUrban Development in the establishment and launching of the Mongolia National UrbanForum and in the review of policies such as land acquisition and resettlement.

Partners: Ministry of Road, Transport, Construction and Urban Development, Municipalityof Ulaanbaatar city,

Cities Alliance, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Myanmar UN-Habitat established a presence in Myanmar in the early 1990’s through 2004 where theagency pioneered the ‘People’s Process’ by establishing the first community led projects aspart of the Human Development Initiative. Over 2.1 million people were supported thoughdeveloping community social infrastructure networks and facilitating access to safe water.

Today UN-Habitat continues to implement several normative and operational activitiesfocusing on basic access of services to settlements, while addressing cross-cutting issues ofgender, risk reduction, environment and climate change. As part of its normative activities,the agency is providing technical assistance on issues related to Habitat Agenda to itspartners in Myanmar.

UN-Habitat is scaling up in 2012 it’s normative programmatic support and technicalassistance in Myanmar to several line ministries and stakeholders in the areas ofUrban Planning, Urban-Rural Linkages for Poverty Reduction, National Building CodesDevelopment, Research, Training & Capacity Building, Urban Land Governance, and UrbanDevelopment.

Since 2008 UN-Habitat Myanmar has supported over 25,000 families with shelter and over500,000 people with water, sanitation, hygiene education and access infrastructure as partof the post Nargis recovery programme.

Partners: Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement,Ministry of Progress of Border Areas and National Races, Ministry of EnvironmentalConservation and Forestry

BASF Social Fund, Japan Habitat Association, Rotary International 3450, Hong Kong, Macao& Mongolia, Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), USAID, Japan (ODA), NorwegianMinistry of Foreign Affairs, European Commission, DFID (Department for InternationalDevelopment), Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID), InternationalStrategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), Swiss Aid, New Zealand Aid Programme (NZAID),Livelihoods and Food Security Trust /Fund (LIFT)




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Site visit to Bangled Landfill, Bangli District - Bali Province.© UN-Habitat

Country AchievementsNepal UN-Habitat has been working with the Government of Nepal since 1990s, and established

it’s country office in Kathmandu in 2006.

UN-Habitat supported completion of the Nepal Urban Housing Sector Profile Study in 2011,which helped to diagnose the urban housing situation of the country and highlighted areasfor government interventions.

The Water for Asian Cities Programme supported the government in improving pro-poorurban water and sanitation services. UN-Habitat provided its support in improvement in

technologies, management, governance and capacity building for the urban WASH sector in35 municipalities, 18 small towns and 8 per-urban settlements.

Through the Global Sanitation Fund project UN-Habitat will help the government in 5selected municipalities and 5 districts in promoting Open Defecation Free Zones.

Implemented various emergency projects which include; providing support in building235 shelter for Koshi flood victims, the recovery need of fire victims in Aurahi, Siraha, andimplementing health projects funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund.

Climate change adaptation plans were developed for the five municipalities of Kathmandu

Valley.




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Colourful and chaotic houses on the banks of Ganges River, India. © Shutterstock


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Nepal Partners – Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works,Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development. Kathmandu Valley DevelopmentAuthority, Ministry of Environment. Municipal Association of Nepal, Federation ofNepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, various municipal governments, VillageDevelopment Committees, and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and InternationalNon-governmental Organizations (INGOs).

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Central Emergency Response Fund

(CERF), Global Sanitation Fund

Pacific UN-Habitat is working with the Governments of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, SolomonIslands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Guided by the Pacific Urban Agenda2 UN-Habitat has: Completed rapid urban assessmentsin 9 cities in three countries (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands) and supported thereporting on MDG Goal 7, Target D in participating countries National Progress Reports onthe MDGs and the adoption of rapid profiling assessment tool by the Pacific Capital CitiesForum.

Provided technical advice and support for post-tsunami housing rehabilitation (Samoa2009) and the formulation for Fiji National Housing Policy (2011). The policy process hasbeen documented as part of Pacific toolkit focusing on paradigm shift for the creation of anenabling environment and attention to squatter housing.

Initated City Development and Settlement Upgrading Strategies in Samoa and Papua NewGuinea respectively and as well as urban and housing policy dialogues for Solomon Islandsand Vanuatu.

Inclusion of urban as a sector in national climate change policy and the promotion of

the role of the city in climate change decision making and actions through the Cities andClimate Change Initiative for Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu. The replicationof the rapid urban vulnerability assessment undertaken in Fiji to the Solomon Islands.

2 (reconfirmed by 8 Pacific Island Countries at the 2011 Pacific Urban Forum) http://www.unescap.org/EPOC/Pacific-Urban-

Forum.asp




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Pacific Partners – Ministry of Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment(Fiji), Office of Urbanisation ( Papua New Guinea), Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment (Samoa), Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey (Solomon Islands), Ministry ofHome Affairs and Rural Development (Tuvalu), Ministry of Internal Affairs (Vanuatu). In eachcountry local urban councils are also partners. At the regional platform, Economic and SocialCommission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Pacific Office and the Commonwealth LocalGovernment Forum Pacific Office and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) are key

partners. UN-Habitat is Secretariat to the Pacific Urban Alliance3

.Cities Alliance, European Commission - Africa, Carribean and Pacific (EC-ACP),Government of Norway

Pakistan UN-Habitat’s engagement in Pakistan began on a small scale in the 1990’s addressingissues of secure tenure and other related problems. Today UN-Habitat‘s engagementin Pakistan is in the fields of housing, community infrastructure, basic services, urbandevelopment, disaster risk management and Geographic Information Management. Theimplementation approach used by UN-Habitat in Pakistan is primarily community leddevelopment, in which affected populations take charge of their recovery, rehabilitation anddevelopment. Pakistan is one of UN-Habitat’s largest operations in the region and globallyand in 2011 consisted of over 700 staf f and with offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi,Quetta and Mardan. In addition to these locations, UN-Habitat maintained 12 field officesthroughout Khyber Pukhtunkhwah, Baluchistan, Sindh and Punjab.

During the period 2006-2010 through the rural housing reconstruction programme, 3.5million people were successfully moved to safe and better homes, 14,000 families weremoved to safer places from hazardous land and over 55,000 houses were constructed bywomen headed households.

3 A coalition of development partners (UN agencies such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),UNICEF, EU, New Zealand Aid Programme, AusAID, World Bank, Asian Development Bank) supporting countriesto address their commitments to the Pacific Urban Agenda.




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Pakistan With regard to current activities which are linked to facilitating return of IDP’s as well asresponding to the 2010 and 2011 floods, some 600 community infrastructure projectshave been implemented, 15,445 emergency shelters provided, 12,676 transitional shelterssupervised, 33,478 one room shelters and 15,064 latrines constructed and 23,480 hygienekits were distributed.

In addition to the above, a land and property guide was produced for Pakistan, includingtraining of 207 government officials, academia and NGO staff on land and property rights.

Partners: Planning Commission, Economic Affairs Division, Ministry of Climate Change(before the Ministry of the Environment), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA),Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), Global Water OperatorsPartnership (GWOPS Programme), the Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Pakistan Bureauof Statistics, several provincial and local authorities, NGOs and universities.

Government of Japan, DFID, SIDA, CIDA, the Korean International Cooperation Agency(KOICA), USAID, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), BASF/Germany,the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the World Bank, the Central Emergency

Response Fund (UN CERF), the Pakistan One UN Fund, Germany/BASF, Coca ColaPhilippines UN-Habitat has been supporting the Government of the Philippines since 1998 and has

worked with 40 cities on various development and humanitarian projects.

Through the Cities and Climate Change Initiative (CCCI) Project in Sorsogon City, “climate -proofed” the nationally-mandated local planning guidelines and the local shelter planningmanuals. These experiences have been replicated in other cities like Tuguegarao, Santiago,Cauayan and Olongapo and are being further applied, initially, in the cities of Iloilo,Cagayan de Oro, Butuan and Davao.

Provided shelter cluster coordination together with the government and showcasedinnovative shelter repair approaches with flood resilience in the wake of major typhoons(2009, 2011).




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Philippines Localized the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 30 cities as demonstration sitesand knowledge hubs. The localization strategy translated the MDGs from the nationaltargets to city plans and ultimately to Family MDGs managed by the families themselveswho have been empowered as development partners. In the last phase of the programmeimplemented through Family-based Actions for Children and their Environs in the Slums(FACES) project, improved the quality of 607 children lives by gaining better access tofood security, education, secure tenure, potable water, better sanitation, protection and

security. Fifteen cities developed 56 “quick response mechanisms” and 31 child-focuseddemonstration projects supported household and community-based actions. The nationalgovernment, through the Local Government Academy, still continues to replicate the FACESapproach in 32 additional cities.

Developed the capabilities of 9 local government units and urban poor communities to worktogether to develop shelter upgrading plans for capital investment financing through theIMPACT project implemented in the cities of Puerto Princesa, Iligan, Science City of Muñoz,Sorsogon, Iloilo, Escalante, Butuan, Valenzuela and Municipality of San Vicente, Palawan.

Established the framework for the Philippine Urban Observatory, endorsed by the Philippine

Urban Consortium, which involves a data management system of collection, consolidation,analysis, use, and dissemination of urban statistics at the city level to help planners anddecision-makers make better-informed decisions and policies.

As one of the 5 pilot countries of the Achieving Sustainable Urban Development (ASUD)Priorities Global Programme of UN-Habitat, it will work in 6 cities on the areas of urbanplanning, economy, energy, mobility, governance and legislation. It is also one of the eightpilot countries of the UNICEF-UN Women- UN-Habitat Joint Programme on “Safe andFriendly Cities for All” working in the cities of Pasay and Quezon to address issues on safetyand security of women and children in urban areas.

Partners: Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Departmentof Interior and Local Government (DILG), League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), LocalGovernment Academy (LGA), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), HomelessPeople’s Federation of the Philippines (HPFP), Arcadis.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Democratic GovernanceThematic Trust Fund, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Cities Alliance, Government of JapanPartnership Fund, AECID through the MDG Achievement Fund, Government of Spain,Government of Norway, WFP, Sagattarius Mines Inc (SMI), BASF, Swedish Sida.




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Singapore UN-Habitat is promoting the Housing and Development Board (HDB), 2010 HabitatScroll of Honour Award winner, for providing green, clean and socially conscious housingprogrammes that has housed a growing population, where more than 8 in 10 Singaporeanslive in HDB apartments.

UN-Habitat partners with the World Cities Summit Singapore which is organized biennially

Partners: Ministry of National Development, Centre for Livable Cities

Sri Lanka UN-Habitat has been operational in Sri Lanka since 1978. Assisted the preparation andimplementation of the Master Plan for Colombo (1978-1983). Assistance provided to theGovernment of Sri Lanka Million Houses Programme (1984-1989) in articulating supportbased housing which became the main trust of UN-Habitat’s advocacy in housing policy.

Developed Community Action Planning, Community Contracting and other communitybased methodologies during the Million House Programme. Support to the preparationof the National Climate Change Policy (2011). Climate Resilient Action plans for selectedcoastal cities in Sri Lanka (2010-2012). Supporting local authorities in four disaster pronecities to prepare Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) plans.

Assistance provided to the Government of Sri Lanka Million-and-a-Half Houses Programme(1989-1993). Rebuilding Communities in North East Sri Lanka (2005-2006) 40 povertystricken and conflict affected neighbourhoods assisted through construction of essentialinfrastructure. Post disaster (tsunami) reconstruction of houses and community infrastructure(2005-2010): 10,600 tsunami damaged houses reconstructed and essential communityinfrastructure provided. Sustainable cities programme/urban governance (1998 – 2010).Technical assistance to urban resettlement (2004 – 2009) : 938 families resettled.

Post conflict housing programme: Rebuilding post conflict communities in the Northern

Province since 2009. 4,200 houses have been reconstructed and another 20,800 housesare in progress.

Slum/ Low income settlement upgrading and establishment of a National Guarantee Fundfor credit enhancement. Supported approx. 2,000 families. Preparation of a National UrbanPolicy Note in collaboration with the World Bank (2011-2012). Support to the preparationof the National Climate Change Policy (2011). Climate Resilient Action plans for selectedcoastal cities in Sri Lanka (2010-2012). Supporting local authorities in four disaster pronecities to prepare DRR plans.




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Sri Lanka Partners: Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils; Ministry of Environment;Ministry of Resettlement; Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development & Security- Northern Province; Ministry of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing & CommonAmenities; Urban Development Authority, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA),University of Moratuwa, Communities and Community based organizations,

European Union, Government of Australia, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC), Government of India, Government of Japan, United Arab Emirates, Government ofItaly, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), BASF,

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Bank, City of Munich,Overseas an Italian International Non-governmental Organization, Cities Alliance

Thailand UN-Habitat has been active in Thailand since late 90s in support of urban management anddecentralization.

Post-tsunami Support to Indigenous Communities (2005- 2008) supported therehabilitation and recovery needs of traditional and sea gypsy communities, promotedindigenous cultures and the participation of indigenous communities in conservationplanning; and built the capacity of local government organizations in participatory

rehabilitation planning.

Sustainable Cities Programme and Local Agenda 21 (2005-2007) promoteddecentralization and consolidated and harmonised Thai toolkits in urban and environmentalgovernance on the basis of documented Thai good practices, established a knowledgemanagement node for the dissemination of good practice and capacity-developmentmaterials, and developed regional networks for the delivery of local level capacity building.

As part of United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPAF) Thailand, following practices arebeing promoted for replication in the region:

• Habitat Scroll of Honor: 2011 Good Practices Award: Chiang RaiMunicipality “Urban Biodiversity towards Sustainable City and Climate Resilience” todevelop the city in a sustainable way by conserving its natural areas while using themas a carbon sink.

• Baan Mankong Community Upgrading Program: spearheaded byCommunity Organization Development Institute (CODI), a quasi governmentinstitution, improving tenure security through long-term leases or co-operativeland ownership, re-blocking, land sharing, reconstruction, and relocation and slumupgrading, covering 76 provinces.




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Thailand As part of UNPAF Thailand, policy advice is provided for the EU funded programme:“Promotion of Low Carbon City across Municipalities” which is part of the Cities andClimate Change Initiative (CCCI), in cooperation with the National Municipal Leagueof Thailand (NMT) and the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), aiming to increaseunderstanding, knowledge, awareness, and capacity of the municipalities towards climatemitigation by working with 100 pilot municipalities in Thailand.

Partners: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior (Department of Local

Administration, Department of Town and Country Planning, Department of DisasterPrevention and Mitigation), Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, CommunityOrganization Development Institution (CODI), the National Municipal League of Thailand,Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) and other UNagencies, Universities, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Asian Disaster PreparednessCenter (ADPC).

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Economic Commission for Asia and thePacific (ESCAP)

Timor-Leste During the United Nations Transitional Administration Timor-Leste (1999-2002), UN-Habitatprovided assistance to the restoration of the functions of the Land and Property Office andinitiated the process for the formulation of a new post-independence Land Law.

Soon after the independence of the country, UN-HABITAT assisted the Government withthe preparation of a National Housing Policy. It also assisted the Ministry of Infrastructurewith the “Dili City Upgrading Strategy”, completed in 2005. The programme identified98 underserved neighbourhoods in the city and started successful pilots of CommitteeDevelopment Committees and community contracting grants for small-scale neighbourhoodupgrading.

Twelve selected projects of varying complexities were fully completed in October 2005.These projects included local roads, rehabilitation of drainage systems, rubbish collectionpoints, a community hall, water supply and sanitation facilities. The projects assisted about3,000 people living in the pilot areas. As a result of the project, through learning-by-doing,staff of the Community Development Unit, established by the project, were trained inplanning and guiding community-based projects. The unit was integrated in the Ministryafter the completion of the Dili City Upgrading Strategy Project. Follow-up missionscontinued up into 2007.

Partners: Ministry of Transport, Communications and Public Works, Department of PublicWorks and Housing;





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Viet Nam UN-Habitat has been working with the government of Viet Nam since the 1990s, andestablished its country office in 2007. It has achieved the following:

Supported the formulation of sustainable urban development policies and planning lawwith strengthened role of Vietnam Urban Forum (VUF) in policy dialogues.

Advised and supported the formulation of national housing development strategy througha number of low-income housing analysis, studies and strengthened the capacity ofpolicy makers, researchers, planners at national and local levels through a broad training

programme.

Advised the formulation of social and economic development strategy at in Quang Nam andeco planning at in Hoi An through a number of analysis, policy dialogues and leadershiptrainings.

Developed local urban observatories and city-level performance index in 77 typical cities tofacilitate the better evidence-based reviews and local decision-making Processes.

Partners: Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Quang NamProvince and Hoi An city governments, Association of Cities of Viet Nam, Viet Nam National

University – Ha Noi

Multi-Donor Trust Fund, Cities Alliance




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REGIONAL PROGRAMMES AND REGIONAL COORDINATION

UN-Habitat has been implementing regional programmes targeting cities, with a view to consolidate city levellearning and share experiences amongst similar programmes, for example, Urban Management Programme-Asia and the Pacific and Cities and Climate Change Initiative.

• Climate Change and Cities Initiatives in Asia-Pacific: Climate change is now recognized as one ofthe key challenges of the 21st century. To address the impacts of climate change on cities in developingcountries, in August 2008, UN-Habitat launched its Cities and Climate Change Initiative. The CCCI-Asia/Pacific was launched early 2010 to disseminate, replicate and scale-up country and city experiences

amongst UN-Habitat’s regional network of partners in China, Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, PapuaNew Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Vietnam, with twenty cities carrying outparticipatory assessments of their vulnerabilities to climate change. Country level advocacy activities arebeing supported by UN-Habitat to highlight the importance of the urban sector in national climate changeresponse policies and guidelines, supported by initiatives of Local Government Training Institutions andUniversities in the region to mainstream climate change response capacity-building into their supportprogrammes and curricula. The programme now intends to consolidate the lessons through the regionalresource center. The regional component is implemented in partnership with ESCAP.

• Tools for the Assessment of School and Hospital Safety for Multi-Hazards in South Asia: User friendly tools

were jointly prepared with ISDR and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), DisasterManagement Centre, Delhi (DMC), that help countries implement the complex process of retrofitting ofexisting facilities as well as ensuring safe construction of new inf rastructure, in a simple and practicalmanner. The training to apply the tools at the sub-regional level is planned for.

• Asian Development Bank (ADB’s) City Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA). Despite variousdevelopment partner efforts to strengthen urban planning and management over recent decades throughpreparation of City Development and Slum Upgrading Strategies, the estimated Asian urban infrastructureinvestment needs of over $100 billion per annum over the next 20 years are clearly not being met. WhilstUN-Habitat has been strengthening the capacity of urban poor communities to improve their shelter andcommunity level services through savings and credit schemes (in partnership with the Asia Coalition forHousing Rights), as well as strengthening local government capacities to work with communities andthe private sector, there is a huge infrastructure investment financing gap. In short, urban strategies failto be detailed out into feasible project proposals and linked to available funding streams. In recognition,UN-Habitat is supporting the CDIA to develop training manuals and build the capacity of National PartnerOrganisations, so that they may “bridge the investment divide” by strengthening the Capital InfrastructureInvestment Project Prioritisation (CIIPP) and Feasibility Study process through the preparation of Pre-Feasibility Studies (PFS), to be prepared through National Partner Organisation (NPO/City) partnershipsand linked to domestic and international public/private sector financing opportunities. To date UN-Habitat

has supported CDIA preparation of a CIIPP and PFS User Guide, and their customisation to national/citycontexts through NPO partnerships in China, Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka

UN H bit t i P t hi ith A i d h P ifi

UN H bit t i P t hi ith A i d h P ifi




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Shanghai City, China.© Julius Mwelu/UN-Habitat

REGIONAL PROGRAMMES AND REGIONAL COORDINATION

• Regional Coordination and Inter-agency Collaboration: Through the newly established Bangkok Office, UN-Habitat enhanced the coordination with other UN Agencies and promoted system wide coherence and OneUN in the region, by engaging in the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM), chaired by ESCAP, UnitedNations Development Group (UNDG) AP, chaired by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aswell as other inter-agency forums. UN-Habitat Bangkok Office is the Leading agency for UNDG-AP TaskTeam on Urbanization in preparing a position paper on urbanization, supporting the country level activitiesand United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAFs), through the UN Country Team.

UN Habitat in Partnership with Asia and the Pacific




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UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME

P.O.Box 30030,Nairobi 00100,Kenya;

Tel: +254-20-7626742; Fax: +254-20-7625015;[email protected]/publications

Become a UN-HABITAT partner for better cities in the Asia and the Pacific Region.Become a city changer…

Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected] For more information please visit our websites www.unhabitat.org and http://www.fukuoka.unhabitat.org

Overview of Fukuoka City, Japan © Fumio Hashimoto

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