ICLEI South Asia - July 2018

ICLEI South Asia E-News

July 2018

Emani Kumar
Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI and Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia

Greetings!

The past month has seen us involved in numerous activities in South Asia and across the globe. From becoming a partner in Climate and Development Knowledge Network’s (CDKN) new phase to participating in the ICLEI World Congress 2018 in Montreal, Canada, we bring you all the highlights in this e-news.

This edition will also familiarise you with ICLEI’s five new interconnected and woven pathways that enable local and regional governments to implement change across entire urban systems.

The newsletter will also inform you about the significant progress in our ongoing projects in various Indian cities. Some of the activities include the exposure visit for villagers around Solapur to understand water conservation related work in other villages, and a stakeholder workshop in Rajkot to review the Climate Resilient City Action Plan that we prepared for the city, among others.

Also, do not miss our article on how we helped Coimbatore and Siliguri celebrate World Environment Day in partnership with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), and do check out the upcoming events around the world that you could be a part of.

Happy reading!

ICLEI South Asia Partners in CDKN’s New Phase

ICLEI South Asia is one of the four supporting partners in CDKN’s new phase that was launched in Cape Town, South Africa. This initiative will provide developing countries with enhanced knowledge resources to support ambitious climate action and leadership, as well as encourage climate compatible development. The project will initially focus on the Andean countries of Latin America, parts of Africa and South Asia – with the possibility for other countries to join its wider learning and exchange activities. The other partners in the new phase are SouthSouthNorth, Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano, and the Overseas Development Institute.

ICLEI South Asia Participates in the Global Urban Dialogue at ICLEI World Congress 2018

ICLEI South Asia participated in the ICLEI World Congress 2018, held in Montreal, Canada, where over 1,000 people and 120 political leaders from 177 cities and regions gathered to discuss sustainable urban development. ICLEI South Asia was part of various sessions focusing on local actions on SDG implementation, climate adaptation and gender, healthy cities, universal access to water, vertical integration of urban nexus and sustainable urban mobility. ICLEI's five new pathways were also launched at the Congress.

ALP’s Community of Practice on Grid-scale Renewable Energy (GRE-CoP) Meets at the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2018

Country representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka among others participated in the GRE CoP session on Integrating Renewable Energy into the Grid: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward at the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2018 in Manila, Philippines. The Asia LEDS Partnership organised the session along with National Renewable Energy Laboratory and USAID to discuss how countries can add more renewable energy into their power systems.

Exposure Visit for Solapur Rural Core Team

An exposure visit was conducted for the administrative and elected representatives of TaleHipparga, Ekrukh and Haglur villages and the Agriculture Officer for Integrated Watershed Management Program from the office of the District Collector in Solapur, Maharashtra. The visit was organised under the Integrated Rural Urban Water Management for Climate based Adaptations in Indian cities (IAdapt) project which is funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The participants, along with ICLEI South Asia team, visited BibiDarfal and Wadala villages to understand the work done by the participatory approach of villagers to solve their water issues.

Coimbatore, Siliguri Celebrate World Environment Day

On the eve of World Environment Day, a celebration program in wards 22 and 24 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu was organised as part of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) funded CapaCITIES project in partnership with CEE. The event witnessed various cultural activities like traditional song and dance performances as well as an educational skit on the theme 'Beat Plastic Pollution'. The CEE manual for schools on reduction of plastics was released by Hon’ble Mayor Ashok Bhattacharya in Siliguri, West Bengal on the 5^th of June, 2018.

Solid Waste Quantification and Characterisation in Siliguri

On the occasion of World Environment Day, the solid waste pilot initiative on zero waste under the SDC supported CapaCITIES Project was launched in ward 2 of Siliguri by the Hon’ble Mayor, in the presence of Deputy Mayor, Member Mayor in Council (Conservancy and Vehicles) and the Ward Councilor. This initiative aims to ensure collection of household level segregated waste, treatment and disposal of the dry and wet waste appropriately to ensure that minimal waste reaches the dumpsite. ICLEI South Asia, with support from Siliguri Municipal Corporation, carried out quantification and characterisation of the waste from the pilot wards.

AIIB's Infrastructure Plans in Asian Cities Gets ICLEI South Asia's Support

ICLEI South Asia, along with ICLEI East Asia, is supporting Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in its infrastructure plans for Asian cities for which the 3^rd Annual Meeting was organised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The theme for this year’s meeting was Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration. The event brought together leaders from various levels of governments, civil society organisations, partner institutions, and AIIB members to have a dialogue on creating a sustainable future through sound infrastructure investment. It was an opportunity for the participants to share knowledge and recommendations on how to address Asia’s infrastructure gap in a sustainable and equitable way.

Rajkot City Discusses Climate Resilient City Action Plan

Stakeholders in Rajkot, Gujarat discussed the Climate Resilient City Action Plan (CRCAP) 2018-2023 for Rajkot, prepared through the CapaCITIES project. Rajkot Municipal Corporation officials, experts, policy makers, academic institutions and various stakeholders reviewed the CRCAP, and deliberated on the several interventions included in the plan. An overview of the CRCAP 2018-2023 was given by the CapaCITIES team. Around 50 people from diverse backgrounds took part in the group discussions and provided their views on CRCAP interventions.

Ludhiana Witnesses Onsite Demonstration for Improving Traffic Conditions

As part of the Phase II of Shakti Smart Cities project funded by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, an onsite demostration was conducted for managing traffic problems at Mata Rani Chowk in Ludhiana, Punjab. Before the demonstrations, ICLEI South Asia, with support from Sandeep Gandhi Architects and inputs from Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, conducted a detailed study for six problematic junctions in the city. As a next step, the team is in the process of finalising the design for Mata Rani Chowk and plans to carry out more demonstrations on other problematic junctions in Ludhiana.

Pilot Implementation in Varanasi under Development of Holistic Waste Management Strategy

ICLEI South Asia, with support from the United Nations Environment Programme, has successfully implemented a pilot project demonstrating holistic waste management approach in ward 21 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Extensive awareness generation, sensitisation and training of municipal sanitary workers by Swachh Sewaks, over a period of five months, have led to a visible change in the waste management practices in the ward. It is envisaged that the ‘pilot ward’ can act as a ‘torch-bearer’ to replicate the process in other wards.

Operationalising E-rickshaw in Gwalior under Smart City Mission

A meeting was organised with Mr. Vinod Sharma, IAS, Commissioner of Gwalior Municipal Corporation, Madhya Pradesh to discuss the proposed route and action plan for e-rickshaw operationalisation under Gwalior Smart City Proposal. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Mahip Tejasvi, CEO, Gwalior Smart City, engineers from Gwalior Smart City Development Corporation Limited (GSCDCL) and members of Project Development and Management Consultant along with ICLEI South Asia team. Mr. Sharma suggested to add more routes to the proposed plan, and approved the action plan for operationalising e-rickshaws in the city. ICLEI South Asia is providing technical support to GSCDCL for this implementation in and around the Maharaja Bada.

Local Renewables Conference 2018

The City of Freiburg, the City of Basel and ICLEI Europe are organising the Local Renewables Conference 2018 which will take place from the 24^th to 26^th October, 2018 in Freiburg, Germany. Join leading and learning cities, policy-makers from European and national governments, businesses, research and finance institutions for the 9th edition of the Local Renewables Series. It will build on the success of previous conferences and will showcase practical and innovative examples of how to reduce energy and resource use, and make ideal use of energy sources and other resources in the region.

Conference of the Parties (COP) 14

From the 17^th to 29^th of November, 2018, the United Nations will call on decision makers from more than 190 countries to step up efforts to halt the biodiversity loss and protect the ecosystems that support food and water security and health for billions of people. The UN Biodiversity Conference (14^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity - COP 14) will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

ICLEI South Asia E-News

July 2018

ICLEI South Asia Partners in CDKN’s New Phase

ICLEI South Asia Participates in the Global Urban Dialogue at ICLEI World Congress 2018

ALP’s Community of Practice on Grid-scale Renewable Energy (GRE-CoP) Meets at the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2018

Exposure Visit for Solapur Rural Core Team

Coimbatore, Siliguri Celebrate World Environment Day

Solid Waste Quantification and Characterisation in Siliguri

AIIB's Infrastructure Plans in Asian Cities Gets ICLEI South Asia's Support

Rajkot City Discusses Climate Resilient City Action Plan

Ludhiana Witnesses Onsite Demonstration for Improving Traffic Conditions

Pilot Implementation in Varanasi under Development of Holistic Waste Management Strategy

Operationalising E-rickshaw in Gwalior under Smart City Mission

Local Renewables Conference 2018

Conference of the Parties (COP) 14

ICLEI South Asia Secretariat

Connect with Us:

About ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability