ICLEI South Asia - March 2019

ICLEI South Asia E-News

March 2019

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

Warm greetings to all our readers!

I would like to begin by inviting you all for the upcoming 4^th Asia-Pacific Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation - Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress 2019 (RCAP 2019) which is scheduled from the 11^th to 13^th of April in New Delhi. Please register yourself and join us for the Congress. I look forward to interacting with you during the event. The e-news will provide you with the relevant details.

The past month saw many interesting activities, initiatives and achievements in several of our projects. From starting new projects to releasing publications, this edition will apprise you of all the updates.

Do not miss out on our latest blog on blended finance for climate and food security, which talks about the approaches in the agriculture sector that could provide livelihood security and more.

There are many significant events coming up in the next few months, read on to know more!

Nagpur Announces Deep Dive Commitment with Building Efficiency Accelerator

Nagpur is the latest city to be selected for a deep dive partnership with the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA), a public-private collaboration that accelerates local government implementation of building efficiency policies and programs. As a deep dive partner, Nagpur will benefit from enhanced technical support with the goal of reaching an ambitious 10 percent energy reduction target by 2021. ICLEI South Asia will work with Nagpur city as a technical advisor to implement activities with the support of World Resources Institute. In this regard, a kick-off workshop for the phase II of BEA project was held in Nagpur.

State Level Meeting to Discuss Project Activities in Solapur

A state level review meeting with the officials of Water and Sanitation Support Organisation (WSSO), Maharashtra, was held to update them about the work being carried out in Solapur under the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supported Integrated Rural Urban Water Management for Climate based Adaptations in Indian cities (IAdapt) project. During the discussion, ICLEI South Asia also requested WSSO to consider principles of Integrated Urban Water Management and Integrated Water Resources Management in their on-going and future schemes for the villages in Maharashtra. WSSO team has requested ICLEI South Asia to organise trainings for their officials on the principles of integrated water management.

Rajkot to be one of the First Indian Cities to Develop a District Cooling System

A workshop on 'Cooling Smart Cities: The Arrival of District Energy in India’ was organised in Rajkot, Gujarat, by UN Environment with support from ICLEI South Asia and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation funded CapaCITIES project. The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness, accelerate investments and unlock supportive policy frameworks for district energy systems in India. Various national and international experts involved with the District Cooling Systems (DCS) shared their knowledge and expertise. The UN Environment has signed an MoU with the city to provide technical support during the design and procurement of DCS in its smart city area and to explore policy options.

Mapping and Documenting Tree Diversity of Subhash Bose Park in Kochi

As part of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supported INTERACT-Bio: Integrated sub-national action for Biodiversity project, a pictorial handbook of the trees of Subhash Bose Park has been developed and was released in Kochi. The handbook also consists of tree distribution maps of the park. This handbook aims at communicating the significance of biodiversity to the citizens of Kochi. The trees of the park have been identified and labelled. This initiative was kick started by Smt Soumini Jain, Mayor of Kochi; Retired Justice Sukumaran and Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia.

Municipal Solid Waste Management Exposure Workshops in Indore

The Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) solid waste management exposure workshops, supported by National Institute of Urban Affairs, were conducted by ICLEI South Asia in Indore. Around 80 officers, comprising of city commissioners, chief engineers and assistant engineers from over 60 cities participated in the training. The workshops seek to strengthen institutional capacities at ULBs towards collection, treatment, disposal and efficient management of various types and categories of wastes, promote 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) initiatives. They also aim to disseminate good practices and facilitate integrated efforts towards achieving improvement in general health of city environment.

Nature-based Solutions to Build Urban Resilience Discussed at Happy Cities Summit

ICLEI South Asia partnered with Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority to organise the second Happy Cities Summit in Vijayawada. Mr. Emani Kumar, Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI moderated a session on nature-based solutions. The session discussed the efforts and initiatives being implemented in various cities and city-regions on mainstreaming nature-based solutions to build urban resilience, thereby promoting development of happy cities. During the session, the Cities with Nature initiative of ICLEI was also showcased.

Understanding Ecosystem Services Provided by Mangroves in Kochi

A study on ecosystem services provided by mangroves in Kochi has been initiated under the BMU supported INTERACT-Bio project. The study aims to understand the ecosystem services provided by mangroves and develop an investment case for mangrove restoration in Kochi. A meeting of the technical support group was held in Kochi to discuss the baseline information that has been collected and the work plan ahead. The project now aims to carry out detailed surveys in the mangrove rich areas in Kochi as the next step.

Experts Visit Solapur Micro Catchment Area

A field visit to Solapur micro catchment was conducted by experts from the University of Delhi under the IDRC supported IAdapt project. The visit aimed at identification of pilot projects in the micro-catchment with the goal to reduce pollution in Ekrukh Lake. The team interacted with the local officials (Gram Sevak) and residents in Tale Hippargha and Haglur villages to understand the major water related issues and challenges faced by local residents. Visits to major inlet and outlets points for water and waste water of the lake were conducted and three potential sites around Ekrukh Lake for project implementation have been identified. Professor C. R. Babu recommended ecological restoration of Ekrukh Lake through constructed wetlands. The concept and sites will now be discussed in the RURBAN meeting in Solapur, scheduled for March 2019.

Blended Finance for Climate and Food Security – The Potential of the Farm Sector

Aditi Paul explores how blended finance approaches in the agriculture sector could provide small producers with the much-needed livelihood security, as well as climate resilience and food security.

Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific 2019

The Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress 2019 is being organised by the offices of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability in Asia- Pacific and hosted by South Delhi Municipal Corporation from the 11^th to 13^th of April in New Delhi, India. The event will offer cities and regions from Asia-Pacific a variety of innovative solutions that build resilience to climate change at the subnational level. It will also offer a combination of high-level plenaries and technical sessions on the implementation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the New Urban Agenda. Registrations are now open.

Resilient Cities 2019

Resilient Cities 2019 will be the 10^th anniversary of the Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation, taking place over three days from 26^th to 28^th of June in Bonn, Germany. This special edition aims to discuss the state of local resilience, evaluate its progress and encourage all stakeholders to take action under the lens of the Paris Agreement and the resilience targets of the 2030 Agenda. The forum offers an opportunity for engagement among political leaders and representatives from the private sector, international organisations and research institutions.

India Smart Utility Week 2019

The India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) is scheduled to be held from 12^th to 16^th of March in New Delhi, India. ICLEI South Asia is one of the supporting partners of the event. ISUW 2019 will bring together India’s leading Electricity, Gas and Water Utilities, Policy Makers, Regulators, Investors, Smart Energy Experts and Researchers to discuss trends. They will share best practices and showcase next generation technologies and products in smart energy and smart cities domains.

ICLEI South Asia E-News

March 2019

Nagpur Announces Deep Dive Commitment with Building Efficiency Accelerator

State Level Meeting to Discuss Project Activities in Solapur

Rajkot to be one of the First Indian Cities to Develop a District Cooling System

Mapping and Documenting Tree Diversity of Subhash Bose Park in Kochi

Municipal Solid Waste Management Exposure Workshops in Indore

Nature-based Solutions to Build Urban Resilience Discussed at Happy Cities Summit

Understanding Ecosystem Services Provided by Mangroves in Kochi

Experts Visit Solapur Micro Catchment Area

Blended Finance for Climate and Food Security – The Potential of the Farm Sector

Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific 2019

Resilient Cities 2019

India Smart Utility Week 2019

ICLEI South Asia Secretariat

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