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Point of view
Greetings Readers!
After a busy start into 2013, ICLEI South Asia continues its work supporting local authorities and other relevant stakeholders in a transition towards a more sustainable urban future.
With water and sanitation being crucial aspects to consider in such process, ICLEI South Asia is taking up this issue again and bringing it forward. Further to the Service Level Benchmarking framework that we carried out, with the support of GIZ, in 2010 in 17 Indian cities, and in continuation to the ACCESSAnitation project (Accelerating City-to-City Exchange for Sustainable Sanitation), coming to its conclusion after three years, ICLEI South Asia goes back to the issue of water and sanitation: together with the European Commission and ICLEI European Secretariat, we are going to lead the “Adopting Integrated Urban Water Management in Indian Cities” (AdoptIUWM) project.
We want to keep driving change at the local level in this field, as well as in those of transport, energy, adaptation and much more. We hope that the experiences shared in this edition of the newsletter will provide you with new ideas on how to contribute, within your municipality, organization or as an individual, to a more sustainable way of living.
Emani Kumar, Executive Director
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Low carbon cities become reality in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu
 The productive discussions of the workshop that took place on 18 April 2013 in Delhi, as part of the project “Integrating Urban Climate Guidelines through Clean Technologies (RE & EE) at the State and City Level to build sustainable low carbon cities”, initiated by ICLEI South Asia with the support of the British High Commission (BHC), provided great input to the finalization of the “State level urban low carbon policy notes” for Rajasthan & Tamil Nadu states.
ICLEI South Asia was praised by the high-level speakers for having brought back the theme of low carbon into local governments’ busy schedules and for contributing, through these guidelines, to the concrete advancement of low carbon development at the state and city level.
The need of knowledge exchange, awareness and capacity-building at the local level were raised as some of the current hindrances to low carbon development, together with a lack of vertical and horizontal coordination. The project, in its recommendations, tackles exactly these issues, by promoting the creation of Resource Centres and by looking at integration between the different government levels, while fostering a concerted approach between states and municipal departments.
The draft of the policy documents and other project reports can be found online at http://urbanlowcarbonfinance.iclei.org/resources.html - the guidelines will be finalized by mid-May. Read more...
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Non Motorised Coimbatore on stage at Clean Energy Ministerial in Delhi
 The ‘Clean Energy Ministerial – Accelerating the Transition to Clean Energy Technology’, New Delhi, India, provided on 18 April 2013 the high-level stage for the launch of the Coimbatore Non Motorised Transport (NMT) Assessment Study and Project.
Co-funded by the Commissionerate of Municipal administration, the project will be carried out by ICLEI South Asia with I-Trans pvt. Ltd., and will look at the current status of Non Motorised Transport (NMT) in the City of Coimbatore, aiming at promoting Non Motorised Transport strategies and actions at the city level.
ICLEI South Asia is actively working on bringing the issue of non motorised transport to the table of Indian cities and is completing a readiness assessment of around 28 cities in India, together with its partners and with Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, who co-organized the session at the Clean Energy Ministerial together with ICLEI South Asia. The State of Tamil Nadu and, in particular, the City of Coimbatore, have actively taken up this key concern and are working with ICLEI South Asia to develop and implement some NMT actions in the near future. The Institute of Urban Transport (IUT India) has supported the NMT readiness assessment and encouraged this initiative, offering IUT’s involvement to build capacities of city officials to promote Non Motorised Transport implementation.
The first part of this study will be finalized by the end of July 2013. Read more...
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Conversation on Future Cities with Sir David King
 The British High Commissioner Residence provided, on 30 April 2013, the perfect setting for an inspiring Conversation with Sir David King on the issue of ‘Future Cities’, as part of the Chevening Lectures series. The discussion, that was hosted by the British High Commission and co-organized by ICLEI South Asia, attracted a diverse group of leaders from business, international and development agencies, research institutions and NGOs based in Delhi.
Sir David King, former UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Government Office of Science, used the recent launch of the Future Cities Catapult programme to delve more deeply into the issue of ‘Future Cities’, in a stimulating conversation with Prof. Chetan Vaidya, Director of School of Planning and Architecture, formerly the Director of National Institute of Urban Affairs and urban planner with over 30 years of experience.
As the world is becoming increasingly urban, the solutions developed to tackle the current challenges must be tailored to and for cities: this concept is what kicked off a stimulating and enriching discussion between Sir David, Professor Vaidya and the audience on the issue of urbanization in India and around the world.
Holistic approaches, knowledge sharing, innovative solutions, citizens’ buy-in and funding were some of the issues raised during this inspiring conversation. Click here to find out more. Read more... |
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Are Indian cities ready for Non Motorised Transport?
 How ready or prepared are Indian city governance structures to implement and promote non-motorized transport? Connecting the dots, a project website on non-motorized transportation in Indian cities developed under the Ecomobility Readiness Assessment project and supported by the Shakti Foundation, aims to answer this question and more.
The Ecomobility Readiness Assessment project assessed 28 cities around India to study their readiness or preparedness to implement non-motorized transport initiatives in terms of their policies, capacities, resources and awareness towards ecomobility. The site will feature the assessment results, information about innovative and unique mobility practices in the participant cities, and mobility initiatives around the country.
Visit http://ecomobility-sa.iclei.org to read more about the project, to test the Ecomobility readiness assessment tool, and to find out how to join. Check out the blog and Twitter (@ecomobilityNMT) for real-time updates.
For more information write to ecomobility-sa@iclei.org
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Call out to Indian cities: are you the next Global Earth Hour Capital 2014?
 While the city of Delhi still basks in the recognition awarded by the WWF, who crowned them National Earth Hour Capital, other Indian cities can start preparing to take over the title next year, as the Earth Hour City Challenge 2014 has officially been open!
Delhi was one of the three Indian finalists of the 2013 edition (together with Cochin and Coimbatore), and competed in the challenge together with other 66 cities from Italy, US, Canada, Norway and Sweden - the City of Vancouver being ultimately awarded the title of Global Earth Hour Capital 2013 for its outstanding holistic and strategic approach. This year, the competition expanded to include 15 countries, including the six from 2013.
WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge was designed to highlight and reward cities that are prepared to make substantial long-term efforts to combat global warming. “Earth Hour City Challenge has clearly demonstrated that global level of ambition can be easily raised with ambitious local leaders and actions. Now it is the responsibility of national governments to tap this potential into the new global climate regime,” said Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI, and the focal point of local governments at the UNFCCC.
ICLEI South Asia invites Indian cities with ambitious energy efficient initiatives and plans to accept the challenge: write to iclei-southasia@iclei.org to find out if you have what it takes to become the Global Earth Hour Capital 2014!
For more information about the EHCC 2014 edition, click here.
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SUS cities get ready to address their sustainability challenges
 Poverty alleviation, river buffer zone development, ground water protection, solid waste management improvement, enhancement of traditional livelihoods and wetlands protection were some of the pressing issues that the cities involved in the Supporting Urban Sustainability (SUS) project identified as the ‘inquiry’ they will look into during the following year.
The identification of these themes was the result of the several Engagement Workshops that took place in the project cities and that were organized by ICLEI South Asia or the Centre for Environmental Education (CEE), in cooperation with the corresponding municipality and the Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development at Gotland University (SWEDESD).
The first international project workshop, organized on 26-29 April 2013 in Ahmedabad, India, was the first opportunity to bring together all the participating cities in SUS: Guntur (India), Rajshahi (Bangladesh) and Thimphu (Bhutan) - who were also involved in the Realising DReAMS project of ICLEI South Asia – and the additional Indian cities of Malvan, Guwahati, Gangtok, and Kozhikode.
The workshop provided information on ecosystem services, reflexive governance and collaborative learning processes but mostly enabled the different stakeholder groups representing each city to present their inquiry and, through discussions and exchange of ideas, prepare an action plan that details the next steps. The groups also identified additional actors in their cities who will be involved in the SUS programme.
For more information about the Supporting Urban Sustainability (SUS) Programme click here. |
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Jaisalmer and Kishangarh in Rajasthan to pioneer Indian approach to IUWM
 Few months after the beginning of the European Union funded “Adopting Integrated Urban Water Management in Indian Cities” (AdoptIUWM) project, two of the four pilot cities have already been identified.
A meeting between ICLEI South Asia and the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development & Local Self Governance Department from the Government of Rajasthan led to the selection, in this state, of the cities of Jaisalmer and Kishangarh. ICLEI staff members visited Jaisalmer in April and presented the project, that was also introduced to the local media to raise awareness, amongst the general public, on AdoptIUWM and the crucial issue of Integrated Urban Water Management.
ICLEI South Asia met also the Principal Secretary, from the Water Supply and Sanitation Department of the Government of Maharashtra, and explained to him the scope and goal of the project. The Maharashtra government has currently identified 6 cities: Jalna, Thane, Dhulia, Yavatmal, Aurangabad and Nanded.
The two Maharashtra cities that will ultimately be selected to be part of the AdoptIUWM project will be shortlisted by the State Government of Maharashtra and announced by ICLEI South Asia at the project launch, planned to take place on 20-21 May 2013 in Delhi, India. Read more... |
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Cochin, India, gets ready to become a Solar City with the help of ICLEI South Asia
 The Indian city of Cochin has teamed up with ICLEI South Asia and started its activities to become a Solar City, following the steps already taken by other Indian cities, such as Agra, Aizawl, Bhubaneswar, Chamoli Gopeshwar, Coimbatore, Gurgaon, Imphal, Kalyan Dombivli, Howrah, Kohima, Nagpur, Rajkot and Thane.
As part of its plan to develop 60 Solar Cities in India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides financial assistance and technical help to cities for the preparation of a master plan for increasing renewable energy supply and energy efficiency measures in the city, setting up institutional arrangements for the implementation of the master plan, carrying out awareness generation and capacity building activities and implementing projects under various programmes of the MNRE.
The city has appointed ICLEI South Asia to support them in the development of its Solar City Master Plans. “We are honoured to be part of the 60 municipalities in India that will become Solar Cities in the next 5 years.” - commented Cochin’s Mayor, Shri Tony Chammani - “ICLEI South Asia’s expertise and support will ensure that the City of Cochin will achieve the targets set by the MNRE for this group of ambitious cities.”
Once the formal agreement with ICLEI South Asia is signed, the city will start its activities towards a 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end of five years. Read more... |
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Sustainable Urban Habitat Action Plan to be developed in Nashik, India
 GIZ (German Development Cooperation), under the Indo-German Environment Partnership (IGEP) program, has proposed to prepare a Sustainable Urban Habitat Action Plan (SUHAP) for the city of Nashik, India. The SUHAP will be developed in line with the Government of India’s “National Mission on Sustainable Habitat”.
ICLEI-South Asia is supporting GIZ-IGEP in providing technical assistance to Nashik Municipal Corporation and to other relevant departments within the city and the state of Maharashtra for the preparation of the SUHAP.
GIZ and ICLEI South Asia are planning a project launch workshop on Friday, 17th May 2013 in Nashik, that will be combined with a training workshop for the members of the City Level Committee on Climate Change (CLCCC) and other stakeholders. The purpose of the workshop is to create awareness and generate momentum among various stakeholders involved in the plan preparation. |
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ICLEI’s toolkit to help Hindu Kush-Himalayan communities become more resilient to climate change
 ICLEI South Asia was invited to the AusAID Public Sector Linkages project Steering Committee Meeting, that took place in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China on 27-28 March 2013. The meeting was hosted locally by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences at Guangzhou, and was co-sponsored by the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS).
The project “Working towards improving resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region” is led by the Australian National University’s Climate Change Institute and will use participatory approaches to identify the risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities arising from climate change impacts on small upstream communities in Nepal and India and downstream communities in Bangladesh. The aim is to facilitate capacity to help communities cope better with those risks and vulnerabilities identified.
The project will adopt the urban climate change resilience planning toolkit methodology developed by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, with the goal to develop a source (highland mountains in Nepal) to sink (lowland plains, Ganges/Brahmaputra river system) approach to managing climate change risks. |
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Resilient South Asian cities on stage at Resilient Cities 2013
 Gathering over 400 mayors, city and government leaders, businesses, experts, practitioners and researchers from around the world, Resilient Cities 2013 – the fourth Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation is taking place in Bonn, Germany from 31 May to 2 June 2013.
This year, the Congress addresses urban resilience and adaptation with a highlight on urban food security. Other key themes include resilient building and construction, city planning, policymaking and governance, risk and vulnerability assessment, financing, disaster risk reduction and its post-2015 framework (HFA-2) as well as vulnerable urban communities – the social aspect of resilience.
A strong representation from South Asia (Shimla, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam and Kochi from India, Barisal from Bangladesh and Kathmandu from Nepal – more cities confirming right now) will showcase the different projects and plans carried out in the region and geared towards improving the resilience of South Asian local governments. Planning for inclusive and equitable adaptation, promoting the productive use of built-up space urban vulnerability assessments as opportunities for resilience building are some of the themes that will be presented.
The issue of resilience planning will be further explored through the presentation, by ICLEI South Asia, of the ACCCRN (Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network) toolkit.
For more information on the congress program and side events, visit Resilient Cities 2013. If you are interested in being part of the South Asian delegation going to Resilient Cities, write to iclei-southasia@iclei.org. |
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SuperCities shape the future of urban infrastructures at the Global Town Hall®
 A paramount platform for city-industry dialogues, the Global Town Hall® was organized at the Hannover Messe in Germany on 8-12 April 2013, as a response to cities’ growing needs for low carbon, low-risk, eco-friendly, durable and economical infrastructure solutions.
Opting to invest about USD 1.8 million in low-carbon, low-risk and sustainable development, SuperCities – a group of fast-growing and ambitious cities with over one million population, exchanged strategies and expectations during these days. “At the ICLEI Global Town Hall, ICLEI facilitated the matchmaking between SuperCities who got to know the cutting edge low-carbon, low-risk, eco-friendly industrial solutions, and companies who learned about the real needs and challenges faced by cities today”, said Gino Van Begin, ICLEI Secretary General.
Daily highlights and speakers presentations can be found on http://www.iclei.org/our-activities/events/metropolitan-solutions/gthmetropolitansolutions.html. Interested people who could not make it to Hannover have the chance to view the Global Town Hall sessions at http://www.metropolitansolutions.de/de/forum-live.
The next edition of Global Town Hall @ Metropolitan Solutions, taking place at the Hannover Tradeshow, will be organized on 7-11 April 2014. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Any questions, comments, suggestions?
Please contact iclei-southasia@iclei.org
© Copyright: ICLEI South Asia 2013. All Rights Reserved. |
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