ICLEI South Asia - December 2020

ICLEI South Asia E-News

December 2020

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

Dear Readers!

A very Happy New Year! It is heartening to note that in 2020, a year that was like no other, ICLEI South Asia was able to continue its work with local, regional and national governments, heading off several challenges. As we adjust to the new normal, we continue to have dialogues with stakeholders and implement activities towards building resilience and adaptive capacities, two key takeaways for the world from the 2020 experience.

In an important development, Ms. Rosy Senanayake, Hon’ble Mayor of Colombo, an ICLEI member city, has been appointed to the Board of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), which leads the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, representing more than 10,000 cities around the world.

One of the several interesting events we organised in December was a multi-level governance national dialogue to discuss the alignment of Measurement, Reporting and Verification for greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation actions in Chhattisgarh.

We also held a policy dialogue with experts, under the Climate Development Knowledge Network programme, to discuss how cities in Bangladesh could develop local climate resilience plans, and then report to the national government for effective integration. Additionally, there was a closure workshop for the Urban95 Phase 1 programme to showcase the learnings and the way forward.

Under the biodiversity projects, we developed the Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of Gangtok and the Illustrated Urban Biodiversity Map of Nagpur. The link to the map and reports on the above-mentioned activities are featured in this edition.

Enjoy reading.

Colombo Mayor Joins Board of Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) has appointed Ms. Rosy Senanayake, Hon’ble Mayor of Colombo, a member city of the ICLEI network, to its Board as the South Asia representative. The GCoM is a global coalition of over 10,000 cities and local governments and 100+ supporting partners. It serves cities and local governments by mobilizing and supporting ambitious, measurable and planned climate and energy action in their communities by working with city/regional networks, national governments and other partners to achieve their vision.

Urban95 Phase 1 Closure Workshop Takes Stock of Achievements, Way Forward

ICLEI South Asia organised two online sessions, with support from the Udaipur Municipal Corporation and the Bernard van Leer Foundation, as part of a closure workshop to share the learnings from the Urban95 programme Phase I in Udaipur. The project team shared the process of Udaipur’s transformation into an infant, toddler and caregiver-friendly city through data analysis, low-cost interventions and capacity building, and the learnings from all activities held during Phase I (January 2019-July 2020).

Gangtok’s LBSAP Emphasises Climate-Smart Development and Biodiversity Conservation

The city corporation of Gangtok has accepted the Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (LBSAP) developed by ICLEI South Asia under the INTERACT-Bio project, which is supported by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany. The LBSAP envisions a prosperous Gangtok that focuses on climate-smart development, while ensuring the conservation of its cultural and ecological heritage.

Urban95 Intervention Brings Children and Cheer Back to Udaipur Park

The impact assessment of a tactical intervention, implemented by ICLEI South Asia in Udaipur, shows that it has been an emphatic success. The objective of the tactical intervention, implemented in December 2019, had been to rejuvenate the neglected Meera Park, and to demonstrate the potential of transforming such underutilised spaces into engaging and interactive areas for young children.

Nagpur’s Oranges Give City’s Illustrated Biodiversity Map a Unique Flavour

ICLEI South Asia has developed the Illustrated Urban Biodiversity Map of Nagpur, as part of the assignment to develop a People’s Biodiversity Register of the city. Ms. Buveneswari S., CEO, Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited - which has supported this initiative along with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation - released the map recently.

CDKN, Red Cross Climate Centre to Develop Heat Resilience Plans in Bangladesh, Nepal

In a concerted effort to deal with heat waves, ICLEI South Asia, under the Climate Development Knowledge Network-Knowledge Accelerator programme, and the Red Cross Climate Centre will develop heat action plans for a city each in Bangladesh and Nepal. The partnership aims to develop a framework for the implementation, coordination and evaluation of response activities to reduce the negative health impacts of exposure to extreme heat.

National Dialogue Discusses Challenges of MRV of Climate Actions in Chhattisgarh

ICLEI South Asia, with support from the Chhattisgarh State Centre for Climate Change, organised the “Second Multi-Level Governance National Dialogue in India - Aligning Measurement, Reporting and Verification for GHG emissions and mitigation actions in Chhattisgarh”. The objective is to identify viewpoints and explore potential best approaches to enable vertical integration for improving the current MRV arrangements in India, and to enhance sub-national government engagement to implement climate actions.

CDKN Supports Two Cities in South Asia to Conduct Voluntary Local Reviews

Dhulikhel Municipality in Nepal and Singra Municipality in Bangladesh, in association with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and CDKN, have committed to conduct a voluntary local review (VLR) of the Sustainable Development Goals. ICLEI South Asia is supporting the municipalities in developing the VLR reports under its CDKN-Knowledge Accelerator programme.

Policy Dialogue Calls for Better Implementation of Urban Resilience Plans in Bangladesh

CDKN Asia organised a dialogue with experts from Bangladesh to discuss a draft policy paper on “Local Urban Resilience Plans Using Climate Adaptation Indicators: Development and Integration in National Planning Processes” in the context of Bangladesh. The discussion covered issues and gaps related to climate change adaptation and emphasised implementation of action plans and the need to involve more planners in city corporations as well as the private sector to build urban resilience.

ICLEI World Congress 2021

Hundreds of local, regional and national governments, international agencies, representatives of the private sector, academics and researchers, community groups and other partners from around the world will come together virtually to steer the global sustainable development agenda by enhancing action taken in urban areas worldwide. Join the event, hosted by Malmö, Sweden, 12-16 April 2021, from the comfort of your own home or office. The ICLEI World Congress 2021 is all online.

ICLEI South Asia E-News

December 2020

Colombo Mayor Joins Board of Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

Urban95 Phase 1 Closure Workshop Takes Stock of Achievements, Way Forward

Gangtok’s LBSAP Emphasises Climate-Smart Development and Biodiversity Conservation

Urban95 Intervention Brings Children and Cheer Back to Udaipur Park

Nagpur’s Oranges Give City’s Illustrated Biodiversity Map a Unique Flavour

CDKN, Red Cross Climate Centre to Develop Heat Resilience Plans in Bangladesh, Nepal

National Dialogue Discusses Challenges of MRV of Climate Actions in Chhattisgarh

CDKN Supports Two Cities in South Asia to Conduct Voluntary Local Reviews

Policy Dialogue Calls for Better Implementation of Urban Resilience Plans in Bangladesh

ICLEI World Congress 2021

ICLEI South Asia Secretariat

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