Activities in July-December, 2011

The regional workshop is being organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) and falls within the framework of the DESA/DSD Development Account Project (ROA 105), which aims to provide support to countries emerging from conflict in integrating sustainable development principles into comprehensive national strategies and development plans by utilizing established knowledge and experiences in developing and implementing conflict-sensitive national development strategies. The workshop will also highlight DESA and UNDP’s collaboration and experience in implementing the Development Account project in Liberia. The training workshop aims at:

• introducing the Development Account Project and the conflict-sensitive NSDS Guidance Notes;
• presenting an overview of Liberian development strategies of the past and present, and goals to address challenges in post-conflict NSDS in Liberia;
• discussing experiences from regional post-conflict countries, lessons learned, and relevance to Liberia;
• presenting an overview of UNCRD’s relevant projects in conflict-affected African countries; and
• facilitating networking between policymakers and professionals with different types of expertise in the region.

The aim of the training course is to improve the capacity of district planners and other government officials in sustainable district development planning and enable them to design and implement effective and sustainable district and regional development plans and programmes. This, in turn, will be a contribution to UNCSD 2012-Rio+20 by increasing the capacity and awareness of local authority officials in formulating sustainable district and regional development policies. The aim of the district development planning process in Botswana is to provide a decentralized planning and implementation capability for implementation below the national level, which is sensitive and responsive to the needs, problems, and priorities of local communities. Decentralized development planning is an innovative strategy in Botswana because its augurs well for improved consultation and budgetary planning by the concerned ministries and departments, and for the implementation of development projects at the district level. However, the districts are faced with the problem of shortage of trained manpower, particularly in the area of project planning and management, data collection and analysis, participatory planning, etc. There is a need to improve the district development planning, implementation, and monitoring capacities by training planners and project managers from the various districts and other line ministries.

Between today and 2050, the world population is expected to increase by 2.3 billion, and the population living in urban areas is projected to grow by 2.9 billion, to a total of 6.3 billion in 2050. To address this challenge of rapid urbanization and in order to contribute to cities’ efforts towards sustainable urban development, UNCRD has developed a programme around the Shanghai Manual on sustainable urban development that will organize a series of training courses for mayors and city leaders. This is one of the major contributions of UNCRD towards Rio+20 to help galvanize the efforts of local authorities, one of the key constituents of the Major Group in Agenda 21, to make their cities more sustainable. The objective of the training course is to increase the capacities of local governments to plan and implement an integrated set of policies and measures to meet the challenge of the green economy and unprecedented urbanization trends. This entails integrated approaches to address complex issues related to urban management, water resources, energy supplies, regional land-use planning, management of waste streams, environmental pollution, and climate change-related risks.

Objectives/Outline

In 2011 UNCRD-LAC collaborated with UNCRD-Nagoya Office and DESA/DSD in the implementation of preparatory activities of CSD 19 and, more recently, with the promotion and expansion of the International Partnership for Expanding Waste Management Services to Local Authorities (IPLA) launched in May 2011. A number of interested organizations in LAC countries have engaged in the initiative, and an international IPLA forum was organized in Bogotá in August 2011 with the participation of approximately 400 persons.

In this context, and based on the increasing interest generated in Latin America on the theme, a second Forum on waste management was organized by UNCRD in collaboration with the International Urban Development Association (INTA, an international network promoting integrated solutions that address the challenge of sustainable and balanced development of territories), and Ciudad Saludable (a Peruvian NGO comprising social entrepreneurs, which contributes to the implementation of a new model of waste management), who joined efforts to implement a Forum to analyse the main strategies that cities are implementing today and that will establish a trend in the management and treatment of waste in the coming years, and also to promote and expand IPLA’s network in Latin America.

The forum aimed to enable participants to: (a) gecome acquainted with current waste management strategies in urban areas in various countries of the world and main future trends; (b) identify challenges of social and economic inclusion of recyclers from a Latin American perspective through the exchange of specific Latin American experiences on innovative solutions in waste management for cities; (c) understand the importance and potential of private sector participation in recycling initiatives; (d) assess the relevance of creating networks for expanding knowledge and experiences related to sustainable waste management and treatment with other countries of the region and other regions of the world; and (e) become acquainted with IPLA and the discussions being held about waste management in the context of Rio+20 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Relevant case experiences were presented on 'Zero Waste' policies and programmes, and on the role of local authorities, in diverse contexts and situations. Special relevance was the case of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and how its local authorities promote alliances with other territorial authorities/municipalities to build regional systems, and enable the conformation of cooperatives to diversify and add value to solid waste, and work in an integrated manner with the production market. Other relevant cases were innovative local technologies for waste collection and disposal in the City of Cajamarca (Peru), Waste Wise Resource Center in the City of Bangalore (India), recyclers’ organizations and reuse strategies in Chilean cities and El Cairo (Egypt) and the Aburrá Valley comprising Medellin and its metropolitan area (Colombia).

Field visits in Northern Lima allowed a direct perception policies and programmes on waste segregation, recycling, and the involvement of recyclers organizations promoted in this territory towards Zero Waste.

Discussions on ‘Zero Waste’ highlighted: (a) the need of building sustained alliances among a wide variety of public-private stakeholders in order to make fundamental changes in waste management; and (b) emphasizing in the fundamental role of recyclers and recycling organizations, providing important practical experiences on how to achieve green economy for sustainable development and poverty eradication. Major outputs:

1. Needs and challenges facing waste management discussed, and areas where UNCRD can have an important role in capacity building (such as regional/territorial management, urban management and human security) identified.
2. Issues shared by Latin America and other developing countries in Asia and Africa identified, to streamline exchange of experiences with these regions in a context of South-South cooperation.
3. Relevant practical experiences exchanged about effective policies and strategic alliances with private sector, nongovernmental (NGOs) and community-based organizations, and particularly the community of recyclers. Also on innovative technologies for waste recycling, reuse and disposal, and financial mechanisms for creation of micro-enterprises.
4. Linkages strengthened with organizations with which UNCRD can build strategic synergies as INTA and Ciudad Saludable. These organizations share with UNCRD-LAC a common interest on sustainable urban development and waste management in the context of human security.
5. IPLA's visibility enhanced as well as awareness and discussion about main issues highlighted on the theme of waste management in the context of the preparatory work in Latin America and the Caribbean facing Rio+20 (in which UNCRD-LAC actively participates). This was reflected in the participants numerous questions about the initiative, the promotion that Ciudad Saludableis making of IPLA by sending relevant information to its ample global network of partners, the messages of interest received after Forum completion, and the invitation received by UNCRD to present Rio+20 guidelines and IPLA in the forthcoming seminar that will be held by the end of November on Waste Management in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The main objective of the training workshop is to train Namibian planners and councillors from the different regions of the country on effective decentralization and regional development policies and practices. The course also aims at equipping the participants with training of trainers (TOT) techniques so that the participants can train more planners when they return to their respective workstations. More specifically, the workshop aims at:

• Training planners and councillors in regional development planning to enable them to establish a mechanism for guiding and co-coordinating the decentralization process;
• Enhancing the capacity of the planners in project planning and management;
• Training the participants in data collection and analysis;
• Training the participants on the techniques and methodologies of undertaking effective training programmes; and
• Enhancing planning capacity at regional and national levels to promote effective resource utilization and environmental management; and proper planning and implementation to alleviate poverty and spur economic growth.

The main objective of the seminar is to foster understanding of the effects of climate change on food security in Africa and Asia, and to critically examine some of the policy options available to these countries to promote food security and create resilience to the impacts of climate change. It will also focus on how to promote sustainable agriculture in the context of green economy-green agriculture, one of the two themes of Rio+20. The seminar will therefore support one of the principal expected outcomes of the Rio+20. The specific aims of the seminar are to:

• Provide a forum for senior policymakers and scholars to examine the impact of climate change on agriculture and food security in Africa and Asia;
• Discuss ways and means of promoting green agriculture so as to enhance food security;
• Address the problem of climate change in Africa and Asia and develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse effects and discuss effective methods of adapting to climate change;
• Examine and discuss best practices from Africa and Asia in dealing with climate change and its impact on food security;
• Discuss appropriate means and mechanisms of strengthening information exchange on adaptation policies so as to increase the resilience of rural communities;
• Mainstream climate change and food security issues into national, regional, and local development policies and plans such as poverty reduction strategies (PRS); and
• Create awareness among participants on the emerging concept of a green economy and its role in sustainable development.

The UNCRD Africa Office and University of Denver, in partnership with the University of Nairobi, have been conducting a research-cum-training project in northern Kenya. Within the overall context of human security, this project aims to reduce vulnerability and increase the human security of communities affected by conflict in northern Kenya by building the capacity of the community and empowering vulnerable groups affected by conflict through identification and promotion of sustainable livelihood and conflict management strategies. The rationale for capacity building and conflict management is to empower people through exchange of information, promotion of knowledge, and building of skills for improved livelihoods and to enable the local community to deal with conflicts in a sustainable manner. During the capacity-building phase of the project, three training workshops were conducted for community leaders, planners, representatives of NGOs, CBOs, among others, in Marsabit, Laikipia, and Garissa districts of Kenya. The main objective of the integrated workshop was to have participants from the three districts share their experiences in conflict management, empowerment, and creation of sustainable livelihoods. This was done by presenting and discussing reports resulting from three mini-workshops which were conducted by the stakeholders in the three districts.