Contribution towards the Rio+20 Process - Report on the UNCRD - UNU-IAS Public Symposium on Rio+20 - 31 Jul 2012
We are pleased to announce that the meeting report of the UNCRD - UNU-IAS Public Symposium on Rio+20 entitled “Sustainable Urban Development: Challenges and Issues in Developing Countries has been submitted to the Secretariat of Rio+20 and posted on their website as a contribution towards the Rio+20 process. For details, please access the following link.
This public symposium, co-organized by UNCRD and UNU-IAS, was held at the U Thant International Conference Hall, UNU, Tokyo, Japan on 22 March 2012.
One of the aims of this symposium was to hold a public discussion of issues in sustainable urban development that developing countries are facing and the role that Japan could play in fostering a global transition towards more sustainable cities. By 2050, the world population is expected to increase to a total of 9 billion, and the population living in urban areas is projected to grow by 2.9 billion, to a total of 6.3 billion. It is inevitable that this rapid increase of urban population will bring enormous economic, social, and environmental pressures, resulting in a need for governments to take measures urgently. Furthermore, sustainable urbanization will be one of the principal sub-themes dealt with at Rio+20 as many experts deem that it is in cities where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost. The debate was expected not only to contribute to Rio+20, but also discuss how cities and their partners can successfully implement the outcomes of the Conference. Because of these factors, the report of this meeting was treated as a concrete contribution towards the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development with forward-looking solutions to urban challenges on the road from Rio.
More information: http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&type=13&nr=940&menu=46