| The
Commission on Sustainable Development
focusing on urban slums
By Børge Brende
| |
| Photo © The Norwegian
government |
An important task for me as Chairman of
the Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD) is to increase the global focus
on problems facing urban slums world-wide,
and to contribute to improving the conditions
faced by slum dwellers on a daily basis.
Today, half the world's
population lives in towns and cities.
Of these, more than 1 billion people
live in urban slums. During the next
decade, we may be forced to add another
500 million to this figure. In the Urban
Millennium, an incredibly large number
of people - children, women and men
- will live under extremely harsh conditions.
The global goal of
substantially improving the lives of
at least 100 million slum dwellers by
2020 may look far-fetched. However,
this goal represents a strong signal
that we should work together to translate
our words into action. In order to achieve
this goal, we need to address the urban
water and sanitation crisis.
In many slums in developing country
cities, 150 or more inhabitants daily
queue up for one public toilet. The
health and economic impacts of these
service deficiencies can be very costly
to a country in the long run - not to
mention the personal detriment these
deficiencies represent. Improving water
supply and sanitation services is of
crucial importance.
The Commission on
Sustainable Development has, in my opinion,
a special responsibility to address
the water and sanitation problems of
urban slums. As Chairman of the CSD,
I intend to put water, sanitation and
human settlement issues high on the
global agenda. I am pleased to note
the leadership of UN-HABITAT in this
respect.
Other prerequisites
for improving urban slums are secure
tenure and good urban governance, in
particular as regards to the situation
of women. These items are also high
on the UN-HABITAT agenda.
It is my hope that
the CSD will contribute to releasing
the vigorous potential for growth and
development inherent in many slums.
We must join forces in order to deliver
on our promises.
Børge Brende
is the Norwegian Minister for Environment
and Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD)
A
message from the ADB
Two thirds of the world's poor are found
in Asia and the Pacific, and one in
three Asians lives on less than one
dollar a day. Of the world's population
without access to clean water, almost
two-thirds live in Asia and an even
greater number lack adequate sanitation.
If we are to meet
the millennium development goals to
reduce by half the proportion of people
without access to safe drinking water
by 2015, and to achieve a significant
improvement in the lives of at least
one hundred million slum dwellers by
2020, Asia will need to be the focus
of action.
To achieve these formidable
targets, new partnerships need to be
established. ADB is therefore very pleased
to join forces with UN-HABITAT to initiate
the Water for Asian Cities programme.
This collaboration
will initially provide about 10 million
dollars in grants to raise political
awareness, build capacity, implement
pilot demonstration projects, create
an enabling environment
for investment, and
prepare investment proposals for selected
Asian cities. Based on these efforts,
ADB expects to provide about 500 million
dollars in loans for water supply and
sanitation projects over the next five
years.
ADB has been engaged
in this sector through finance and policy
dialogue for several decades, and we
have gained substantial operational
experience. We have learned that investments
need to be accompanied by sound regulatory
arrangements, conducive policy environments,
and strengthened institutional capacity.
A major issue continues to be the need
for tariff reforms that will allow financial
sustainability and promote new investments,
taking into account the willingness
and ability of poor people to pay for
the services.
UN-HABITAT has considerable
experience in addressing urban challenges,
and in building awareness, providing
technical assistance and strengthening
institutional capacity. UN-HABITAT's
global know-how in these areas will
complement ADB's role as the main regional
financial institution. I am therefore
very excited about this partnership
because the combined efforts of our
institutions will be more effective
than if we acted alone.
This is an excerpt
from a speech by Tadao Chino, President
of the Asian Development Bank
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