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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Tinubu seeks more govt's resources for cities
LAGOS State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on national governments to commit more resources to cities so that they can cope with the challenges of globalisation. He opened the Wednesday's dialogue on sustainable urbanisation at the World Urban Forum holding in Barcelona, Spain.
The dialogue examined the challenges confronting local authorities and other partners in achieving social and environmental sustainability. Sustainable urbanisation is a dynamic process that includes environmental, socio-economic and political-institutional dimensions.
The UN-HABITAT's Executive Director, Anna Tibaijuka, also launched a new Global Partnership Initiative for Urban Youth in Africa on Wednesday. Youths from Africa, mayors from many cities around the world and representatives of civil society organisations gathered at the launch to highlight the various initiatives that young adults in Africa are involved in, and which require support.
The organisers of the forum have given youths various platforms to articulate some of the issues affecting them. From music concerts to a partnership specifically targeted at African youths, the forum has afforded the young an opportunity to share experiences, as well as discuss how they can improve lives in their respective cities.
On the issue of sustainable urbanisation, Mr. Tariq Kabbage, Mayor of Agadir, Morocco, cited a direct link between the cities and their respective rural areas that must be addressed in any sustainability plan.
On making urban governance more participatory, Mr. Kees van der Ree, Acting Director of Small Enterprise Programme (SEED), said it was disappointing that local citizens were often absent from the decision and planning process. The Peruvian architect, Liliana Miranda Sara, suggested that sustainable urban development be environmentally based because planning requires the integration of environmental issues.
Mr. Rolf Lindel, director at the Swedish Ministry of Environment referred to a report published by the ministry entitled: ''From Vision to Action'' in which he promoted a 'bottom-up' approach to urban sustainability, which includes all stakeholders. Within this approach is a dependence on the cooperation of multi-sector and cross-sector partnerships. The goals of these partnerships include good and affordable housing, safe and clean surroundings, and access to jobs, education and public services.
Inthan Azoor, the national training co-ordinator in Sri Lanka for the Sustainable Cities Programme agreed that such partnerships are very important, but difficult to maintain, and therefore should be the focus of urban governments.
Mr. Bakary Kante, director of the United Nations Environment Programme Division of Policy Development and Law said environmental issues could not be overlooked in any urban sustainability plan.
''More than 1.2 billion people die each year from unsafe drinking water, 2.4 million of whom are children,'' Kante said. He added that cities need to become more aware of the consequences of their impact on their surrounding areas, emphasising the direct link between rural and urban areas.
Mr. Luc-Marie Constant Gnacadja, Minister of Environment, Housing and Urbanism of Benin, closed the session by underscoring the importance of ensuring security before talking about sustainability. He stressed that this week's forum help to open an ''area where we can bring together social, economic and environmental concerns. This is the forum by which we can effectively plan and develop ideas for urban sustainability..`
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