Background information on AWGESC

Cities in ASEAN countries are in varying stages of development but they face somewhat similar environmental problems, viz. air pollution from industries and vehicles, absence or shortage of sewerage and drainage infrastructure and inadequate solid waste management facilities. These problems often are aggravated by rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, resulting in ever-increasing demand for water and energy as well as solid waste management infrastructure.

Although ASEAN cities have put in place programmes to tackle these problems and improve their environmental performance, simply ensuring and maintaining good environmental performance is still inadequate. There therefore exist opportunities for the ASEAN member countries to work together to tackle these challenges.

Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in September 2002, ASEAN countries endeavoured to implement the goals and targets outlined in the Plan of Implementation of the WSSD.

At the 10^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Haze held on 4 March 2003 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Singapore was asked by the ASEAN Environment Ministers to spearhead the Regional Environmentally Sustainable Cities Programme (RESCP), which focuses on urban environmental management and governance in ASEAN cities.

Relationship with Existing Programmes

The concept of RESCP will be built upon existing programmes on sustainable cities or equivalent such as the joint programme between the UN-HABITAT and UNEP on Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) and the UN-ESCAP’s Kitakyushu Initiative for a Clean Environment.

The RESCP will be a customized programme, drawing upon the framework and network established by the SCP and Kitakyushu Initiative, to cater for regional needs and to focus more on environmental issues in the urban setting. This proposed approach would create synergy and maximize the use of available resources.

Scope and Mechanism of RESCP

The RESCP recognises that municipal authorities/local governments play a vital role in mitigating pollution and taking remedial measures to improve the environment of cities. The RESCP therefore needs the local authorities as its base-support for it to establish itself as a mechanism to build the capacities of municipal authorities/local governments to meet urban environmental challenges, with the following characteristics:

• Information sharing – the RESCP provides a framework in which lessons learned in individual cities can help shape activities at the national, regional and global levels;
   

• Inter-city cooperation – transfer of know-how and technology among participating cities of ASEAN+3 countries; and
   

• Support from international and regional organisations, regional organisations, national governments and donor community – support to local governments in improvement of the urban environment through institutional, technological and financial means.

The activities under the RESCP will be conducted by municipal governments and their partners in public, private and community sectors. The range of activities to facilitate implementation include:

1. Use of (quantitative) indicators for urban environmental management
    

2. Pilot projects for inter-city environmental cooperation
    

3. National-level awareness-raising events
    

4. Use of networking and information tools

At the country level, activities under the RESCP will be conducted by national governments and their public and private partners, supported by local and international consultants. These activities are an essential complement to city-level demonstrations. The aim is to address national issues arising from city-level experience and to promote replication strategies for cities throughout the country.

At the regional level, RESCP activities are based on city- and country-level experiences and aim to:

1. facilitate the systematic collection, assessment, sharing and dissemination of information

2. share operational lessons of experience in urban environmental management

3. promote the pooling of scientific and technical resources

4. support the creation of joint agendas and coordinate programmes of action.

Desired Outcomes

Desired outcomes of the RESCP would include:

1. Improved urban environmental management towards realizing the Vientiane Plan of Action and ASEAN Vision 2020

2. Establishment of network and contacts

3. Creation of quantitative indicators for urban environmental monitoring and sharing of environmental best practices

4. Organisation of a series of workshops and seminars to promote inter-city environmental cooperation, facilitating transfer of know-how and expertise, and promoting capacity building.

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