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Introduction
One of the key outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development held in Johannesburg in August 2002 was the
recognition of the importance of environmental sustainability.
Cities in ASEAN countries are in varying stages of
development but face similar environmental problems, viz: air
pollution from industries and vehicles, lack of sewerage and
drainage infrastructure and inadequate solid waste management
facilities. Although ASEAN cities have put in place programmes
to tackle these problems and improve their environmental
performance, with increasing population, urbanization,
industrialization and economic growth, simply ensuring and
maintaining good environmental performance is not good enough.
Many cities have limited natural resources, yet they have
to deal with the rising consumerism and rising expectations of
their populace as they become more affluent. It is imperative,
therefore, that ASEAN cities make judicious use of their
limited resources and harness the opportunities offered by
technology and innovation to ensure that their future citizens
can enjoy a good and enduring living environment. It is
critical for the long-term survival of cities to go beyond
environmental performance and move towards achieving
environmental sustainability.
As a demonstration of their commitment to achieving
environmental sustainability for ASEAN, ASEAN Environment
Ministers endorsed the "Regional Environmentally
Sustainable Cities Programme" initiative on 4 March 2003
in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and set up an ASEAN Working Group to
develop strategies and action plans to drive this initiative.
ASEAN Environment Ministers also decided that Singapore would
lead the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable
Cities (AWGESC) to drive and develop the Regional
Environmentally Sustainable Cities Programme (RESCP).
The AWGESC held a Workshop on Environmentally Sustainable
Cities in ASEAN in Singapore on 2 - 4 December 2003 for ASEAN
city managers and officials to develop a "Framework on
Environmentally Sustainable Cities for ASEAN". A total of
35 participants from all ASEAN member countries, ASEAN
Secretariat, as well as the sponsors for the Workshop, Hanns-Seidel
Foundation and UNEP, participated in the Workshop.
Representatives from international organizations such as
Bavarian Institute for Applied Environmental Research &
Technology, Clean Air Initiative - Asia, United Nations
University, GTZ and the National Institute of Environment
Research of ROK also attended the Workshop to share with ASEAN
participants their experience in programmes undertaken by
their organizations on environment sustainability.
Vision
The vision of the Framework is "Towards
environmentally sustainable cities in ASEAN".
Principles
ASEAN is committed to pursuing sustainable
development in the region and has demonstrated this commitment
through ASEAN’s Vision 2020 as “a concert of Southeast
Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and
prosperity, bonded in partnership in dynamic development and
in a community of caring societies”.
ASEAN endeavours to implement the goals and
targets as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals and
the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development.
The Framework shall be applicable and accommodate
diverse circumstances of the cities in ASEAN, which include
the following:
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Economic development
-
Social progress
-
Environmental sustainability
Concept
The concept of “Environmentally Sustainable Cities in ASEAN”
builds on the ASEAN Vision 2020, which calls for -
"A clean and green ASEAN with fully established mechanisms for
sustainable development to ensure the protection of the
region’s environment, the sustainability of its natural
resources, and the high quality of life of its peoples."
The framework also integrates the ASEAN Hanoi Plan of Action, which calls for –
"The protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development."
Scope
The primary concern is urban environmental management. The focus is, therefore, on
improving the quality of the living environment in the cities
that is sustainable. The Framework presents a regional
perspective in addressing environmental sustainability
challenges in the areas of Clean Air, Clean
Water and Clean Land. These are the
basic building blocks to achieving a quality living
environment in any city. The green and blue issues will be included into the
Framework at a later stage.
Clean Air
This area shall address emissions from both stationary sources such as
industries and power plants as well as mobile sources. It
shall also cover land-clearing activities.
The goal is to achieve ASEAN long-term goal of maintaining good ambient
air quality of PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) < 100 to
safeguard public health.
Clean Water
This area shall address pollution of watercourses to ensure water –
in water catchments and underground sources is treatable for potable use; and
in areas outside water catchments meets the requirements for
its intended usage, taking into consideration estuarine and
coastal ecosystems.
The goal is to achieve ASEAN Long-Term Goals for
water quality intended for various uses by 2010, and move
towards sustainable supply and use of water.
Clean Land
This area shall address –
waste management, including
collection and disposal of municipal waste and hazardous
waste; waste
minimization and recycling; and
development and safeguarding of
green areas in cities.
The goal is to achieve minimal land disposal of waste and move towards
sustainable production and consumption patterns.
The Framework also offers implementation approaches
through a set of best practices based on the lessons and
experiences of ASEAN member countries. It comprises a set of objectives and comprehensive policies, strategies
and programmes/activities that would facilitate the attainment
of environmental sustainability by ASEAN cities, notwithstanding their diverse circumstances.
The Framework also serves as a basis to promote more functional
partnerships amongst governments, private and people sector as
well as international agencies.
The objectives, strategies/policies and
programmes/activities of each thematic area are as below:
Best Practices
The AWGESC will work with ASEAN member
countries, partner countries (China, Japan and ROK) and
international organizations to develop a list of best
practices for each of the thematic areas. The list of best
practices will:
-
serve as a reference / resource on good
practices within and beyond the region; and
-
help city managers to develop and
fine-tune their action programmes to implement the
Framework.
The Framework for Environmentally
Sustainable Cities in ASEAN shares similar goals, objectives
and strategies with other regional and international
initiatives such as the UN-HABITAT/UNEP's Sustainable Cities
Programme, UN-ESCAP's Kitakyushu Initiative for a Clean
Environment, Clean Air Initiative (CAI)-Asia, ASEAN Integrated
Waste Management Programme under UNEP-IETC, etc. ASEAN cities,
when implementing the Framework, can draw upon the network and
resources established by these programmes. This approach would
create synergy and maximise the use of available resources.
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