SECOND COMMITTEE PANEL DISCUSSION ON HABITAT

 

Editor's Note: The following informal briefing note was written by Laura

Ivers laurai@iisd.org of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), a

publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The

ENB has covered the entire Habitat II process and is currently seeking

funding for continued coverage of the five-year review of Habitat II. For

further information on subscribing to the ENB contact enbinfo@iisd.org

 

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On Thursday 29 October 1998, the Second Committee of the United Nations

General Assembly hosted a panel discussion on the Status of the

Implementation of the Habitat Agenda. Second Committee Vice-Chair Burak

Özügergin (Turkey) moderated the panel comprised of: Dr. Klaus Töpfer,

Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Acting

Executive Director of the United Nations Center for Human Settlement

(Habitat); Millard Fuller, President, Habitat for Humanity International,

Professor Robert Geddes, Former President, American Institute for Architects

and Dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton University, Giovanni

Vernetti, Deputy-Mayor and Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable

Development in Turin, Italy; and Dr. Irene Weise van Ofen, International

Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP). In opening the panel, Özügergin

recalled that Habitat II, held in Istanbul in June 1996, elaborated the

Habitat Agenda, the international community's view of urban environments.

The panel aimed to provide the committee, media and habitat partners with a

deeper understanding of the commitments made at Habitat II and progress

toward this objective.

 

Dr. Töpfer emphasized the importance of the Habitat Center and hoped that it

will become the global center for addressing urban problems in an integrated

manner. He noted that the world's urban population is expected to double

over the next 30 years, and identified unprepared and under-resourced

governments as two major obstacles to accommodating this demographic shift.

He said urban violence, caused by segmentation of populations, poverty and

underemployment, will be a focus of peace policy in the future. He also

noted that trends of population segmentation in urban environments are

resulting in safety becoming a private good, and emphasized that urban

safety must be provided as a public good to avoid exacerbating this problem.

Töpfer identified contact between local authorities and the Habitat Center

and cooperation with woman's groups as key aspects for success in

implementing the Habitat Agenda.

 

Dr. van Ofen, highlighted IFHP activities and emphasized the importance of

integrated and grassroots approaches to addressing habitat issues. She noted

local Agenda 21 efforts and called upon NGOs to act as intermediaries

between governments and local populations. She said identifying the

importance of wide participation was one of the most significant outcomes of

Habitat II. Professor Geddes detailed his experience in conducting an

inter-university (including Princeton, Harvard, New York University and

Columbia University) comparative analysis of environmental well being and

social justice in various cities in North America, including Seattle,

Toronto and Mexico City, in preparation for Habitat II. He underscored the

importance of commitment to adequate shelter, sustainable human settlements,

and enabling and participation of local communities.

 

Millard Fuller, Director of Habitat for Humanity International (HHI), said

the crisis of shelter needs is being met by a social and religious movement

compelled to solve a solvable problem, and described his organization

development from building one house in Georgia and to building over 70,000

homes in 61 nations. He noted various HHI initiatives, including Houses that

Congress built, Women Build Houses and First Ladies Build. Giovanni

Vernetti, shared experiences from an urban revitalization initiative in

Turin, Italy. The initiative aimed to: stop urban expansion; renovate the

existing town; regenerate industrial areas; develop housing for the poor;

decrease air pollution through promotion of ecologically sound public

transportation; and promote partnerships between the various sectors. Based

upon the experience in Turin, he stressed that habitat and local agenda 21

initiatives must be integrated.

 

In the question and answer period, a delegate from UGANDA asked to what

extent urban planners use "rural urban planning" - planning to create jobs

away from the urban center. A delegate from AUSTRIA asked if cooperation

between local communities and the UN through Habitat has been successful.

Participant also inquired about: clean water supply for urban area; self

help programs for local communities; how to surmount obstacles of funding or

entrenched interests; and how to combat anti-urban stereotypes.

In response, Töpfer said he is currently working to stabilize the Habitat

Center in order to regain donor confidence. Regarding "rural urban

planning," he said stabilizing urban areas through rural area stabilization

is no longer a viable solution, and said problems must be solved within the

city. He highlighted the economic, social and environmental advantages

cities provide. On the topic of water supply, he detailed a program on water

for cities in Africa funded by the Turner Foundation. On local community

participation, Töpfer said that local community participation at Habitat II

was exhilarating and that he is looking at models for local-international

cooperation, like that of the ILO, where local groups participate actively

in the overarching program. Geddes noted local and state level movements in

the United States that bring together Habitat and Environment and said he

did not see likelihood of such movements developing at the national level.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Töpfer underscored the importance of cooperating

with all organizations linked to Habitat, and noted the Habitat Center's

catalytic role to play in addressing all types of urban issues.

 

This informal issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (c) (enb@iisd.org) is

written and edited by Laura Ivers (laurai@iisd.org). The Editor is Pamela

Chasek, Ph.D. (pam@iisd.org) and the Managing Editor is Langston James

"Kimo" Goree VI (kimo@iisd.org). The Sustaining Donors of the Bulletin are

the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation, the Government of

Canada (through CIDA) and the United States (through USAID). General Support

for the Bulletin during 1998 is provided by the United Kingdom Department

for International Development (DFID), the German Federal Ministry of

Environment (BMU) and German Development Cooperation (BMZ), the Danish

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swiss Office for Environment, Forests and

Landscape, the European Community (DG-XI), the Ministries of Environment and

Foreign Affairs of Austria, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and

Environment of Finland, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment of

Norway, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global

Environment Facility (GEF) and the Ministry for the Environment in Iceland.

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