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GWP the Netherlands and APWF Japan was presented inthe third Working Group Ses-sion and based on the consen-sus the Enhanced Framework ofImplementation on the deliveryof the MDGs for Water andSanitation in the region was

prepared, which was adoptedby the 12 Governments partici-pated in the Working Groupand witnessed by Civil Societyand multi-lateral agencies. ThisFramework of Action was en-dorsed by the Asia-Pacific Minis-terial delegation at its conclud-ing session.

The enhanced framework ofimplementation recommended

in her keynote addressappreciated this regionMeet in quest of a newvision for sustainable citiesand expressed concern forinnovative and radical pro-poor solutions for urban

management and servicedelivery aimed at creatingsocially inclusive cities.

During the conference,UN-HABITAT also pre-pared a Framework of Action in the delivery ofthe MDGs for Water and Sani-tation in Asia Pacific Region.The Ministerial Conference con-cluded with a consultativemechanism for promotion ofsustainable urbanization in the

region and adopted the DelhiDeclaration on the establish-ment of the Asia-Pacific Minis-

UN-HABITAT in partnership withthe Government of India organ-ized the first Asia-Pacific Minis-ters Conference on Housing andHuman Settlements from 13-16December, 2006 in New Delhi,in which Ministers, High offi-cials, Professionals and the Civilsocieties from 38 countries par-ticipated. The high-level Ministe-rial Meeting was inaugurated byDr. APJ Abdul Kalam, His Excel-lency, the President of India.While addressing the problem ofurbanization, he emphasizeddevelopment of rural centerscapable of generating employ-ment with urban amenities andpromotion of basic services tothe urban poor and the slum

dwellers with appropriate con-nectivity. Dr. Anna Tibaijuka,Executive Director, UN-HABITAT,

Volume III - Issue 2

Asia-Pacific Ministers Conference in New Delhi

December 2006

Delhi Declaration recom-mends Measures to meet

MDG for WATSAN

2

State Level Steering

Committee for JNNURM

2

Regional Media Work-

shop on Urban WATSAN

3

UN-HABITAT Supports

Urban WATSAN Services

in Nepal

3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Some major chal-lenges of urbanizationand economic growthin this region are grow-

ing urban-urban divide,deteriorating innercities, unplanned andhaphazard settlements,insufficient urban infra-structure and basicservices, land and hous-ing shortage, environ-mental degradation,mounting poverty, un-employment and socialexclusion. These haveto be met through effec-tive planning, appropri-

ate strategies, actionplans and a paradigmof good governance.during her address atthe Asia-Pacific Ministe-rial Conference in NewDelhi.

- Kumari SeljaMinister for Housing

& UPA, Govt. of India

ters Conference on Housing andUrban Development and theEnhanced Framework of Imple-mentation for Sustainable Urbani-zation in the Asia-Pacific Region,which provides a new political

blueprint for better managed,more inclusive and sustainabletowns and cities across the region.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, H.E. the President ofIndia, Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, ED, UN-HABITAT andKumari Selja, Minister of State lighting the lamp

at the inauguration of the Conference

The Asia-Pacific Ministers Con-ference deliberated the issues ofhousing and urban developmentin the region by developing anEnhanced Framework of Imple-mentation on the themes of Pro-poor Urban Governance andPlanning, Delivery of the MDGs

for Water and Sanitation, SlumUpgrading and Financing Sus-tainable Urbanization by consti-tuting four Working Groups.

The Vision 2020 Paper onDelivery of the MDGs for Waterand Sanitation in Asia-PacificRegion prepared by WSIB incollaboration with ADB, WSP ofWorld Bank, WaterAid London,

Delivery of MDG in WATSAN in Asia-Pacific Regionmeasures to achieve the MDGson water and sanitation in re-gion by primarily adopting theuse of appropriate and afford-able technologies and systemmodels for sustainable manage-ment; partnerships with civilsociety organizations, private

sector and the regional knowl-edge centers; awareness, ca-pacity building and communityempowerment; principled gov-ernance and policies and pro-grammes that pursue an inte-grated approach taking cogni-zance of the links among water,sanitation & health betweeneconomy and the environment,and urban and rural areas.

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PAGE - 2 December 2006

The Asia-Pacific Ministers Conference con-cluded with the Delhi Declaration on theestablishment of Asia-Pacific MinistersConference on Housing and Urban Devel-opment (APMCHUD) which will be guidedby the adopted Enhanced Framework ofImplementation for Sustainable Urbaniza-tion in the Region. The Declaration pro-vided due emphasis on the delivery ofMDG in Water and Sanitation Sector inthe Asia-Pacific Region, which is of greatdiversity in several aspects including sys-tems of administration, culture and avail-ability of water and sanitation facilitiesand therefore no one blueprint approachcan be possible for the full provision ofsafe water and sanitation services to thepeople of each country. Multiple routes to

match each different set of circumstancesparticularly at the micro level need to beaddressed, which inter alia, include:

Determined leadership and political will;

Positive policy initiatives for water andsanitation service delivery;

Delhi Declaration recommends Measures to meet MDG for WATSAN

Enhancement of investments on waterand sanitation services through innova-tive financial mechanisms including peo-ples own resources;

Sharing of resources amongst variousstakeholders with cost recovery for sus-tainability;

Provision of sufficient resources andincentives for operation and mainte-nance;

Capacity building and training at alllevels of local service;

Involvement of Civil Society organiza-tions, a big step forward in outreach topoor communities, generating accurateinformation including mapping;

Public disclosure of water and sanitationbudgets by creating fiscal and legalmeasures (such as right to information);

Due importance to secondary towns andperi-urban areas and allocation of ade-quate resources;

Integrated approach in planning andimplementation of water and sanitationfrom big metropolitan centres to secon-dary towns and peri-urban areas.

Suitable measures for policies relating toland tenure and occupancy rights inunrecognized slums in urban conglom-erations;

Use of appropriate and affordable tech-nologies for sustainable environmentmanagement, system models and infor-mation sharing;

Partnerships with civil society organiza-tions, private sector and regional knowl-edge centers for increased coverage;

Concerted campaign to raise awarenessconcerning water, sanitation, hygieneand the environment and communityempowerment;

Multi stakeholder approach in eachcountry to achieve synergies and aunited effort;

In Madhya Pradesh four cities viz. Bhopal, In-

dore, Jabalpur and Ujjain have been identifiedfor funding under JNNURM. A State Level Steer-ing Committee (SLSC) for deciding and prioritiz-ing the projects under the mission has beenconstituted by the Government of MadhyaPradesh under the Chairmanship of Minister,Urban Administration and Development, GoMP.Recognizing the relevance of the Water for

Asian Cities Programme to JNNURM, the StateGovernment has invited Chief Technical Advi-sor, UN-HABITAT as a Special Invitee to thiscommittee.

The State Government has started implementa-tion of the Madhya Pradesh Urban Services for

the Poor (MPUSP) programme with support fromDFID. In this connection, the Government hasconstituted a State Level Coordination Commit-tee (SLCC) under the Chairmanship of the Secre-tary, UADD, GoMP for coordination of interdepartmental and intra departmental issuesrelating to the implementation of the pro-gramme. To bring in the synergy between WACand MPUSP being implemented in the projectcities, the Government has also nominated theChief Technical Advisor, UN-HABITAT as amember to this committee.

UN-HABITAT Representativeon the State Level Steering

Committee for JNNURMUN-HABITAT in partnership with ADB hadsetup an Exhibition during the Asia-Pacific

Ministers Conference focusing the activitiesof Water for Asian Cities (WAC) and theMEK-WATSAN Programmes. Under theWAC Programme in India, the focus wason the themes of:

Pro-poor Urban Water and SanitationGovernance & Gender Mainstream-ing Strategy;

Slum Environment Sanitation Initiatives(SESI) in Madhya Pradesh;

Community Managed Water SupplySchemes; and

Capacity Building.

WAC activities in Nepal presented theUrban and Environmental ImprovementProjects and the Small Town Water andSanitation Sector Projects.

The Exhibition had wider viewer-ship andwas well appreciated. Various Ministers,High officials, Professionals and the Civilsociety from 38 countries of the Asia-Pacific Region visited the Exhibition.

Exhibition on WAC Programme during Asia-Pacific Ministers Conference

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ity, reliability and sustainability of waterand sanitation service delivery in projecttowns by undertaking community and pov-erty mapping for assessing

the water and sanitation service re-quirements;

improving urban water resource man-agement through capacity building;

improving urban water pollution con-trol and living environment throughpromoting pro-poor governance andimproved management practices

introducing and promoting Human Values-based Water, Sanitation andHygiene Education.

Under the MoU, UN-HABITAT shall allo-cate US $ 500,000 per year for the imple-mentation of the project till the end of2010. UN-HABITAT, as an implementingagency will be responsible for overall su-pervision and backstopping of the projectexecution, while MPPW, as an executiveagency, shall contribute its expertise andnecessary resources for the implementationin selected towns/cities in Nepal andeventual replication of the project in othertowns/cities in Nepal.

VOLUME III - ISSUE 2 PAGE - 3

A Regional Media Workshop on Urban Water and Sanitation Issues in Asia andthe Pacific was organised by UN-HABITATin cooperation with IRC, the Netherlandsunder the Water for Asian Cities Pro-gramme in New Delhi from 10 12 De-cember 2006. This was a precursor to thefirst Asia-Pacific Ministers Conference onHousing and Human Settlements.

The main objectives of the workshop were:

Create awareness among the MediaProfessionals regarding the current situa-tion of water and sanitation in variouscountries of Asia particularly those par-ticipating in the Water for Asian Citiesand MEK-WATSAN Programmes;

Seek the indulgence and involvement of

the media for creating public awarenessand advocacy to promote sector reformsfor the urban poor;

Encourage pro-poor investments in waterand sanitation to support MillenniumDevelopment Goals;

Regional Media Workshop on Urban Water and Sanitation Issues

The Workshop brought together devel-opment Journalists from leading printand electronic media from various coun-tries participating under WAC pro-gramme, viz, India, Nepal, Lao PDR,

Vietnam, PR China, Singapore andThailand.

The Workshop was conducted in aninteractive and discussion mode cover-ing the themes mainly on:

Water & Sanitation Governance inAsia

Human Valuesbased Water, Sanita-tion and Hygiene Education

Water, sanitation and gender reflectingwomens involvement

Institutional and policy framework forintegrated water resource managementand enhancing water use efficiency

Water demand management for improv-ing access to safe and sustainable drink-ing water in urban areas

Promoting pro-poor investments in waterand sanitation.

National priorities, policies and institu-tions responding to sanitation needs inurban areas

The Workshop made a positive impact onthe participating journalists, who havecommitted to develop and intensify appro-priate media coverage on water and sani-tation in their respective countries.

Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director,UN-HABITAT and Mr. Kishore Thapa, Di-rector General of the Department of UrbanDevelopment and Building Construction,Government of Nepal on behalf of Mr.Narayan Prasad Silwal, Secretary of theMinistry of Physical Planning and Works(MPPW), signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) on Urban EnvironmentalSanitation and Water Supply on 15thDecember 2006 during Asia-Pacific Minis-ters Conference held in New Delhi. Minis-ter for Physical Planning and Works Mr.

UN-HABITAT Supports Urban WATSAN Services in NepalGopal Man Shrestha with a team of Jour-nalist from Nepal were present on thesigning ceremony.

The MoU provides a framework for coop-eration between UN-HABITAT and Govern-ment of Nepal under the Water for AsianCities (WAC) Programme. The WAC Pro-gramme in Nepal will be implementedwith a focus on capacity building, environ-mental sanitation and water supply relatedactivities in support of ADB assisted Pro-jects including Kathmandu Valley WaterServices Sector Development Programme,

Melamchi WaterSupply Project,Urban and Envi-ronment Improve-

ment Project,Small Towns Wa-ter Supply andSanitation andIntegrated UrbanD e v e l o p m e n tProgramme.

The overall aim ofthe Project is toimprove the ac-cessibility, qual-

Nepalese Delegation with Dr. Anna Tibaijuka at the signing the MoU in New Delhi

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Editorial BoardHazari Lal, Director, Government of IndiaMalay Shrivastava, Commissioner, UADD, State Govt. of M.P

Krishna Prasad Acharya, Jt. Secretary, MPPW, Govt. of Nepal

Debashish Bhattacharjee, ADB, India Resident Mission

Aniruddhe Mukerjee, CTA, UN-HABITAT, Bhopal

Roshan Raj Shrestha, CTA, UN-HABITAT, Nepal

EditorKulwant Singh, CTA, UN-HABITAT, New Delhi

Tigni, a small settlement of 146 house-holds, an ultra poor community in theNorth of Madhyapur Thimi Municipality,has been facing serious problems of water

and sanitation, wherein the toilet coverageis less than half.

The Water for Asian Cities (WAC) Pro-gramme of UN-HABITAT in partnershipwith the Centre for Integrated Urban Devel-opment (CIUD) and Water Aid, Nepal andin association with Madhyapur Thimi Mu-nicipality is implementing Water and Envi-ronmental Sanitation Improvement Plan forTigni with local people participation. WAC developed this comprehensive planbased on a pre-testing exercise of PovertyMapping. Improved access to Water Ser-vices, Total Sanitation, NeighbourhoodEnvironment Improvement and Empoweringthe Community are the main components ofthis Project. The Community has been in-volved in the project right from the designphase, planning and decision making. TheProject is nearing completion and the bene-fits derived are as under:

Improved Water Services

Well rehabilitation, spring conservation,and public tap renovation.

Community awareness towards quality ofwater and disinfection techniques.

Total Sanitation

Collaborative approach with communityorganisation to convince people for totalsanitation and better hygiene practices.

Every house to have ECOSAN/Double-pit toilet.

Recycling of human waste to agriculturefields.

Neighbourhood EnvironmentImprovement

Construction of new main drains, reha-bilitation of old ones, construction ofmanholes, collection chambers andinlets to the drain

Participatory approach by contributinglabour and sand for installing stormwater drainage systems

Brick paving & construction of sidedrains for clean & health environment

Participation of every household topave their front yard for children toplay, people to socialize, etc.

Use of cooking stove for healthy envi-

ronment and reduction of burden onwomen to carry firewood

Empowering Community

Participation of community in design,planning and decision making

Training community in water and sani-tation related activities

Awareness building on water quality,sanitation, health and hygiene

Micro-credit saving groups tostrengthen women.

TIGNI Improving WATSAN Services through Community Participation

PAGE - 4

UN-HABITAT

Water for Asian Cities ProgrammeRegional Office

EP-16/17, Chandragupta Marg, Chanakyapuri

New Delhi - 110021 (India), Tel: +91-11-42225019 / 22

Fax: +91-11-24104961, Web: www.unhabitat.org/water

WAC Project Office in India

E-1/191, Arera Colony, Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh, India

Tel: +91-755-2460835/36Fax: +91-11-2460837

Email: Wac.India@unhabitat.org

WAC Project Office in Nepal

UN House, Pulchowk, GPO Box 107,Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel: +977-1-5536699Fax: +977-1-5548597

Email: Wac.Nepal@unhabitat.org

UN-HABITAT sponsors Director, UEIP, Nepal for TrainingUN-HABITAT sponsored Mr. Girija P. Gorkhaly, Project Director, Urban EnvironmentImprovement Project (UEIP), Nepal for a specialized training programme onMunicipal Planning and Service Delivery held in Jerusalem, Israel from 31st Octoberto 24th November, 2006, as a part of collaboration with the Centre for InternationalCooperation MASHAV and through the facilitation of Israeli Embassy in Nairobioffering scholarship. WEITZ Centre for Development Studies conducted the trainingprogramme. The training emphasized on planning and development mechanisms forthe local governments in promoting affordable and accessible infrastructure services ina sustainable manner with appropriate service delivery systems.