Working on Vision of Inclusive & Climate Resilient Cities

The goal of the Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities (CRIC) project is to contribute to sustainable integrated urban development, good governance, and climate adaptation/mitigation through long lasting partnerships, and tools such as sustainable local action plans, early warning tools and experts’ panels

The partners of United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) for the CRIC project include, All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), Association Des Cites Et Des Regions Pour La Gestion Durable Des Ressources, European Network For Community-Led Initiatives On Climate Change And Sustainability (ECOLISE), PILOT4DEV and Universite Paris Est Marne La Valle. The target groups of the Project are local governments; cities; urban stakeholders working on climate resilience, climate mitigation and adaptation & good governance of inclusive cities.
The opening ceremony of the project was held in January 2020 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Dr Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, Secretary-General, UCLG ASPAC, said during the inauguration that the impacts of climate change are becoming more intense and frequent, and that we need to accelerate our work to help cities and local governments withstand the effects and protect citizens from future shocks and stresses. Adding to her speech she said that the local political leadership, networks and expertise that we pool together under this project will play a critical role in achieving the project’s aim to promote climate resilient and inclusive cities.”

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Urban areas host most of the vulnerable populations as well as vital and social infrastructure and local governments have increased pressure to develop services, infrastructure, and employment. The CRIC project aims to strengthen and support social policies and social inclusion of the poorer population. Engagement will be achieved through the involvement of civil society. Improvements in water and sanitation in particular, have a large social impact, especially on the marginalized and vulnerable groups such as rural migrants. The project will also highlight culture through exhibitions.
The project has been designed such that it will have a substantial impact on the achievement of SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities. It supports triangular cooperation through which exchange of knowledge and capacity building among countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Nepal and Bangladesh will take place with their European counterparts. The project will support job creation by the promotion of green jobs and a circular economy.
It is geared towards sustainable and climate resilience policies and action and is promoting a shift towards sustainable and green urban development. It also addresses the question of governance to reach sustainable urban development through capacity building and training materials on good governance.

PROJECT ACTIONS IN 2020

Over the first six months, various events were planned under the CRIC project and several events such as stakeholder meeting, seminars, and expert meetings have taken place. One of the foremost events that took place was the Global Launching of United Network of Circular Cities at the 10th World Urban Forum, Abu Dhabi on February 10, 2020. The event promoted the concept of resources management and circular economy through exchange of resources through a network of cities.
Besides the seminars, CRIC conducted a Focus Group Discussion with the stakeholders over a web-based platform. The discussion brought about valuable information in terms of the current situation and the readiness of each city, in particular, their commitment and agenda. The project works around three pillars including knowledge and exchange, local action plans for climate resilient and inclusive cities, and communication and capacity building.
Four thematic tools are being developed by Pilot4Dev, ACR+, UGE, ECOLISE on air pollution, waste management, early warning system, and water and sanitation. AIILSG would contribute in the consultation, input, and review of tasks, and may also assist UCLAG ASPAC in testing and validating the tools of air pollution. The project has so far received commitment from nine cities for implementation of tools. Creation of nodes for sustainable funding and working groups for the same have been established in five cities including Bandar Lampung, Cirebon, Ternate, Gorontalo, Pekenbaru, by UCLG-ASPAC as coordinator and lead of the project.
Development of platform for online training and course is currently in progress as a project based facility having UCLG-ASPAC as lead coordinator. Online training on Sustainable Urban Design and Development was completed through collaborative engagement of all partners with representations of more than ten delegations from India.