Bangkok--13 Oct--UNISBKK
UN observes World Habitat Day with 1,000 community representatives
With nations, cities and towns across the globe increasingly feeling the effects of climate change,
resource depletion, food insecurity, population growth and economic instability, the United Nations yesterday commemorated World Habitat Day with the theme Planning our Urban Future, to raise awareness of the need to deal with these new challenges of the 21st century.
The day was observed with a ceremony at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), attended by some 1,000 community representatives and other urban and rural poor.
In his keynote address, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand announced that the Government would allocate an additional 1 billion Baht to the budget of its Baan Mankong (“Secure Housing”) upgrading/resettlement programme.
The Prime Minister praised the achievements that poor communities had made and emphasized the importance of organized urban and rural poor working together with local and national governments and the civil society. He also emphasized the importance of looking at rural and urban issues together in an integrated and holistic manner and urged the slum dwellers and other urban poor to look at the whole development picture as well as their own settlements.
Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, said there was no doubt that the future of Asia and the Pacific would be urban. She pointed out that cities in the region currently were home to 1.6 billion people — nearly half of the world’s urban population — and that number was steadily growing.
Dr. Heyzer went on to say, however, that the current ecological footprints of some cities in the region were already 3 to 5 times higher than the global per capita average.
“Urbanization and climate change also provide us with a unique opportunity to get our development back on the right track,” she said. “We need to plan for twenty-first century cities that promote ‘smart’ cities, which maximize the benefits of mass transit and public transport systems and reduce the need for motorized transport. We would need to invest in eco-efficient buildings and infrastructure, better waste management and smart energy grids.”
The observance featured five awards given to recognize innovative and good practices in local government and community partnerships in addressing housing and poverty issues in Thailand which were also exhibited in a display opened prior to the ceremony by the Prime Minister and the Executive Secretary.
The UN designated the first Monday of October each year as World Habitat Day. This year’s global observance of World Habitat Day was hosted by the Obama Administration in Washington, D.C. Thailand is one of the most active countries to commemorate the Day, with a series of events that began on 1 October.