| HOME | ABOUT US | PROGRAMS | PUBLICATIONS | DATABASE | WHAT'S NEW | ACCESS | LINKS |
|
AUICK First 2009 Workshop AUICK held its First 2009 Workshop in Kobe, Japan, from 17 May to 23 May, with the support of Kobe City Government and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The title of the Workshop was “Population and Environmental Management in Urban Planning – Domestic Waste and Greening (Stage II)”. It provided follow-up training to the First 2006 and First 2008 Workshop Programs. Participants were ten city government officials and academic experts from AUICK Associate Cities (AACs).
‘As
of 2008, more people in the world live in urban areas than
rural…This is both a challenge and an opportunity, as urban
areas emit high levels of greenhouse gas, but provides opportunities
for a more climate friendly organization of waste
management…’ CONTENTS 1.
BACKGROUND
AUICK Workshop training aims to increase the capacities of city planners and administrators in Asian medium-sized cities to address population and development related issues. In the spring of 2009, the first ‘second-stage’ Workshop was conducted for senior officials of AUICK Associate Cities (AACs) who had attended previous AUICK workshops. The participants returned to Kobe with local academic experts, to receive on-site training from Kobe City Government and share information and practices related to their Action Plans, formulated at AUICK Workshops to improve the welfare of AAC citizens. The collaborative partnerships among the senior city official and academic expert participants of each city are developed to improve Action Plan formulation and implementation. At the First 2006 and 2008 Workshops, officials of AACs in charge of environmental and solid waste management each developed concrete Action Plans for improved waste management and urban greening programs, and incorporated the plans into the administration of their cities. AUICK has found the Action Plan strategy to be an effective outcome oriented method, since it puts emphasis on the application of Workshop lessons to the participants’ actual work environment. The First 2009 Workshop aimed to train government official and academic participants through South-South exchange of knowledge and experience on environmental waste management and urban greening, as well as lessons from Kobe City Government, to redevelop the Action Plans made at the First 2006 and First 2008 Workshops. The training introduced Kobe City programs facilitated through cooperation among private, public and academic sectors. After sharing information on strategies, practices and challenges of their Action Plan implementation, the participants reformulated their plans. By learning more practical knowledge and skills, they aimed to implement the plans more effectively upon returning to their cities. Ultimately, the Workshop was expected to foster lasting collaboration between the city administrations and their local academic communities, to solve population-related issues in the urban setting. AUICK invited senior officials of environment and waste management departments, accompanied by academic experts, from five AUICK Associate Cities (AACs): Chittagong (Bangladesh), Surabaya (Indonesia), Olongapo (Philippines), Khon Kaen (Thailand), and Danang (Vietnam). The participants included the following (in alphabetical order by country): AUICK Associate City (AAC) Government Participants Dr.
Salim Akhter Chowdhury City
University
Partnership (CUP)
Participants <Resource
Person>
On behalf of his AUICK colleagues, Dr. Hirofumi Ando, President, welcomed the participants returning to Kobe, and those attending an AUICK Workshop for the first time. He pointed out that the Workshop was designed to facilitate the exchange of information, not only on a North-South (Kobe City to AACs), but also a South-South, and a South-North basis. He reminded participants that through the concept of the City University Partnership (CUP), the Workshop aimed to promote closer working relationships between AAC administrations and their local academic institutions, to improve capacities to solve the issues faced by each AAC. Presentations on the challenges and solutions of each city would enable participants to learn new environmental practices to share with colleagues and other cities after the Workshop. Dr. Ando thanked Kobe City and UNFPA for their continued support, and introduced the Secretariat and staff members, and Dr. Gayl D. Ness, a technical advisor to the AUICK Program since its establishment in 1989. Dr. Ness reflected on the strengths of Kobe City Government; its staff’s knowledge of the city and their capacity for responsiveness and communication with citizens. This comes from their lifelong career in the administration, which often starts at the Ward offices, where they learn directly of the day-to-day problems faced by individual citizens. He also reminded participants of the long-term vision of the administration of Kobe, to support international activities such as those which led to the formation and ongoing support to AUICK. Through the Workshop program, it was hoped that the participants would get an insight into the organizational culture of the city, learning about its environmental management strategies. 4.2. Meeting with the Executive Director of Environment Bureau, Kobe City Government On 18 May, the participants of the First 2009 Workshop met with Mr. Tokihiro Taniguchi, Director General, and Mr. Ichiro Sato, Deputy Director General of the Environment Bureau of Kobe City Government (seated front, second and third from right).  4.3. Presentations 4.3.1. Population and Environmental Issues in Asia and the Role of the Academic Community 
Dr. Gayl D. Ness,
Member
of AUICK International Advisory Committee 4.3.2. Environmental Management in Kobe City
4.3.3. New Domestic Waste Program for Reduction and Recycling of Waste
4.3.4. Services and Challenges of Waste Reduction and Recycling Division
4.3.5.Waste and Human Resource Development for Environmental Protection
4.3.6. UNFPA Regional Programs: Activities Focusing on Population and Environmental Management
4.4. Site Visits 4.4.1. Visits to Environmental Education, Awareness Promotion and Waste Management Sites From 20 to 22 May, the First 2009 Workshop participants visited some of Kobe’s facilities focusing on the participation of citizens to improve their environment, and the management of the city’s domestic waste, Tamondai Community Welfare Center and Suma Beach Beautification Campaign Council (Suma Ward Office) , Ogo Environment Center, and Kobe Environmental Future Pavilion and Resources Recycle Center . 4.5. City Reports and Revised Action Plans 4.5.1. Guidelines on Action Plan Strategies AUICK has incorporated the Action Plan system into its Workshop project since 2005, as a concrete way for the nine AUICK Associate Cities (AACs) to utilize the lessons learned from training programs in Kobe. The Action Plans, formulated by all workshop participants and based on the Workshop themes, improve service provision based on the specific problems faced by each city. They also provide AUICK with a means to measure the effectiveness of its Program, as the plans’ implementation progress is assessed through monitoring visits, interviews and surveys. For the surveys, all past Workshop participants annually complete Action Plan Progress Report forms, detailing the implementation status of their plans’ specific steps. At each Workshop, participants (usually the heads of city government departments related to the issues covered) are given guidelines on effective Action Plan formulation. When making the plans, they decide the problem(s) to be addressed, then outline the government departments, resources and support (administrative, educational, public, NGO, media etc.) necessary for effective implementation. A timeline for each plan shows when each step is to be taken, usually amounting to around 18 months’ implementation, but often creating a project which is sustainable beyond that period. Key here is to make plans that are realistically achievable; to formulate a target within the reach of each city’s administration and the resources available. In many cases, small pilot projects are started, with a view to their future expansion from the momentum achieved in the initial implementation period. 4.5.2. City Reports and Action Plans Following guidelines and advice on the re-formulation of their action plans, workshop participants were given time to draft, present and revise their plans. The results are shown on the following pages: »Chittagong,
Bangladesh
by Dr. Salim Akhter Chowdhury and Dr. Mohammed Jashimuddin 4.6. First 2009 Workshop Closing Remarks Throughout the Workshop, its participants provided feedback on each component. The Kobe City Officials who presented to the Workshop were described a ‘highly appropriate’. The presentations on linkages between population and environmental management, as well as the knowledge imparted by Workshop as a whole, were deemed important to assist with future urban planning. Specifically, lessons learned on environmental waste management and recycling of Kobe were ‘inspiring’ to implement in the AUICK Associate Cities (AACs), while the lessons shared by AACs, as ‘developing’ Asian cities, also showed projects to replicate. The objectives of the Workshop were ‘fully met’, and its ‘imparting of knowledge’ was ‘achieved’. The participants themselves were described as appropriate to make the Workshop a success, and they emphasized the importance of continuing to work together after the Workshop to overcome the issues they were set to address. To implement the Workshop Action Plans, the importance of the approval of AAC Mayors was highlighted, as well as the utilization of the City University Partnership (CUP), for collaboration between the administrations and academic institutions. The CUP will facilitate not only AUICK related projects, but also other urban environment management programs. The participants remarked that they looked forward to the dissemination of information on future AUICK projects.  Participants of the First 2009 Workshop visit Akash-Kaikyō Bridge, west of Kobe |
||||
Mr.
Koji Okada, Manager, General Affairs Division, Environment Bureau, Kobe
City Government 
Mr.
Yasutomo Tanaka, Assistant Manager, Environment Policy Division,
Environment Bureau, Kobe City Government 
Mr.
Masanori Kondo, Assistant Manager, Waste Reduction and Recycling
Division, Environment Bureau, Kobe City Government 
Mr.
Rabbi Royan, Technical Advisor on Population and Development, Asia and
the Pacific Regional Office, UNFPA