AUICK Workshop on Population and Sustainable Development 1999

(The Sixth Group Training Course on Integrated Urban Policy 1999)

BACKGROUND

With support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the City of Kobe, the Asian Urban Information Center of Kobe (AUICK) was founded in 1989. Since then it has been engaged in the study and research of urban problems facing Asian cities by conducting "Asian Urban Inquiries" and organizing "Research Projects". In addition, in 1994, the AUICK established the "Group Training Course on Integrated Urban Policy" for middle-ranking administrative officials in medium-sized cities in Asian countries, with the aim of introducing the process that Kobe and other Japanese cities have undergone and the actual urban policies they have implemented.

The City of Kobe has been consistently promoting the building of a city based on the citizens' needs, and the methods for building a city and for improving urban environments are highly evaluated at home and overseas. The City of Kobe is now promoting restoration work from the disasters caused by the earthquake in January 1995. Therefore, this course will also be able to introduce concrete plans and measures to build " a city that stands strong against disasters".

AIM

The objective of this training course is to introduce to middle-ranking administrative officials in medium-sized cities with a population of 100,000 to 4 million in Asian countries various concrete examples of how Kobe and other Japanese cities have been working to solve urban problems in housing, urban environments, transportation, public health and medical care - thus helping them to grasp clues to solutions on a wide scope of urban problems that have occurred due to population migration, and contributing to these cities' appropriate and sustainable development. At the same tune, the training course is aimed at contributing to the building of a network among medium-sized cities in Asian countries.

Targets to be Attained:

1. To obtain a summary understanding of population dynamics, family planning, housing, urban environments, transportation, public health and medical care, and welfare in Kobe and other Japanese cities, as well as plans to build a new disaster-safe city.
2. To understand what kind of urban problems occurred in Kobe, how these problems occurred, and how the Kobe city government is dealing with them.
3. To facilitate effective proposals from each participant to solve urban problems confronted by the city to which each participant belongs.
4. To form a network among the participants' cities, the City of Kobe, the UNFPA and AUICK.

PERIOD

Friday 14 May to Saturday 5 June 1999

PARTICIPANTS

Ranjit Kumar Das
Chief Executive Officer, Barisal Pourashava, BANGLADESH

Fazal Abu Monsoor
Chief Executive Officer, Khulna City Corporation, BANGLADESH

Md. Manir Uddin Ahmed
Chief Executive Officer, Sylhet Municipality,  BANGLADESH

Sasikala Achariparampil Krishnanachary
Joint Secretary, State Election Commission, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, INDIA

Ajay Kumar Mehra
Director (Area Projects), Department of Family Welfare, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, INDIA

Tilak Ram Sharma
Local Development Officer, Office of the District Development Committee, Siraha, Sindhupalchowk, NEPAL

Bishnu Bahadur Thapa
Section Officer, Monitoring & Evaluation Section, Ministry of Local Development, Lalitpur, NEPAL

Badri Prasad Parajuli
Registrar, "Vital Registration Section, Ministry of Local Development", Lalitpur,  NEPAL

Zafar Aziz Zehri
Assistant Director, Local Government Administrator, District Council, Lasbela Government of Baluchistan,  PAKISTAN

Tariq Ismail Jaffar
Assistant Director, Local Government Administrator, District Council, Ziarat Government of Baluchistan, Quetta, PAKISTAN

Mohammad Tahir
Assistant Director, Local Government Administrator, District Council, Nushki Government of Baluchistan, Quetta, PAKISTAN

Wijepala Ediriwickramage
Deputy Director, Custom, Negombo, SRI LANKA

Somapala Herman Ferdinandez
Former Director General, Urban Development Authority, Colombo, SRI LANKA

PROGRAM

REVIEW

The workshop covers broad areas including population, family planning, environment, public health and welfare, and waste disposal. Thirteen senior urban administrators from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the  most recent workshop.

The workshop lectures were given by Dr. Toshio Kuroda, Advisor of AUICK and Director Emeritus of Population Research Institute of Nihon University; Asst. Prof. Satoshi Nakagawa, Department of Economics of Kobe University; Ms. Risa Asamura, Programme Officer of Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP); and by Kobe City officials. Through lectures, discussions with lecturers, and discussions among themselves, the participants gained insight with which to better shape policies to deal with a wide range of issues caused by population increases.

Observation tours of facilities such as a sewage treatment plant and a waste incineration plant supplemented the lectures and gave the participants a firsthand view of Kobe's urban policies in practice. In addition, they had an opportunity to meet and interact with citizens at the Kobe City Silver College, a facility designed for people over 55 years. The college is located within the Comprehensive Wellness Zone, a municipal facility designed for social activities and recreation.