Melbourne offers best all-round environment
Melbourne, 1 March 2008: Melbourne offers the best environmental qualities of all major cities in Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. At the bottom of the table of 21 cities are New Delhi and Mumbai. Only months before this year’s Summer Olympics, host Beijing occupies a lowly 15th place. Johannesburg and Singapore are placed second and third respectively.
The survey, commissioned by MasterCard, used data from the World Health Organisation, other UN agencies and national agencies such as the US geological survey as well as Mercer, the consultancy. Cities are ranked highest to lowest in terms of environmental quality as measured by water potability and availability, sewage system, waste removal, air quality, infectious diseases, potential climate change impact and natural disasters.
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The cities were ranked as follows:
Melbourne; 2) Johannesburg; 3) Singapore; 4) Dubai; 5) Sydney; 6) Tel Aviv; 7) Tokyo; 8) Seoul; 9) Kuala Lumpur; 10) Riyadh; 11) Hong Kong; 12) Chengdu; 13) Shanghai; 14) Bangkok; 15) Beijing; 16 ) Cairo; 17) Shenzhen; 18) Beirut; 19) Jakarta; 20) New Delhi; 21) Mumbai.
Commenting on the report, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong,its author and economic adviser to MasterCard said the findings were particularly alarming for India. “India really has to move fast to prevent slipping down any further," he warned. Comparing India with China, Mr Yuwa explained that over the past five years China had invested about 15 times more than India in transport, sewerage and other infrastructure that contribute to improving living standards in urban centres. “Additionally, India's democratic system and policymaking process make it harder to implement reform, while China can clearly mobilize,” he added.
The survey’s methodology also takes into account natural phenomena such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes. Johannesburg's high ranking in part reflects its favourable location in terms of limited vulnerability to natural disaster. In contrast, Tokyo was ranked lower because of the risk of earthquake, typhoon and volcanic eruption. Sydney also ranked down the list because of the risk of rising sea levels, water scarcity and fires.
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World Bank President welcomes China's role in global development
World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick has commended China for the role it is playing in global development and the effort it is making to improve its energy efficiency, and reduce pollution.
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Developing Asia to post solid growth in 2008 even as major industrial economies slow down, says ADB
Developing Asian economies will register solid growth in 2008 despite a coincident slowdown in major industrial economies, surging food and fuel prices and a simmering credit crisis in the United States, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a new major report.
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Regional economic cooperation to deepen in Asia, says President of Asian Development Bank
Economic cooperation and integration will deepen and be a key pillar of Asia’s development strategy as the region moves forward, the head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Haruhiko Kuroda, said on Monday.
In his opening remarks at a conference on “European and Asian Integration: Achievements and Challenges,” he said that while Asia lacked a grand plan for regionalism as Europe, the European Commission (EC) and ADB can work closely together to add value to economic integration and regional cooperation. Asia can learn important lessons from Europe, he continued, but it will follow its own distinct model.
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Strong growth in real estate investments in Singapore
Singapore’s efforts in promoting the country as a choice place for real estate investment is paying off, with solid growth experienced in the past five years. Speaking to the media at MIPIM 2008 in Cannes, France, Urban Redevelopment Authority’s director (Land Administration) Chan Pong Choy said investments have grown from US$5 to US$40 billion between 2004 and 2007, with foreign input up from US$560 million to US$10 billion. – MIPIM 2008
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More Singapore buildings go green
About 100 buildings in Singapore have now been accredited under the government’s Green Mark scheme, with another 200 in the pipeline.
This is after a slow start when the scheme was first launched in 2005, The Straits Times newspaper quotes the country’s Building and Construction Authority as saying.
“The industry has responded very well. This could only have been achieved with strong support from many green champions,” said Mr John Keung, its chief executive.
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He was speaking during the Singapore leg of the inaugural FuturArc Forum on green buildings in nine cities in the region.
During the event, green building expert Kevin Hydes said that buildings account for 33 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. “I don't think the global building industry has got the message out to the politicians that green buildings are part of the solution to climate change,” he said.
In Singapore, it will also be mandatory, from next month, for all new buildings and those undergoing major retrofitting to go green. The government is also looking at devising a scheme to give owners of old buildings incentives to go green.
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Two inter-ministerial committees formed to look into green issues
An inter-ministerial committee has been formed to look into how Singapore can grow its economy by adopting green practices in transport, housing and industry, according to The Straits Times.
Due to its small size and limited resources, the issue of sustainable development is more crucial than ever for the nation state. Therefore, the inter-ministerial committee on sustainable development has been tasked to put out a 10-year roadmap next year, to outline plans for Singapore to become a leading eco-city in Asia. This includes investing in renewable energy, encouraging the industry to adopt green practices, and implementing public education programmes.
The Government has also formed another inter-ministerial panel on climate change, which will propose Singapore’s domestic strategies to tackle issues such as global warming, deforestation and greenhouse emissions.
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ST - S'pore can take the lead in cutting carbon emission, 11 April 08 (H12)
As part of Civil Service College's Distinguished Visitors Programme, Lord Nicholas Stern was invited to deliver a lecture on the economics impact of climate change at the college yesterday. Highlights of his lecture included how Singapore, by leveraging on its technology and efficiency, could be a role model for a successful balance between going green and achieving economics progress. Read more on page H12 of ST...
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TODAY - 'If S'pore can't go green, who can?', 11 April 08 (Pg4)
At his lecture held at the Civil Service College yesterday, Lord Stern stressed that business competitiveness and reducing carbon emissions were not mutually exclusive and Singapore is the country which can best proved the environment does not come at the expense of the economy. More on page 4 of TODAY...
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CNA - S'pore can take the lead role in Asia to push climate change issues By S. Ramesh, 10 April 2008
According to British climate change expert Lord Nicholas Stern, Singapore can play a leading role in Asia in helping the region halve its carbon emission by 2050. The professor, from the London School of Economics, was sharing his views with officers from the civil service and the private sector. He believes Singapore is doing well in improving energy efficiency and harnessing technological developments to stop the harmful effects of climate change...
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Former mayor of Bogotá leaves his mark on many cities
NEW YORK: Mass transit projects regularly perish in the process, when special interest demands may derail the best intentions of public policy makers. So it often goes in Latin America, where wealthy land owners exert strong influence.
But not in Bogotá, under Enrique Peñalosa, who is credited by many as the architect of the city's recent rebirth.
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London and Paris clinch sustainable transport award
London and Paris edged out Guatemala City, Guatemala; Eugene, Oregon; and
Pereira, Colombia to win the 2008 Sustainable Transport Award. These cities
were nominated for the 4th annual international honor for enhancing the
sustainability and livability of their community or region by adopting
innovative transportation strategies that lessen the impact of climate
change by reducing transportation greenhouse and air pollution emissions.
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Paris revolutionized bike sharing programs of the past to create an
individualized mass transit system called Vélib (“Freedom Bikes”). People
pay a low fee to use the bikes from one of the many bike parking stations
located in the city and they can return the bikes to any station they
wish. By the end of 2007, Vélib had more than 1,200 stations and 15,000
bikes in the system. “Freedom bikes” in Paris fill the streets, proving
more popular than anticipated. As of November 2007, more than 11 million
trips have been made on these bikes.
Vélib is just one component of Paris’ new mobility plan that uses
transportation innovation to revitalize community life in public spaces.
Paris is prioritizing pedestrians by renovating public squares and plazas,
widening sidewalks, and adding new landscaping and raised crosswalks.
Paris has built more than 314 kilometers (195 miles) of bike lanes, and
bicycling has increased 48 percent during the past five years. Three
corridors of the new bus rapid transit system also opened in 2007. These
improvements led to a decrease in private vehicle traffic by 20 percent and
a nine percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
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Press Release on 11 February 2008
Mayors from 50 cities compete for the 2008 World Mayor Award
By Tann vom Hove, Editor
Citizens from all over the world took part in record numbers in the first round of the 2008 World Mayor contest, which was carried out in 2007. More than 100,000 voters nominated a total of 820 mayors for this year’s World Mayor Award. Some mayors received thousands of nominations while others collected only a handful. Citizens were also asked to provide a supporting statement when nominating a mayor for the World Mayor title.
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According to city residents from all continents, a great mayor must possess these qualities: good administrative abilities, able to provide safety and security and protect the environment, as well as having the ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds. The World Mayor Project was first carried out in 2004. As in previous years, the 2008 contest again seeks out mayors who have the vision, passion and skills to make their cities amazing places in which to live and work - and visit. The World Mayor Project aims to show what outstanding mayors can achieve, and thus raise their profiles. It honours those who have both served their communities well and contributed to the well being of cities nationally and internationally. The most outstanding mayor of 2008 will be presented with the World Mayor Award.
Based on the number of nominations and the persuasiveness of supporting statements, City Mayors, the organisers of the World Mayor project, has drawn up a list of 50 finalists. The list includes 11 mayors from Asia, 10 from North America and 11 from Latin America, 15 from Europe, as well as 3 from Africa.
Some of the finalists for this year’s World Mayor title are from the world’s best-known and largest cities, while others represent smaller communities. Most of this year’s finalists have been being short-listed for the first time. Under the World Mayor rules, winners and runner-ups from previous years were not eligible. They include John So, Lord Mayor of Melbourne (Australia), Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga (Canada) and Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana (Albania)
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Final 360 Climate Change Report
Euro-Arab Forum to help Develop Cities
By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
Dubai: The forum on Euro-Arab Cities is hosted by the UAE to seek and come up with the best results that will stand to serve common aspirations, said Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry and Chairman of Dubai Municipality.
Shaikh Hamdan was speaking at the inaugural day of the third Euro-Arab Cities Forum at the Madinat Jumeirah on Sunday.
The two-day event is attended by governors of various cities, mayors of major European and Arab cities, representatives of the region governorates and important international and non-governmental organisations.
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Infrastructure
Shaikh Hamdan said the UAE is happy to host the event, which aims at studying, discussing and debating infrastructure and transportation system in Arab and European cities.
He said: "The geographical closeness between the Arab and European countries is led by the cultural and humanitarian interaction between the two parties. The attendance of the forum will yield positive dialogue and offer recommendations that would help our cities to grow."
The sidelines of the event also saw a short documentary that showcased the growth of Dubai as a 'City that Cares'.
The Forum represents a gateway to development through bridging cultures, exchanging expertise and crossing borders. The first such Forum was held in Marrakech in 1998 and the second one in 1994 in Valencia, Spain.
The Forum will address six topics over the period of two days with each topic having its own dedicated session.
Development topics
"The event will cover many development topics of high importance in the field of municipal work, especially when our cities are always in need of exchanges of expertise and excellent experiences in infrastructure development such as road and transportation networks, in addition to the provision of clean water, environmental protection and preservation of architectural heritage," said Engineer Hussain Nasser Lootah, acting director general of Dubai Municipality and chief of the Forum's higher organisation committee.
Relations: Cooperation is the key
Mohammad Al Khamleishi, Arab League Assistant Secretary General and the Head of Information and Telecommunications Sector, said although the relations between Arabs and Europe had gone through some difficulties in the past, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, it has also witnessed periods of fruitful cooperation for their mutual interest.
He was addressing the audience on behalf of Amr Mousa, Arab League Secretary General.
Al Khamleishi said: "We live today in a world that is changing rapidly in areas of economy and social changes but that is one of the features of the modern world.
"Any change that happens at the far end of the world may have an impact on other parts of the world thanks to the technological advancement which has sharply heightened man's ability to move geographically and at a rapid speed."
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Some 19 Indian cities ready to tap into the bond market
Delhi, 21 January 2008: In a press interview India’s urban development minister M Ramachandran said that following a credit rating process 19 Indian cities received high enough scores to enable them to float municipal bonds. While none of the cities under scrutiny obtained triple-A ratings, four cities were given AAs, four others As and eleven received BBBs. A triple B is considered good enough to issue bonds.
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While the minister declined to name the cities until after a ministerial consultation process, he was more forthcoming in praising cities that have been on the forefront of recent urban reforms. He said that Vizag, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Coimbatore and Rajkot were some of the cities which had undertaken more urban reforms in the last couple of years than their peers.
Ramachandran also told India’s Economic Times that urban water supply projects were on the top of the list of projects scheduled to receive financial support from central government. “That’s where is the need and hence there will be more investment in this sector,” he stressed.
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A chance to get filthy rich in China
China's booming economy is boosting income, spreading urbanisation and sprouting mega cities which will produce more waste.
Aware of the deteriorating environment, the Chinese government in 2003 moved to tighten laws for cleaner production and waste control. A national programme was established to expand capacity for dealing with hazardous and medical wastes in the same year. More recently, a "green strategy" has been adopted to step up efficiency in resource use, reduce pollution cost in production, encourage green consumption, develop new energy resources, and to create a balanced ecological environment.
China has shown it is serious in dealing with environmental challenges. With China so concerned about waste and its impact on the environment, there is clearly an opportunity for Singapore companies experienced in managing the problem.
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Ten Years After the Financial Crisis, East Asian Economies are Going Strong
But as economies climb steadily to higher income levels, the next challenge is to avoid the "middle-income trap", says World Bank's semi-annual analysis of the region
Tokyo, April 5, 2007 — A decade after the financial crisis which devastated East Asia in mid-1997, the region is much wealthier, has fewer poor people and a larger global role than ever before, says the World Bank's latest East Asia & Pacific Update - a six-monthly report on the region's economic and social health. But with this success, comes a new wave of challenges for countries trying to avoid the 'middle-income trap'.
The report finds that growth in Emerging East Asia reached 8.1 percent in 2006 - the strongest in the past 10 years and it is likely to slow only modestly to 7.3 percent in 2007 (see table). Per capita incomes in the former crisis-affected economies have significantly exceeded their pre-crisis levels and are growing steadily nearly everywhere. In China and low-income transition economies like Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR, incomes have grown at 'exceptional rates', the report says.
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Asia has become home to the world’s fastest growing cities
A report by the International Institute for Environment and Development
Africa now has a larger urban population than North America and has 25 of the world's fastest growing large cities. Half of the world's urban population now lives in Asia, which also has half of the world's largest cities and fastest growing large cities. Europe's share of the world's 100 largest cities has fallen from more than half to under ten per cent in the past century. It now has none of the world's 100 fastest growing cities and most of its declining ones.
These are among the findings published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in the 2007 edition of its analysis of urban change.The research highlights the gap between rapid urban growth and government capacity to plan and manage it in most of Africa, Asia and Latin America, particularly in light of climate change.
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The world's urban map is rapidly being redrawn," says the paper's author David Satterthwaite, a senior fellow in IIED’s human settlements group. "Most of Europe's great centres of industry are no longer among the world's largest cities and most of the future growth in urban areas globally will be in low and middle income countries."
"How these centres grow will have huge implications for efforts to reduce poverty," he adds. "This will also influence whether disasters linked to climate change can be avoided and greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced."
The analysis dispels some myths and reveals some surprising findings:
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Many of the world's largest cities now have more people moving out than in. |
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The world's urban population is not concentrated in large and 'mega-cities' (far more people live in smaller urban centres of under a million inhabitants). |
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The speed of urban growth has been exaggerated in low and middle income countries, particularly African ones. |
"Urbanisation is often attributed to an urban bias in government and aid agency policies, but there is little evidence to support these claims," says Satterthwaite. "In fact, these policies leave much to be desired as they tend to neglect the urban poor, leading to high levels of urban poverty, overcrowding in slums and serious health problems."
"Governments should see urbanisation as an important part of a stronger economy and their expanding urban population as an asset, not as a problem," he says.
Worldwide, a billion people live in low-quality tenements or squatter settlements with inadequate water and sanitation.
Economic growth is the dominant driver of urbanisation in most nations. The largest cities and much of the world’s urban population are concentrated in the world’s largest economies, and there is a strong association between a nation’s wealth and level of urbanisation.
Satterthwaite warns however against broad generalisations: "Despite the underlying economic foundation to urban growth, the form it takes is shaped by political and social factors at a local or national level."
"Most of the ten-fold increase in the world's urban population over the past century was in low and middle income countries," he says. "Most of these nations lack the institutional, legal and financial systems needed to manage rapid urban change over the next 15 years in a way that addresses urban poverty and the risks associated with climate change."
"Many governments still see urban growth as something they should try and stop. But urban growth does not have to mean urban problems," says Satterthwaite.
"Many of the world's fastest growing cities are among the best managed. Cities create opportunities for improving quality of life without increasing resource use and environmental problems. How they are governed and planned will becoming increasingly important in the 21st century."
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Tapping e-waste business overseas
And S'pore companies are keen to make their presence felt, reports Chuang Peck Ming
Local recycling players are venturing abroad as demand for their services grows. Chuang Peck Ming looks at their selling points.
China is today widely recognised as the factory of the world. Less well known, it is also the world's dumping ground for unwanted electronic gadgets.
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Vietnam's real estate market is booming
And S'pore companies are keen to make their presence felt, reports Chuang Peck Ming
Vietnam's booming economy - the fastest growing in Asia, after China - is crying out for real estate developments. But until in recent years, Singapore companies have largely shunned the Vietnamese real estate market.
While they have been active in the country since the late 1980s, Singapore developers and supporting firms have been largely engaged in serviced apartment and hotel projects in Vietnam, according to Tham Poh Cheong, director of infrastructure and environmental services division at International Enterprise Singapore, the government agency pushing Singapore companies to go international.
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World Bank Invests US$800 Million in Pro-Poor Reforms & Infrastructure Development in Indonesia
Washington, December 4: The World Bank Board today approved two Development Policy Loans (DPLs) amounting to US$800 million to add momentum to Indonesia's reform program in four main areas: services for the poor, improving the investment climate, public financial management and governance, and infrastructure. The US$ 600 million Fourth Development Policy Loan and the US$200 million First Infrastructure Development Policy Loan bring together the Asian Development Bank, the Government of Japan and the World Bank on a common platform to support Indonesia's growing reform agenda.
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These low-cost loans are part of the Government’s strategy to reduce Indonesia’s debt levels which have been declining the fastest in East Asia from 80 percent of GDP (2000) to 35 percent by December 2007, and to make use of the lowest cost options for meeting financing requirements. “The DPL program reflects the mature relationship between Indonesia and its international development partners” says Joachim von Amsberg, the World Bank’s Country Director for Indonesia. “We are proud to support Indonesia’s strong commitment to poverty reduction reflected in policy reforms in the key areas of governance, infrastructure development and the business environment. With continued progress on these reforms, Indonesia can achieve even higher and more broad-based growth that would lead to rapid poverty reduction.”
The Fourth Development Policy Loan (DPL-4) is part of an annual series of DPLs that began in 2004. Over the last four years the focus of support has shifted in response to Indonesia’s progress from consolidating macroeconomic stability to micro-economic and institutional reforms. “Since 2006, Indonesia has created additional fiscal resources of US$ 15 billion” says Wolfgang Fengler, Sr. Economist and Task Team Leader of the DPL program. “Indonesia’s main challenge is to spend these resources well on improved public services and a competitive investment climate – the core areas of the new DPL program.”
Complementing this effort, the First Infrastructure Development Policy Loan (I-DPL) is specifically designed to support key policy reforms in the infrastructure sector. The loan is the first in a series of initiatives that will target reforms in central and regional governments’ infrastructure expenditures, public-private partnerships and cross-sector infrastructure support in land acquisition, environment and procurement reform. “The Indonesian government is improving the quantity and the quality of infrastructure spending. With this new initiative it will be able to better map infrastructure requirements across sectors and regions and pursue reforms that will benefit the poor who have the lowest access to infrastructure,” says Hongjoo Hahm, Lead Infrastructure Specialist and Task Team Leader of the Infrastructure Development program.
These new loans have no commitment fees, which were abolished as part of a broader reform to reduce and simplify World Bank loan pricing in September 2007. They also carry significantly lower interest rates and longer maturity than private financial market borrowings, allowing Indonesia to save in total debt service payments over the life of the loans
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