|
|
FSLGA Visits Indonesia
A group of Sri Lankan local governments under the umbrella of the Federation of Sri Lankan Local Government Authorities or FSLGA visited Indonesia and UCLG ASPAC Secretariat on October 28th, 2013, to learn more about local development. Their visit expressed a very enthusiastic knowledge sharing that can be built among local governments in Asia Pacific. The delegation has showed a great interest on building network that is able to exchange lessons learnt that will subsequently improve their efficiency and performance. In addition, they also appreciated how DELGOSEA network at UCLG ASPAC can develop and bring benefits to its members. 
Among the 28 participants, there were five Sri Lankan female officials from various cities. Apart from the main discussion, these vibrant ladies were willing to share their story about how today's women participation in Sri Lanka grows at its best. In this democratic republic, it is not surprising to see how education sector is currently predominated by women. Most teacher labor in both urban and rural areas of the country occupied by female. "I can say that 95% of teachers in our country are women and 60% of the headmasters are also women," said Ms. Thaksila (third picture: second from right with pale blue and brown costume), one of the female delegates. Accordingly, women participation in Sri Lanka can also be seen in other sector such as politics (Parliament, Local Government, Urban Council, etc). 
Above all, the Sri Lankan Delegation fully support the implementation of 'South to South' cooperation aimed at empowering people in developing countries. In prior to this visit, FSLGA had already made the same attempt early of this year by visiting Surabaya City in East Java, Indonesia.
Asia Partners Forum on Local Economic Development: Strategic Leadership by Local Government
 A practical forum was held in Cebu, Philippines from 16-18 October. This was the 3rd Asia Partners Forum on Local Economic Development (LED) and designed to stimulate local leaders with ideas and the strategic role they can play. Over the last 18 months the Association of Cities of Vietnam, the National League of Communes and Sangkats of Cambodia, and the League of Cities of the Philippines surveyed and engaged their members to understand their reality, needs, opportunities and challenges in playing a fruitful and effective role in LED. Emeritus Mayor Peter Woods OAM, Ambassador of UCLG ASPAC presented at the Forum not only the role of our organisation but also a report on the DELGOSEA programme which for three years has created a network of cities and municipalities across Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to implement transnational local governance good practices and replication across the partnership.
This programme was initiated by KAS, the EU and UCLG ASPAC and their respective National Associations. A current programme, resourced by KAS and UCLG ASPAC, is engaging in interaction with ASEAN with the perspective of developing strong connections across the whole region. This ties in with the principles inherent in the UCLG Policy Paper "Development Cooperation and Local Government" which was also discussed in Cebu. It was noted that the work of FCM and UCLG ASPAC are complementary and our longstanding relationship needs to be strengthened.
In the true experience of blending theory and practice, a field trip was organised that stimulated discussion and ideas by visiting a successful guitar manufacturing entity, as well as a mango processing plant that used not only the fruit but also the stones to re-process and create very useable commodities. They also visited a neighbourhood industry where brooms are manufactured out of indigenous materials, at affordable prices and giving employment for many local people. The emphasis was on understanding that while the attraction of large capital from within and outside a country is often desirable, much can be done on a more modest basis that cumulatively enhances local economies greatly.
The forum concluded with a desire to continue sharing experiences among the three countries and for the National Associations to act as a catalyst to engage with more of their members, and because of the over-lap to support FCM and UCLG ASPAC, to continue collaborating and sharing experiences and maximizing the use of resources.
OECD Mayors' Forum: Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia in Kitakyushu
Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, joined the OECD Mayors' Forum on Urban Growth in Dynamic Asia. Mayor of Kitakyushu, Mr. Kenji Kitahashi chaired the Mayors' Roundtable Discussion and was joined by other prominent urban leaders, including Mayor Tri Rismaharini of Surabaya, Mayor H. Ismail bin Karim of Johor Bahru, and Mr. Keophilavanh Aphaylath, Vice Governor of Vientiane, Laos, as well as partners of cities and local governments. The Forum was held on 20 October 2013 in Kitakyushu, Japan. Discussions were made around the green growth policy framework and instruments applicable for Asian cities, their implementations and knowledge sharing and the need for collaborative actions.
Asian cities are challenged in order to sustain long-term economic growth by rising disparities in income with higher slum population, lack of infrastructure, environmental degradation as well as raise motorization. OECD states that "Making infrastructure and human capital investment are two long-term challenges not to be neglected." The Forum identified key policy sectors and instruments that help greening the cities in the field of land use and transport, floods, water and waste management.
The Forum also highlighted a long-term cooperation between Kitakyushu and Surabaya that has resulted to the greening of Surabaya. The city has raised its green percentage from approximately 9 to 20.28% over the past 8 years. When the solid waste project began in Surabaya more than a decade ago, it was fortunate that the project was in the hands of right and future leader, Ms. Tri Rismaharini, who at that time was the Head of City Parks Department.
The OECD will continue to organize such knowledge sharing event in 2014. The OECD project also involves case studies of four to six Asian cities which start in 2013 and onwards. The study aims to examine ways to promote greening and competitiveness in fast-growing Asian cities, to improve environmental performance in cities and urban quality of life, and to increase the institutional capacity to achieve green growth. The expertise and experiences of OECD member countries will also play a leading role in providing relevant international benchmarks.
For further information on the OECD project, please contact Tadashi Matsumoto, Senior Policy Analyst at the OECD at tadashi.matsumoto@oecd.org.
Stories From Our members
Secretariat appreciates contribution from members. Stories from members contain innovative, good and best practices to be shared with e-Newsletter's leaders.
Water Tanks and the City
By: Paulie Mora, League of Cities of the Philippines
The quest for full water coverage has always posed a daunting task for some of our local governments especially when this basic service is extended to marginal areas. The Science City of Muñoz located in Central Philippines has shown how it overcame this obstacle when it successfully spearheaded a community-managed potable water project also known as the Tugon sa Usbong ng Buhay, Inuming Tubig ang Gabay or the TUBIG project.
Since it began in 2003, the City now enjoys a water coverage of 97.49% or 16,449 of its household population have already access to safe water. The city’s water tanks have become visible markers telling us that each village is secured of potable water. Eric Tubalinal, the City Planning and Development Officer (CPDO), in an interview, recalled that drinking safe water became a major concern for the residents since most were getting supply from the communal water pumps or from the neighbor's pitcher type manual pumps.
A series of village consultations had only further validated the need for a Level III water supply system especially during the dry season when shallow aquifers are usually parched. In the Philippines, Level III in water service coverage means that each house has an individual household faucet. It has a source, a reservoir, and a piped distribution system with a minimum treatment of disinfection. Level III is also considered to be the safest source of water. 
The city’s TUBIG project began with the City Planning Office organizing the village’s community members. Villagers elected amongst themselves a chairperson and other members into the new board. A project coordinator who is assigned by the city mayor will help facilitate consensus in creating new policies for the Board – ranging from how much fees to be charged to coming up with payment schemes. The city has also put in initial capital to be used in setting up a water tank to the laying down of water pipe lines. Villagers provided the sweat equity.
Each potential TUBIG site underwent the same process facilitated by the project coordinator. Although t may sound simplistic, organizing and soliciting commitment can take most of the time. The success of the project depends on how the community manages its operations. The city only provides clear guidance. ‘The inherent Filipino culture of bayanihan or the spirit of community cooperation was put to practice for a good and practicable cause. A water project should be sustainable project and it is not just a matter of access to water,’ said Tubalinal.
Traffic Congestion Reduction in Bekasi City
By: DELGOSEA team of Best Practices
Bekasi has been defined as a center of activity pin the Greater Jakarta area, meaning that the potential for growth is huge. The town is busy, have become a crossroad for workers, both those living in Jakarta and working in surrounding areas, but also for those living in Bekasi and working in Jakarta. The population of Bekasi is 10 million and most of the residents work outside the city, mainly in Jakarta. That has a direct impact on traffic conditions, especially during the main commuting hours. On average it takes 1.5 hour to reach Jakarta, for less than 20km away. The level of traffic congestion is high, reaching a peak in the morning rush hour (between 6-8am). Before the project started, no inventory of road condition data, traffic conditions or accidents existed. There was also no software for transportation modeling, so it was not easy to identify traffic patterns in the region. The traffic lights were not coordinated and integrated with each other, which made congestion worse. They also did not have a timer program that would enable to change the light settings according to traffic flow at different times.
Two years after project implementation, several results were achieved. A database of road conditions, traffic conditions, and accidents now is available and it regularly monitors the three key intersections as part of a pilot project called Area Traffic Control System (ATCS). Besides that, Bekasi has obtained software for transportation modeling from Gresham City, which adjusted to fit the circumstances in Bekasi. It is used for the modeling of traffic in these 3 intersections. Moreover, the traffic lights in these 3 intersections have been integrated and programmed to take into account the different traffic conditions at different times of the day. In addition, traffic congestion at these 3 key intersections has been reduced, leading to a decrease in the number of traffic violations by impatient drivers.
Apart from the results, three lessons were learnt from the project. Partnerships with cities in similar circumstances are very helpful to city governments for improving city management and services. Another lesson is that surveys and research to produce up-to-date and valid data is essential for good traffic management. Making decisions based on proper analysis will result in more effective and efficient policies. For the long run, traffic structuring, management and engineering will continue to be developed in other locations or intersections in Bekasi City. 
This project can easily be transferred to another city facing traffic problems, especially cities that are part of busy and growing region. The use of software can help regional governments to analyze data and to facilitate intelligent decision-making.
For A New Era of Electric Vehicles
Submitted by Jeju Special-Self Governing Province
As a real step for Jeju to become a carbon-free island, as well as the first attempt in Korea, the Jeju Provincial Government has distributed 160 electric vehicles to its citizens this past July. Electric cars have only been distributed to public agencies until now but Jeju citizen who wants to drive such a vehicle can now apply for the allocation of electric cars. Among the applicants, 160 residents were selected by drawing lots and they could choose from among one of three available vehicles, all produced in Korea. To promote fully electric vehicles, the local government provides the winners with purchase subsidies and installs a charger nearby their house.
Electric vehicle manufacturers see this opportunity as a potential important market to gauge success or failure of such electric vehicles, and they plan a variety of promotional activities including exhibition of electric vehicles, trial rides, price reductions, and a special event for the first customer to whom a car is delivered. The local government will seek substantial measures to promote electric vehicles for commercial use. In order to achieve the goal, Jeju Province will have more charging stations installed and after-sale service centers established. Electric automobiles will be taxed separately from regular vehicles.
Welcoming New Manager of Communication & Information and New Interns!
 Meet our new manager of communication and information, Ms. Nurina Asri Savitri. She initially joined UCLG ASPAC on mid of August 2013 as a consultant and officially became a staff member on early October 2013 after finishing her master study in Belgium. Prior to joining our organization, Ms. Savitri was a TV journalist who had worked for reputable media such as Metro TV and Kompas TV in Indonesia and Voice of America in Washington DC.
Stepping into the development field is a new challenge for her, as UCLG ASPAC possesses a worldwide network. She wishes to meet all UCLG ASPAC members and partners; to directly greet and maintain the warm friendship. She also looks forward to contribute more on human development.
 Our organization is also pleased to announce the new interns who started the program on October 2013. Sherly Tricia Ningsih (Sherly), Niken Budi Astuti (Niken), Ita Safitri (Ita), Nurussakinah (Saki), and Raysa Prima Annisa (Sasa) have joined UCLG ASPAC Secretariat for the internship period of 3 to 6 months. Sherly, Saki and Sasa are posted in the Strategic Services Department, supporting researches including "Zero Waste is Possible in Our Cities." Meanwhile, their two other colleagues, Ita and Niken, support the Department of Member Services in administering the upcoming Executive Bureau Meeting and Council in Colombo and in assisting the member database management.
These five interns have been active students of various national universities in Indonesia. They are looking forward to having a remarkable development experience and very excited to work with the Secretariat Team. The internship program with UCLG ASPAC is open to final year students up to new graduates from any reputable universities across the globe.
Upcoming Activities of UCLG ASPAC
1. Regional Workshop on Building Cooperation between DELGOSEA and ASEAN, November 12-13, 2013 in Jakarta
 In order to increase the sharing of good/best practices and of expertise among ASEAN member states and also to identify strategies on how to engage the local governments in meeting the ASEAN Community 2015, UCLG ASPAC and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) under the DELGOSEA framework hold a "Regional Workshop on Building Cooperation between DELGOSEA and ASEAN" at Hotel Aryaduta, Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 12th-13th, 2013. The Workshop is supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Republic of Indonesia which will be attended by representatives from ASEAN member states, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Indonesia, and also DELGOSEA's Standing Committee and Network members. During the workshop, potential ways of cooperation with ASEAN on promoting good governance and local development among the ASEAN member states will be discussed.
2. UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau & Council Meetings, the International Workshop on Empowering Local Partnership for Better Sanitation and Water Services, and the Regional Consultation towards a Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, 27-29 November 2013, in Colombo
As part of the regular agenda of our organization, the UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau & Council Meetings will be held on November 28th, 2013 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. More than 100 members of UCLG ASPAC across the region are scheduled to attend the meetings. An International Workshop on Empowering Local Partnership for Better Sanitation and Water Services will be arranged on a day prior to the meetings, which will take place on November 27th, 2013. The workshop is aimed at identifying innovative financing approaches for better sanitation and water services delivery and also at exploring local willingness in building partnership on sanitation and water improvement system.
In cooperation with UNISDR, UCLG ASPAC will also hold the Regional Consultation with Local Governments towards a Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction on 27th November 2013. UCLG ASPAC will be the coordinator of the Stakeholder Group of Mayors and Local Governments for DRR in Asia, which, together with other stakeholder groups, constitutes an important mechanism established in the region to ensure multi-stakeholder engagement in DRR, especially in key regional processes such as the biennial Asian Ministerial Conference for DRR and the preparation of regional inputs for the Post-2015 Framework for DRR (the successor of HFA or HFA2). UCLG ASPAC will also coordinate with UCLG World and other Regional Sections of UCLG, especially UCLG MEWA and UCLG Euro-Asia.
For any inquiries, please contact info@uclg-aspac.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
