FIG at the World Habitat Day 2004
Inter-Regional Conference on Urban-Rural Linkages
1-4 October, 2004, United Nations Office
Nairobi, Kenya
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The conference was held at the main auditorium of the United Nations in
Gigiri, Nairobi.
Participants outside the conference hall.
Rob Mahoney (on the right). |
The conference on Urban-Rural Linkages in Nairobi was organised by
UN-HABITAT and co-sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the International Institute for Environment and Development
(IIED), and the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG).
The objective of the conference is to create and promote awareness
among national economic and social development decision-makers and
planners, their policy advisers and urban-rural development actors, of
the need for enhancing the balanced territorial development of both
rural and urban areas.
The Conference was designed to achieve this by pooling, collating,
synthesizing and sharing experiences and lessons learned, with a view to
stimulating mutual learning, capacity-building and utilisation. The
conference was opened by His Excellency Hon. A. A. Moody Awori
the Vice President of Republic of Kenya and there were several
government ministers among the delegates, majority of whom were from
Africa and Asia
The key note speakers included Dr. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka UN
Under-Secretary General and Executive Director United Nations Human
Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Mr. Bakary Kante Director,
Division of Policy Development and Law United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and Mr. Ali Mchumo Managing Director, Common
Fund for Commodities |
The
FIG Marrakech Declaration (FIG publication 33) was presented to
UN-HABITAT by Rob Mahoney. The Marrakech Declaration is a significant
publication reporting the findings of the Second FIG Regional Conference
held in Marrakech in December 2003 and provided a major input to the
conference. The declaration is designed to define ways that professionals,
governments and the public and private sector can work together to address
the complex and interrelated issues of Institutional and Governance
Concepts; Infrastructure and Land & Natural Resources; together with
Capacity Building and Change Management. The major themes of the Marrakech
Declaration were well coordinated with the main issues discussed at the
conference.
Rob Mahoney chaired a half day workshop to consolidate the conference
outcomes in the areas of Institutional/organizational structures, strategies
and tools for effective integration of the urban-rural linkages integration
in development planning and implementation. These outcomes were used by Dr.
Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka in her address about the conference at World Habitat
Day in Nairobi.
The theme of the World Habitat Day this year - Cities: engines of
rural development reflected the substance and significance of the
conference and provided an opportunity to send and publicize the outcome of
the conference to all cities and countries participating in the World
Habitat Day.
The conclusions of the conference are currently being finalised, they are
likely to include statements on:
- underlining critical urban-rural development
- calling on governments to adopt a more holistic and integrated
regional-planning approach to investment decision making
- calling for improved rural urban communication links and the
stimulation of growth of small and medium-sized towns to help alleviate
the intensification of slum development
- A cross-sectoral institutional structure/framework to support
effective environmental planning and management together with economic and
social programmes as well as development of physical infrastructure
FIG also present at the Habitat Day celebrations in Geneva
FIG was also invited to the Habitat Day 2004 celebrations in Geneva
October 4, 2004. The Roundtable on "Cities - Engines of Rural Development"
was organised by the Geneva Office of the UN-HABITAT. The Roundtable was
attended by about 40 invited participants. Jürg Kaufmann represented
FIG at the Roundtable introducing the newly launched Marrakech Statement.
More information:
Rob Mahoney – October 2004 |
