UN Under Secretary General & Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme

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2 Message from Dr. Klaus Toepfer, UN Under Secretary General & Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme At the Forum on Habitat and E-HabitatE Shanghai, China, 20 May 2004

3 I wish to extend warm greetings to you on the occasion of Shanghai Forum on Habitat and e-e Habitat. As an Environment Advisor to the Shanghai Municipal Government and an Honorary Professor of Tongji University, it gives me great honor and pleasure to send you this message. Forum 3

4 Nearly half the world s s population lives in cities. 70 percent of the world s s urban dwellers are in Asia, Latin America and Africa. The proportion people living in cities is expected to reach 65 per cent by Forum 4

5 More than half of the world s s population live in Asia and the Pacific where many megacities have a population of more than 10 million each. Rapidly growing population and dynamic economies of these cities are exerting considerable pressure on the global environment including climate change, pollution to the oceans and seas, degradation of ecological systems and etc. Forum 5

6 Under such circumstances, sustainable management of the urban environment is an obvious priority for all governments and their partners. For Shanghai which has a population of 17 million and is experiencing rapid economic growth, sustainable urban development is of paramount importance. Forum 6

7 I believe this forum will contribute to sustainable development of Shanghai, which I hope will set an example not only for cities in China, but also for those in other developing countries. Forum 7

8 Water, sanitation and human settlements are most important issues in urban development. At World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002, governments supported the integrated regional and national management of river basins, watersheds, groundwater and other water resources Forum 8

9 and made a commitment to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Forum 9

10 At UNEP 8th Special Session of the Governing Council /the Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF) held in March 2004 in Republic of Korea, water, sanitation and human settlements was the focus of the meeting. Forum 10

11 The Jeju Initiative agreed upon by Environment Ministers and officials from 150 nations will promote successful water and sanitation schemes in the developing world. Forum 11

12 Transport sector is seen as an indicator of a city s economic welfare and success. However, transport is exerting pressure on urban environment. UNEP is engaging governments and its partners in industry and civil society to devise ways of making the world s s growing demand for transport more sustainable. Forum 12

13 A sustainable transport system is not one with uncontrolled development of private cars, but a well developed public transport system. Forum 13

14 Air pollution is serious in many Chinese cities. It is largely related to the use of fossil fuels. In Shanghai, fossil fuels are major energy source as almost all the other Chinese cities which are the major cause of green house gas emissions and other pollutants. Forum 14

15 Shanghai is a coastal city and will be affected by climate change and its consequent sea level rise and other effects. Shanghai should increase its investment in fighting against climate change by applying clean technologies and developing renewable energy sources. Forum 15

16 Fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development. All countries should promote sustainable consumption and production patterns. Forum 16

17 Governments, relevant international organizations, the private sector and all the major groups should establish partnership and play an active role in changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns. Forum 17

18 UNEP has a strong Programme on Sustainable Production and Consumption and has developed cooperative activities with China. For cities like Shanghai, vigorously promote sustainable production and consumption patterns will contribute to the attainment of sustainable urban development. Forum 18

19 UNEP is the principal UN agency in the UN system in the field of the environment. Over the years, it has established very good collaborative cooperative relationship with China. To further strengthen such cooperation, UNEP has established a country office in China. Forum 19

20 It supports and coordinates the implementation of UNEP programme as well as supports the development and implementation of projects and activities of Global Environment Facility in China in close cooperation with the Government, civil society and other stakeholders. Forum 20

21 UNEP is strengthening its involvement in urban issues. Information on sound urban management is disseminated by IETC- the UNEP International Environment Technology Centre based in Japan. Forum 21

22 UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) has developed a Regional Strategy for Asia and the Pacific in which addressing urban environmental issues is a focal area. Forum 22

23 Guided by this strategy, UNEP is implementing projects addressing urban environmental problems such as Green-house Gas Emission Reduction in Industries in Asia and the Pacific (GERIAP), Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) and Sand and Sandstorms. Forum 23

24 To contribute to the improvement of urban air quality in Asia, UNEP has also initiated APMA project ( Air Pollution in the Megacities in Asia). Forum 24

25 UNEP and UN-HABITAT are the only two UN agencies with their headquarters in a developing country in Nairobi, Kenya. These two organizations have had very good cooperative relationship and have organized many cooperative activities to address urban environmental issues. Forum 25

26 In 1998 when I was the Executive Director of UNEP and Acting Executive Director of UN- HABITAT, we organized in cooperation with the Shanghai Municipal Government the Urban Environment Forum in Shanghai. I was present and spoke at the forum and it was a great success. Forum 26

27 UNEP and HABITAT jointly organized sustainable city program in Shenyang and Wuhan.. I am sure this forum will further enhance the cooperation among UNEP, UN- HABITAT and the Chinese Government. UNEP will support the International Environmental Conference for Shanghai EXPO2010 to be held at the end of September this year. Forum 27

28 Shanghai has been exploring a sustainable way for its economic development and has made noticeable progress in environmental protection. With environment input reaching 3.06 % of GDP and great efforts made, Shanghai s s air and water quality has been much improved. Forum 28

29 Per-capita occupation of green area has reached 9.16 square meters which is an outstanding achievement. However, we also know that Shanghai is still facing some challenges in air, water and waste management. Shanghai has a historic opportunity to leapfrog traditional polluting technologies and to adopt sustainable production and consumption policies. Forum 29

30 I wish Shanghai success in building the city into a financial and commercial center in the Asia and Pacific Region and achieve sustainable urban development. Forum 30

31 I wish the forum a success. Forum 31

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