Asian Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Initiative Follow up Proposal on Kyoto Declaration signed by 34 Asian Cities UN DESA/DSD Transport Assessment Methodology Meeting Choudhury R.C. Mohanty, Environment Programme Coordinator, UNCRD 15 June 2009
Shared issues.. In case of many developing cities/mega-cities, efforts to introduce/enforce cleaner fuels and vehicle emission standards, may greatly reduce vehicle emissions, but on the other hand the number of vehicles is growing rapidly, which may off set much of the emission control progress! In most cases the policy is towards motorization without effective TDM policies in place!
Bangkok developed an extensive roadway network, but road construction could not keep up with demand. Road building is an expensive way of dealing with travel demand. (Source: William H.K. Lam, Lloyd Wright, and Fumihiko Nakamura) Karl Fjellstrom
Shared issues.. WHO estimates SPM leads to the premature death of over 0.5 million people per year world wide. SPM level in many Asian cities often exceeds WHO standard by more than a factor of two! In 2004, 41% percent of the total population in Asia lived in urban areas and cities.
Shared issues.. Where much of the poor people s movement rely on foot and bi-cycles, NMT receives very low priority in the conventional transport planning and infrastructure design and management, which is most often oriented to promote motorized transport rather than to support people movement. As a consequence thousands of pedestrians and cyclists are killed by accidents each year in developing countries!
Shared issues.. Nearly 0.5 million die and up to 15 million are injured in urban road accidents in developing countries each year. ASEAN 75,000 people die each year on roads and 4.7 million are injured. Issues in Developing Countries Weak enforcement of Traffic Safety Regulations Lack of Licensing and Drivers Education Poor Road Design and Maintenance Inadequate Traffic Management Economic cost of such tragedies for developing countries is estimated to be between 1~2% of their GDP. ASEAN US$15.1 billion or 2.2% of regional GDP, (Source: ADB, WB)
Shared issues.. Most cities have gone business-asusual without adequately addressing the complex inter-linkages among land use mix, public transport planning, travel choices, travel demand management (TDM), environmental externalities, and quality of life (green areas, recreational parks/open spaces, amount of residential space per person, etc.).
Part 3: Asian EST Initiative A joint initiative of UNCRD and MoE-Japan
Asian EST Initiative (since 2004~) The Asian EST Initiative of UNCRD seeks to encourage the strategic adoption of integrated and sustainable transport solutions for Asian countries. The Initiative which is implemented in cooperation with Ministries and environment, Transport, and Health as well as other relevant local, national, and international stakeholders, aims to set in motion a regional mechanism and consultative process for policy dialogue as well as for knowledge transfer on environment and transport issues. - at Regional (Asia) Level: provide strategic and knowledge platform for policy dialogue through Regional EST Forum - at National Level: Technical assistance for National EST Strategies, need based training programmes, and policy consultations - at Local/City Level: Kyoto Declaration provides basis for promotion of EST at city level (34 Asian Mayors/cities are signatories). - At International Policy Level provide input to CSD process
Key considerations under Integrated EST approach: Economic productivity Social sustainability Social equity for all Quality of urban environment & life International obligation (wrt global climate change)
Aichi Statement (2005) Efforts to promote environmentally sustainable transport will result not only in the improvement of human health through the reduction of urban air pollution but will also have important complimentary benefits, including the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the reduction of deaths and injuries from road accidents, the reduction of harmful noise levels, and the reduction of traffic congestion levels (Aichi Statement, 2005). Social Equity & Gender perspective
Seoul Statement ~Towards Green Growth and Low Carbon Society in Asia (2009) Transport services affect all aspects of sustainability - social, economic, and environmental - and that there is a need for safe, clean, and energy-efficient transport in order to achieve green growth through low-carbon transport in Asia (Seoul Statement, 2009) (4 th Regional EST Forum, 24-26 Feb 2009, Seoul, Republic of Korea)
Kyoto Declaration by Asian Mayors (2007) Dedicate ourselves to specifically addressing priorities that are often under-emphasized but are nevertheless vital and central to EST, such as the provision of exclusive pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and ensuring safe and comfortable movement of women, children, the elderly, and the physically impaired (Kyoto Declaration, 2007) (Kyoto Mayor signing the Declaration, 24 April 2007)
Subsequently 12 more Asian Cities signed the Kyoto Declaration on EST (BMA-Bangkok Permanent Secretary signing the Declaration, 12 Nov 2008) Signatories of Kyoto Declaration on EST 34 Asian cities [Bangalore (India), Baguio (Philippines), Bangkok (Thailand), Batam (Indonesia), Bhubaneswar (India), Cebu (Philippines), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Jeju (Republic of Korea), Karachi (Pakistan), Kathmandu (Nepal), Korat (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Kuching (Malaysia), Kyoto (Japan),Luang Prabang (Lao PDR), Matale (Sri Lanka), Nagoya (Japan), Makassar (Indonesia), Makati (Philippines), Palembang (Indonesia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Quezon (Philippines), Rajkot (India), Surat (India), Semarang (Indonesia), Seoul (Republic of Korea), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Singapore (Singapore), Surabaya (Indonesia), Suzhou (China), Tianjin (China), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Vientiane (Lao PDR), Yogyakarta (Indonesia)]
Proposal on Development of EST performance indicators/index (EPI) To evaluate the effectiveness of the existing transportation systems in Asian cities from the perspective of social, economical and environmental sustainability Develop a comprehensive list of transport indicators covering 12 thematic areas of EST in Aichi Statement (mainly building on existing works of different organizations rather than initiating new research / methodologies) Develop a CORE set of indicators that would help assess the performance of cities in EST areas (Key selection criteria: meaningful, easily understandable, verifiable, and measurable & Scope/Limitation: land transport only) Test and validate these EST Performance Indicators in some pilot Asian cities (Kyoto Declaration signatories). Get endorsement of these EST Performance Indicators by Asian cities (starting with Kyoto signatories = 34 Asian cities) and by Asian countries (starting with 22 participating countries of Regional EST Forum). The significant outcome of this process will be harmonization of key set of EST performance indicators, their definitions and methodologies across Asia.
Proposal on Development of EST performance indicators/index (EPI) Establish a continuous monitoring and reporting (indicator based reporting) mechanism through Regional EST Forum (existing) vis-a-vis Mayors Policy Dialogues that would provide substantive input to the CSD and other intergovernmental processes. Capacity building/training activities for selected cities/countries on indicator methodologies that would complement the above. Development of highly aggregated/composite EST Performance Index (similar to HDI) for cities: EPI (index) = f (f1, f2, f3), where f1 (...) = EPIsocial; f2 (...) = EPIeconomy, f3 (...) = EPIenvironment.
Proposal on Development of EST performance indicators/index (EPI) EST Thematic Areas under Aichi Statement Goals and Objectives Comprehensive Set of Indicators (examples) Core Set of Indicators Sustainability Dimension 1. Public Health - Improve public health - Various health impacts Social 2. Road safety and maintenance - Reduce traffic accidents & associated economic loss -Injury / Fatality rate Social 3. Traffic noise management - Minimize traffic noise level Environmental 4. Social equity and gender perspectives - Improved mobility for transport sensitive groups - Improved affordability -Social -Social 5. Public transport, planning and TDM -Congestion reduction - Energy conservation -Pollution reduction - Number of vehicles (by type) - Percentage of vehicles (by type) - Trip mode share (cars, buses / public transport, 2/3 wheelers, pedestrians) - Per capita vehicle ownership and mileage - Economic - Economic - Environmental 6. Non-motorized transport -Improve walking and cycling conditions and their mode share -Meet mobility needs of all categories of people Trip mode share (cars, buses/public transport, 2/3 wheelers, pedestrians, others) - Safe and protected bicycle & pedestrian lanes - Environment 7. Environment and peoplefriendly transport infrastructures - Promote safe and comfortable transport infrastructures and facilities - Parking facilities, road crossings, exclusive and protected pedestrian lanes, facilities for transport sensitive groups, ETC, BRT, MRT 8. Cleaner fuels - Minimize urban air pollution Environment 9. Strengthening road side air quality monitoring and assessment - Minimize immediate health impacts from PM 10/PM2.5 Environment 10. Vehicle emissions control & standards & I/M -Pollution emission reduction -- Minimize GHG emissions - Transport emissions & share in total emissions (CO2, NOx, PM, VOCs, SOx by mode) Environmental 11. Land use planning - Reduce trips and pollution - Land use mix Environment 12. Strengthening knowledge base, awareness and public