Regional Workshop // "Resource Efficiency in Asian Cities: The Urban Nexus", Bangkok/Thailand

An International Conference on the Nexus was organized by GIZ on 24-26 June 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference allowed reviewing the state of the art on Nexus technologies and approaches as well as presenting and discussing the initial Nexus project initiatives developed by participating cities. This workshop will continue the dialogue.

Background

The rapid urbanisation of the Asia-Pacific region entails the risk of widening supply gaps, in particular for water supply and sanitation systems, energy supply, land use and food security. However, the majority of cities/municipal administrations and municipal utilities in Asia-Pacific continue to plan and manage along sectoral lines and within municipal boundaries, and rarely in a coordinated and integrative manner. Consequently they are not able to fully utilise the interaction and synergies between water, energy and food security and the potential co-benefits arising from integrated resource management and planning for cities and their regions.

It is increasingly evident that the resource footprint of cities, as well as ecosystem boundaries, transcend administrative boundaries, calling for coordination across actors and institutions. The need for integrated planning requires a multi-disciplinary approach as well as effective and dynamic governance.

The nexus approach aims at integrated planning and management processes of the key sectors of energy, water and food security, and this can contribute substantially to the long-term sustainable development of rapidly growing cities and their regions. It is crucial, in this context, to involve municipal and regional actors and utilities towards more integrated planning and management of the nexus sectors.

To respond to these needs, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) are implementing the project "Integrated resource management in Asian Cities: the urban nexus", financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project supports ten cities in six countries, namely: China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Initially, the project is targeting the local level, by providing technical advice to municipal administrations/planning offices through international and national experts and by facilitating the establishment of Nexus Task Forces. The project oversees the design, planning and, where possible, implementation of practical nexus initiatives (with a focus on water, energy and/or food security) and at the same time seeks to feed the experiences gained at the local level into a national and regional dialogue and learning platform to achieve a pooling of knowledge and the potential for synergies in action. This will lay the foundation for a regional and national scaling-up of the nexus approach. In addition to mainstreaming nexus principles and know-how into the region's institutions, stakeholders from municipal administrations, research institutes, networks and non-governmental organisations will be supported with regard to human capacity development with a view to embedding new professional and management competences and capacities across these institutions.

An International Conference on the Nexus was organized by GIZ on 24-26 June 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Conference allowed reviewing the state of the art on Nexus technologies and approaches as well as presenting and discussing the initial Nexus project initiatives developed by participating cities.

Objectives

Building on the discussions that took place at the International Conference in June 2013, this Regional Workshop has the following objectives:

1. Review progress made so far in designing Nexus project initiatives in participating countries and share experiences and ideas.
2. Review current policies and programmes in support of Nexus approaches in participating countries and discuss the elements of a national policy framework required to enable urban Nexus initiatives to thrive.
3. Discuss the governance dimension of the urban nexus, and in particular institutional arrangements required for an effective implementation of Nexus approaches on the ground.
4. Define the next steps to be undertaken by the project in the participating cities.

Tentative programme

DAY 1: Monday 2 December 2013

08h00 - 09h00

Registration

9h00 — 9h30
Opening session

• Opening remarks by Rae Kwon Chung, Director, Environment and Development Division, ESCAP
• Opening remarks by Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Thailand
• Opening remarks by Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ)
• Welcome address by Royal Thai Government

9h30 — 10h00 Tea & Coffee break

10h00 — 11h45
Session 1: Relevance of the Nexus approach for the Asia-Pacific region

This session will introduce the relevance of the nexus approach for countries in Asia and the Pacific and present the progress of the project to date.

• Overview of the programme, by ESCAP (5 min)
• "Maximizing urban nexus opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region", by ESCAP (20 min)
• "Overview of the project and progress since the International Conference in June 2013", by GIZ NEXUS Project Team (10 min)
• "The Nexus Methodology", by GIZ NEXUS Project Team (15 min)
• Presentation by ICLEI (15 min)
• Keynote presentation (TBD) (20 min)
• Discussion

11h45 — 13h00 Lunch

13h00 — 15h30
Session 2: Urban nexus approach in practice

In this session each participating city will present their project proposals and progress made to date, and highlight some of the challenges facing implementation in terms of mandates, institutional arrangements, administrative boundaries and the required enabling policy framework.

• Ba'nan, China (15 min)
• Chiang Mai, Thailand (15 min)
• Da Nang, Viet Nam (15 min)
• Korat, Thailand (15 min)
• Naga, Philippines (15 min)
• Rizhao, China (15 min)
• Santa Rosa, Philippines (15 min)
• Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (15 min)
• Weifang, China (15 min)
• Yogyakarta, Indonesia (15 min)

15h30 — 16h00 Tea & Coffee Break

16h00-17h30
Session 3: Benchmarking the Nexus

This session will discuss how to measure the performance of nexus project and compare across cities, and support offered by project partners for monitoring and evaluation.

• City benchmarking, by Fraunhofer IAO (TBC) (20 min)
• Nexus approach in South Asia, by ICLEI (20 min)
• "Closing the loop between water, waste water, sold waste, recycling, energy provision and urban agriculture" (TBC) (20 min)
• Discussion

18:00 — 20:00 Welcome reception

DAY 2: Tuesday 3 December 2013

9h00-10h00
Session 4: Enabling policy framework for the Nexus

This session will review current policies and programmes in support of Nexus approaches in participating countries and discuss the elements of a national policy framework required to enable urban Nexus initiatives to succeed.

• Summary of discussions of day 1, by ESCAP (10 min)
• Enabling policy framework and institutional arrangements for the urban nexus, by ESCAP (20 min)
• Discussion

10h00 — 10h30 Tea & Coffee Break

10h30-12h00
Session 4: Enabling policy framework for the Nexus (continued)

Participating countries will elaborate on the relevance of the Nexus approach in their respective countries and present current policies and initiatives in support of the Nexus approach.

• China (10 min)
• Indonesia (10 min)
• Mongolia (10 min)
• Philippines (10 min)
• Thailand (10 min)
• Viet Nam (10 min)
• Discussion

12h00 — 13h15 Lunch

13h15 — 14h30
Session 5: The governance dimension

This session will discuss the governance dimension of the nexus approach and institutional arrangements required for effective implementation of nexus projects.

• Panel Discussions on Nexus Task Forces and communication structures

14h30 — 15h00 Tea & Coffee Break

15h00 — 16h30
Session 6: Mainstreaming the nexus approach

This session will take stock of the discussions of previous sessions and provide recommendations for the effective adoption of nexus approaches in terms of supportive policies, planning practices and institutional arrangements. It will further identify necessary future actions to support the project and its expected outcomes.

• Panel discussion

16h30 -17h00
Wrap-up and closing session

DAY 3: Wednesday 4 December 2013

For city representatives only

9h30 — 11:30
Closed session for city representatives to take stock of discussions of the regional workshop and discuss the next steps to be undertaken by the project.

11h30 — 13h00 Lunch