event 13 Jun 2019

Urban Nexus // The Nexus Regional Dialogue in the MENA Region participates in the Ninth Regional Workshop on “Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: The Urban Nexus”

By Dr. Nisreen Lahham. The Nexus Regional Dialogue in the MENA region participated in the final workshop of the “Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: The Urban Nexus” project, held in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 22nd - May 23rd. This project, implemented by GIZ in partnership with UN-ESCAP and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, and with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), organized its final workshop, commemorating the achievements of the project, ending in July 2019. This end of the project comes after six years of successful implementation by cities advancing innovative, integrated resource management solutions, through applying the “Nexus” approach, aiming to integrate planning and management processes of the energy, water and food/land sectors, minimizing trade-offs and optimizing synergies.

Urban nexus final conference thailand neu
(C) GIZ

The workshop started by announcing and distributing a publication entitled: “The Urban Nexus- Integrating Resources for Sustainable Cities”. This publication brings together practical and technical expertise gained over six years by practitioners and stakeholders working to advance the Urban Nexus approach. Knowledge and experience accumulated from the project is shared through this report, providing cities, interested in advancing the Urban Nexus approach, with information to get started. This publication could be accessed here.

The 9th and concluding regional workshop provided a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on the Urban Nexus approach and sharing of best practices between cities, regional/provincial and national governments.

Meso level organizations, the private sector, international financing organizations, and academia were also engaged. The ninth and concluding regional workshop took stock of the lessons, outcomes and feedback from partner cities’ experiences, drawing from the regional workshops and dialogues, outreach events, study tours, peer-to-peer exchanges and trainings the Project hosted.

Over 100 participants were in attendance from India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam - of the project participant countries in addition to representatives from the Nexus Regional Dialogue in the MENA region and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC).

This convening included a diverse group of participants; local, sub-national and national government officials from the Urban Nexus Project cities and countries involved with public works and urban planning, energy, water, wastewater, solid waste, finance and the International Agendas; educators and students to help take ideas forward; representatives of city networks, international organizations, international financing institutions, academic organizations, private sector enterprises and other relevant stakeholders with an interest in integrated resource management; and officials with exposure and responsibilities for policymaking on national implementation of SDGs and climate change.

Teachers and students from primary and secondary schools, colleges, training institutes and universities discussed ways to incorporate integrated approaches into their curricula and teaching to help increase momentum to advance the Nexus approach. Experts and practitioners shared selected infrastructure solutions, addressing financing and policy transformations the Urban Nexus approach can achieve. Local and national government officials presented information on how the Urban Nexus approach contributes to achievement of global agendas.

Through interactive discussions, the participants suggested some potential actions, fostering a way forward to sustain and expand the momentum and benefits to other countries and cities. At the final session, the Nexus Regional Dialogue in the MENA Region presented the activities of the Nexus Dialogue Programme and some lessons learnt on Urban Nexus from the region. The session ended up by exchanging ideas on how to take the Nexus approach forward, beyond the Project’s closure. A South -South Dialogue on Urban Nexus was suggested, aiming to transfer the good practices of the Urban Nexus Project to other regions, namely, the MENA region.

Workshop Presentations on Urban Nexus

All presentations from the workshop can be accessed here.

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