Human Settlements: Decisions of the GA and CSD

CSD-13 | WSSD | CSD Special Session  | CSD-3 |  CSD-2 

Commission on Sustainable Development,  13th Session
New York, 11-22 April 2005

DECISION ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION

Noting the outcomes of CSD-12 and the CSD-13 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting, in particular the identification of policy options and practical measures on the three thematic areas of water, sanitation and human settlements as contained in the Chairman’s Summary of the IPM,

2. Emphasizes that:

(c) Investments in water, sanitation and human settlements contribute to economic growth, sustainable development, better health and reduced poverty. The achievement of water, sanitation and human settlements goals, is critical to the implementation of the three pillars of sustainable development and the achievement of all the internationally agreed development goals;

(d) The policy options and practical measures for expediting implementation relating to water, sanitation and human settlements should be nationally-owned and integrated into poverty reduction strategies and/or national sustainable development strategies, whose implementation should begin by 2005, or national development plans;

(f) Efforts by Governments to achieve the agreed goals and targets on water, sanitation and human settlements should be supported by the international community through a conducive international policy environment, including through good governance at the international level, a universal, rule-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system as well as meaningful trade liberalization, including through urgent completion of the Doha Round with the realization of its development dimension, mobilization and transfer of financial resources, debt relief, including debt cancellation, where appropriate, public-public and public-private partnerships, technical cooperation and capacity building, and technology transfer consistent with international obligations including agreements acceded to;

(g) Water, sanitation and human settlements are interlinked and complementary and should be addressed in an integrated manner, taking into account economic, social and environmental aspects, related sectoral policies and cross-cutting issues as identified at CSD-11, as well as national, sub-regional, and regional specificities, circumstances and legal frameworks, and bearing in mind that no one size fits all;

(h) All donors should coordinate, in consultation with recipient countries, their country-level support for water, sanitation and human settlements, for example by using a lead donor approach if mutually agreed, to increase the effectiveness of donor assistance;

(i) Education for sustainable development and access to a reliable system of economic, social and environmental information on water, sanitation and human settlements enables informed decision-making and accountability;


C. Human settlements

(p) Provide an enabling policy and regulatory environment and mobilize the requisite means of implementation, including through regional cooperation and international support, including increased financial resources to promote sustainable human settlements development in both urban and rural areas, in accordance with national priorities;

Integrated planning and management

(q) Support integrated planning and management of human settlements, incorporating land use, housing, water supply and sanitation, waste management, energy, employment and income generation, education and health care services, transportation and other infrastructure, giving due consideration to urbanization trends, in particular, to the needs of the urban poor in implementing the Millennium Declaration, with a view to preventing new slum formation, by:

(i) Integrating urban-rural linkages into national planning processes and promoting further research to inform policies and measures to manage urbanization;

(ii) Integrating slum upgrading and slum prevention into national development planning, taking into account social, economic, cultural and environmental aspects;

(iii) Including natural disaster risk mitigation, early warning, preparedness and post-disaster considerations and related capacity building measures in human settlements planning and development, including at regional level;

(iv) Establishing and strengthening regional and subregional initiatives for human settlements planning and development, and supporting such initiatives through capacity building and resource mobilization;

(v) Strengthening capacities for waste management, including through implementation of the relevant international instruments including the Basel Convention;

(vi) Promoting increased participation of all stakeholders, in particular women and youth as well as slum dwellers and their organizations in planning, implementation and where appropriate decision-making processes;

(vii) Decentralizing responsibilities to local authorities depending on national circumstances, specificities and legal frameworks accompanied by capacity building and corresponding transfer of resources;

(viii) Promoting international networking for information exchange among local authorities and stakeholders, including for the implementation of Local Agendas 21;

(ix) Resolving to take further effective measures to remove obstacles to the full realization of the rights of the peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation, which are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and must be combated and eliminated;

Access to affordable land, housing and basic services

(r) Assist in providing access for the poor, in urban and rural areas, to decent and affordable housing and basic services, in accordance with the Habitat Agenda, through:

(i) Achieving, by 2020, a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, as proposed in the “Cities without slums” initiative;

(ii) Designing pro-poor policies, with a focus on tenure security and access to affordable serviced land;

(iii) Promoting stable and transparent land markets and strengthening land administration;

(iv) Targeting subsidies to poor people for housing and basic services, including the consideration of loans and subsidies that reflect the payment capabilities of the poor for housing and basic services;

(v) Improving equal access to basic services and land tenure, with particular attention to the equal rights of women to own and inherit land and other property and to access credit markets;

(vi) Promoting public-private partnerships for financing and developing infrastructure and affordable housing;

(vii) Strengthening enforcement capacity for building codes and laws in the housing sector;

(viii) Promoting research, production and use of local construction technologies and building materials and integrating traditional knowledge and practices, as appropriate, in national housing policies;

(ix) Facilitating transfer of technology for low-cost housing construction using local materials;

(x) Strengthening the capital base and building the financial capacity of community savings and micro- finance institutions serving the poor;

(xi) Encouraging donors and international financial institutions to provide innovative financing for low-income housing and community improvement, including through loan guarantees, seed capital for revolving funds, and facilitating access of local authorities to capital markets;

(xii) Providing increased financial assistance, including by multilateral and regional development banks, for slum prevention and upgrading;

(xiii) Providing support to refugee host countries in developing and rehabilitating infrastructure and environment, including affected ecosystems and habitats;

Employment and enterprise promotion

(s) Support national measures encouraging private sector investment, entrepreneurship and job creation, including the following:

(i) Incorporating employment and enterprise development policies into national planning and slum prevention and upgrading programmes;

(ii) Facilitating the development of the micro- finance sector;

(iii) Enhancing capacity in managerial, environmental and technical skills of small and medium sized enterprises, including in the informal economy, to improve their access to finance and marketing opportunities;

(iv) Providing education and vocational training to women and youth, particularly the urban poor, to improve their access to decent jobs, combining provision of financial services with mentoring, business training, and counselling;

D. Interlinkages and Cross-Cutting Issues

(t) Address water, sanitation and human settlements in an integrated manner, taking into account economic, social and environmental aspects, related sectoral policies and cross-cutting issues as identified at CSD-11, as well as national, sub-regional, and regional specificities, circumstances and legal frameworks, with particular attention given to the requirements of women, youth and workers, through a range of measures and approaches such as:

(i) Interlinking measures on water, sanitation and human settlements to increase their synergy, efficiency and impact by developing integrated and inclusive policies of planning and management in water, sanitation, and human settlements;

(ii) Improving national coordination efforts to address water and sanitation, to manage the competing demands for water, including those for agricultural production;

(iii) Enhancing inter-ministerial coordination cross-sectoral coordination and planning mechanisms, as well as mechanisms for coordination between different levels of administration;

(iv) In accordance with JPOI paragraph 14, promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns in all countries, with developed countries taking the lead and with all countries benefiting from the process, including through the Marrakech Process, in the areas of water, sanitation and human settlements;

(u) Devise water, sanitation and human settlements policies and actions taking account of the need to address the impacts of rapid urbanization, desertification, climate change and climate variability and natural disasters, including by:

(i) Assessing the impact of natural disasters, climate change and climate variability on water resources, water supply, sanitation, human settlements;

(ii) Supporting the implementation of monitoring and early warning systems and of relevant mitigation and adaptation technologies;

(v) Noting that the water and sanitation targets are to halve the proportion of people who lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015, and that the target for slum-dwellers is to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020, support countries , including through UN HABITAT, in their ability to provide data and information on existing slums with a projection on new slum formation by 2020, and thereafter to adopt and implement plans to achieve these targets, linked to poverty reduction strategies, national sustainable development strategies or other relevant policy plans;

(w) Resolve to take further effective measures to remove obstacles to the full realization to the rights of people living under colonial and foreign occupation which are incompatible with the dignity and worth of human person and must be combated and eliminated;

(x) Concerning the means of implementation, mobilize adequate resources to meet the water, sanitation and human settlements goals and targets, tapping both domestic and international sources through a range of financing approaches, such as:

(i) Increasing donor financial support, upon request, to water, sanitation and human settlements initiatives in developing countries;

(ii) Identifying and promoting innovative and sustainable means of financing;

(iii) Enhancing the sustainability of ecosystems that provide essential resources and services for human well-being and economic activity and developing innovative means of financing for their protection;

(iv) Encouraging the Bretton Woods Institutions, GEF within its mandate, and the regional banks to enhance their assistance to the water, sanitation and human settlements sectors;

(v) Establishing and promoting public-private and public-public partnerships;

(vi) Increasing allocations from national and sub-national budgets;

(vii) Developing and supporting local financial institutions and markets, including pooled financial facilities, revolving funds, loan guarantees and micro-credit facilities;

(viii) Providing support to regional and sub-regional initiatives such as AMCHUD and MINURVI;

(ix) Providing support for capacity building in developing countries;

(x) Providing environmentally sound technology to developing countries in accordance with paragraph 105 of JPOI;

E. International Institutional Arrangements for Monitoring and Follow-Up of CSD-13

Decisions on water, sanitation and human settlements

(aa) Support, strengthen and implement voluntary monitoring, reporting and assessment of the thematic areas of water, sanitation and human settlements at the national and regional levels and through existing mechanisms at the global level to keep track of progress in achieving sustainable development, bearing in mind the specific needs of developing countries, by the following measures:

(i) Improving data collection at all levels;

(ii) Enhancing the comparability of data at the regional and global level;

(iii) Facilitating the contribution of major groups to national reporting activities;

(iv) Requesting the CSD Secretariat to update the policy options and practical measures contained in the Chairman’s IPM Summary, on a regular basis to make it a living document, and to develop web-based tools to disseminate information on implementation and best practices;

Follow-up on Human Settlements

5. Requests UN Habitat as the focal agency for human settlements, to facilitate – in close collaboration with relevant UN agencies and programmes as well as other partners – effective global monitoring of progress in the implementation of human settlements goals and targets, as well as measures agreed at CSD-13 concerning human settlements;

6. Calls on Member states to strengthen the capacities of UN-HABITAT to provide, within its mandate, increased assistance to developing countries, and countries with economies in transition, including through the current pilot phase of the Slum Upgrading Facility;

World Summit on Sustainable Development
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, A/CONF.199/20

"11. By 2020, achieve a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, as proposed in the .Cities without slums. initiative. This would include actions at all levels to:

(a) Improve access to land and property, to adequate shelter and to basic services for the urban and rural poor, with special attention to female heads of household;

(b) Use low-cost and sustainable materials and appropriate technologies for the construction of adequate and secure housing for the poor, with financial and technological assistance to developing countries, taking into account their culture, climate, specific social conditions and vulnerability to natural disasters;

(c) Increase decent employment, credit and income for the urban poor, through appropriate national policies, promoting equal opportunities for women and men;

(d) Remove unnecessary regulatory and other obstacles for microenterprises and the informal sector;

(e) Support local authorities in elaborating slum upgrading programmes

within the framework of urban development plans and facilitate access, particularly for the poor, to information on housing legislation."

United Nations General Assembly, 19th Special Session

New York, 23-27 June 1997

Resolution Adopted By The General Assembly for the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21

Sustainable human settlements

Sustainable human settlements development is essential to sustainable development. The need to intensify efforts and cooperation to improve living conditions in the cities, towns, villages and rural areas throughout the world is recognized. Approximately half the world's population already lives in urban settlements, and by early in the next century the majority - more than 5 billion people - will be urban residents. Urban problems are concerns common to both developed and developing countries, although urbanization is occurring most rapidly in developing countries. Urbanization creates both challenges and opportunities. Global urbanization is a cross-sectoral phenomenon that has an impact on all aspects of sustainable development. Urgent action is needed to implement fully the commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) consistent with its report, 22/ and in Agenda 21. New and additional financial resources from various sources are necessary to achieve the goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world. Transfer of expertise and technology, capacity-building, decentralization of authority through, inter alia, strengthening of local capacity and private-public partnerships to improve the provision and environmentally sound management of infrastructure and social services should be accelerated to achieve more sustainable human settlements development. Local Agenda 21 programmes should also be actively encouraged. Global targets could be established by the Commission on Sustainable Development to promote local Agenda 21 campaigns and to deal with obstacles to local Agenda 21 initiatives.

Commission on Sustainable Development, 3rd Session
New York, 11-28 April 1995

Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on the Third Session (11-28 April 1995) Progress in the implementation of decisions on sectoral issues adopted by the second session of the Commission on Sustainable Development 97.

The Commission recalls the decisions taken on the sectoral clusters of "Health, human settlements and freshwater" and "Toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes" at the second session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, requests detailed consideration regarding the follow-up activities thereon and urges further efforts to ensure the full implementation of these decisions. 99. In the area of human settlements, the Commission notes that substantial progress has been made in the development of an electronic catalog of "best practice" as regards environmental planning and management, including performance indicators. Initiatives in this area are based on the land management component of two ongoing inter-agency projects, the Urban Management Programme and Sustainable Cities Programme, which launched demonstration activities in several cities achieving tangible results particularly with regard to stimulating national initiatives.

Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development  on its Second Session (New York, 16-27 May 1994)

2.    Human settlements

116.    The Commission takes note, with appreciation, of the Secretary- General's report (E/CN.17/1994/5) and the background paper prepared by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) on promoting sustainable human settlements development.

117.    The Commission recognizes, in the context of human settlements development, the importance of achieving sustainability and the goals of Agenda 21, particularly in view of the high rate of urbanization and the consequent challenge to the local and global environment, and also in view of the lack of shelter and sanitation for a large segment of the population in developing countries. While the urban development patterns in a number of countries, particularly in the developed countries, provide for a satisfactory standard of living for sizeable parts of the population, they also place an extraordinary strain on the world's ecological resources and systems.

118.    The Commission suggests that Governments take a balanced approach to all programme areas of chapter 7 and chapter 21 of Agenda 21. Land- resource management, urban transportation, access to adequate shelter, and the management of solid wastes, especially in developing countries, are areas requiring greater attention. The Commission notes the close linkage between human settlements and the issues of water supply, sanitation and health.

119. The Commission draws special attention to the potential contributions of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), to be held in Istanbul in June 1996, and to the crucial role of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. That would be a key Conference, which was expected to support and further advance the objectives of Agenda 21.

120.    The Commission draws attention to the linkages between unsatisfactory shelter and environmental conditions and the lack of access to land and security of tenure, on the one hand, and social divisions, violence and the degradation of personal safety, on the other. Governments at all levels should recognize that insecure and inhuman conditions for living and working both violate human rights and are a primary cause of social conflict and violent disruptions of civil society.

121. The Commission recognizes that human settlements development need to take a comprehensive approach that treats urban and rural problems as integral parts of the overall human settlements equation, since developing countries, in particular, face rapid urban population growth due, inter alia, to increasing migration from rural to urban areas.

122. The Commission recommends that Governments and the international community give priority attention to human settlements programmes and policies to reduce urban pollution and to improve and expand urban services and infrastructure, particularly in low-income communities. Those efforts are necessary to safeguarding human health, preserving the integrity of the natural environment and ensuring economic productivity. The "brown agenda" (a concept that addresses urban pollution resulting from inadequate water supply, sanitation and drainage, poor industrial and solid-waste management, and air pollution) is also highlighted as an umbrella approach to urban pollution issues that can be used to link and better implement Agenda 21 in the urban context.

123. The Commission welcomes the relevant provisions of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

124. The Commission underscores the crucial importance of action at the local level and confirms the importance of the local Agenda 21 process, as specified in chapter 28 of Agenda 21. The participation of people at the local level, including major group representatives, to facilitate effective local action and efficient management of human settlements, is indispensable. Local authorities and their national and international associations are important partners for the decentralized implementation of appropriate human settlements programmes.

125. The Commission notes the financial and technical requirements needed to implement the human settlement activities set out in Agenda 21 and emphasizes the substantial resource and technology gap faced by developing countries and economies in transition in addressing human settlements problems.

126. The Commission also notes the great potential that exists within the human settlements context for increased economic activity, job creation and related revenues, inter alia, as a result of building construction programmes. Such positive potentials can be realized through appropriate sustainable human settlements policies that emphasize greater use of local materials and human resources, encouraging and supporting design efficiency and energy-saving methods, among other initiatives. In that context, the work-place and the role of workers can be an important focus for the implementation of policies and programmes.

127. The integral role of the private sector in the development and dissemination of cost-effective and sustainable building materials, increased energy and materials efficiency, and sustainable waste management is underlined. In that context, the Commission particularly highlights the need to encourage local, small and micro-enterprises.

128. The Commission emphasizes the need to strengthen human settlements management capacity, where appropriate, as a necessary prerequisite for the successful implementation of all human settlements-related components of Agenda 21. Particular emphasis is also placed on building the capacity of relevant major groups to encourage and enhance their contributions to local, regional and international human settlements development efforts.

129. The Commission notes, in regard to solid-waste management, that the promotion of waste recycling and reuse provides a unique opportunity in waste management; it helps to solve the problem of environmental degradation and has the potential to alleviate urban poverty and generate income among the urban poor. However, that requires supply-side policies aimed at promoting and supporting resource recovery, and demand-side policies aimed at stimulating markets for recovered materials and products.

130. The Commission recognizes that many developing countries are dependent on imported technologies for infrastructure development and improvements, including for solid-waste management, and notes that the international community has an important role to play in facilitating the transfer of environmentally sound technology. At the same time, full use should be made of locally available technologies that can be adapted to existing needs.

131. The Commission, therefore:

(a) Calls upon Governments to strengthen the networks of small- and medium-sized settlements in rural regions in order to provide attractive settlement opportunities and ease migratory pressure on large metropolises, and recommends that Governments implement programmes of rural development by expanding employment opportunities, providing educational and health facilities, strengthening technical infrastructure, and encouraging rural enterprises and sustainable agriculture, and further calls upon the international community to support those rural development programmes;

(b) Recommends that Governments and the private sector, particularly in the developed countries, increase their efforts to develop new and environmentally sound technologies for urban transportation, other infrastructure and buildings, as well as environmentally sound products, in order to reduce demands on natural resources. Those technologies and products, as well as the information related to them should, where appropriate, be made accessible to urban and environmental authorities in all countries;

(c) Calls upon Governments to strengthen the economic, political and social institutions of civil society so as to enhance, especially at the municipal level, the capacity of local authorities, training institutions, community groups and non-governmental organizations to act as effective partners and organizers of sustainable development activities at the local level. The Commission further invites local authorities and their associations to exchange know-how on the effective management of human settlements, including satisfactory coordination and burden-sharing among central city and suburban local authorities in urban agglomerations, and, as appropriate, in rural areas.

132. The Commission, further:

(a) Requests Governments, the international community, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to fully support the preparatory process for the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), including at the regional level;

(b) Urges appropriate United Nations agencies, through the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD), to mobilize legal, economic and environmental expertise for the development of equitable and sustainable land use planning and management strategies for human settlements of all sizes;

(c) Calls upon Governments and international organizations to emphasize "best practice" in delivery mechanisms, including demand-driven systems, increased networking, bottom-up capacity-building, demonstration/replication strategies, regional coordination and decentralized local management and, in that context, called for a review of "best practice" applications to provide a basis for the systematic dissemination of effective models;

(d) Invites the appropriate United Nations agencies and organizations, through IACSD, to launch a demonstration initiative for environmentally friendly urban transport. That initiative should draw together the best available expertise on urban infrastructure management and should facilitate the exchange of knowledge on "best practices" between developed and developing countries. The Secretary-General is invited to report to the Commission on progress in that area by 1997;

(e) Invites appropriate United Nations agencies and international organizations, through IACSD, to consider the feasibility of preparing and implementing integrated environment-upgrading demonstration projects for human settlements in three mega-cities: one each in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Secretary-General is invited to report to the Commission on progress in that area by 1997;

(f) Calls upon Governments and international agencies, in particular the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements and UNIDO to support and encourage local, small and micro-enterprises, which, particularly in the context of local development, develop and offer environmentally sustainable building material components and related products, as well as environmentally sound energy systems;

(g) Urges Governments and international organizations to give more concerted attention to the management of solid wastes. That should include promoting greater awareness of the environmental and health risks from solid waste and the impact of changes in production and consumption patterns on the volume and type of such waste, as well as utilizing the resources and potential of the private sector, including the formal and informal sectors, and using indigenous technologies and techniques;

(h) Calls upon appropriate United Nations agencies and international organizations, through IACSD, to establish joint programming mechanisms in the area of human settlements that are specifically focused on urban services and urban poverty and their linkages with health and the environment and urges donor organizations to support those joint programming initiatives;

(i) Urges United Nations agencies and other international bodies to include in their urban monitoring and reporting activities appropriate indicators for the environmental performance of cities;

(j) Urges the international community, in carrying out its assistance activities, to explore, through appropriate authorities, the full range of joint programming options and new alliances with, inter alia, local authorities and associations of local authorities, national and international non-governmental organizations, the private sector and women's and community groups;

(k) Requests the Secretary-General, in the context of reporting on section III of Agenda 21, to give special attention to the role of local authorities and to the progress they are making in the implementation of the human settlements objectives of Agenda 21;

(l) Invites the task manager to continue to monitor progress made by the United Nations and other international agencies in implementing chapter 7 of Agenda 21 and to inform the Commission periodically of such progress through IACSD;

(m) Calls upon Governments and international organizations to focus greater attention on meeting the capital investment requirements of human settlements through enhanced resource-mobilization strategies and policies that facilitate greater flows of private investment in infrastructure and services and all forms of public and private sector partnership in human settlements development;

(n) Urges Governments to mobilize financial and technological resources, as agreed in chapters 33 and 34 of Agenda 21 and in the relevant decisions of the Commission, and to respond to the priorities contained in the present decision.