26 October 2020, Suva, Fiji – UN-Habitat is pleased to announce the launch of the Pacific Partnership for the New Urban Agenda (PP-NUA), in partnership with : CLGF Pacific, Compass Housing, EAROPH Australia, ICLEI Oceania, Monash University, UNESCAP and University of Melbourne.
This new initiative aims to accelerate the implementation of the Pacific New Urban Agenda (NUA) to 2025 by supporting the countries of the region to achieve sustainable urban development. The PP-NUA will coordinate development partners, mobilize resources for regional knowledge sharing and facilitate development initiatives across multiple sectors for greater project integration and synergies.
In the Pacific where rates of urban growth have far outpaced rural growth, tackling urban challenges from overcrowding and informal settlements to disaster vulnerability and climate change is a vital priority. The Pacific New Urban Agenda, adopted at the 2019 Fifth Pacific Urban Forum in Nadi, Fiji, presents a shared vision of regional urban development through 4 working pillars:
- 1. Social Equity and Urbanization
- 2. Environment Resilience and Urbanization
- 3. Urban Economy
- 4. Urban Governance
The PP-NUA supports implementation of the global New Urban Agenda initiative and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG11 to create inclusive safe, resilient and sustainable cities and settlements. In particular, the Pacific New Urban Agenda will provide a key focus on vulnerable groups and aims to scale up engagement of informal communities, women, and youth stakeholders.
Against the backdrop of a fast urbanizing Pacific region, UN-Habitat promotes the development of sustainable, Covid-19 and climate resilient cities and communities. The challenges and opportunities associated with urbanization are many folds and we thus appreciate the Pacific Partnership for the New Urban Agenda in follow up to the Pacific Urban Forum. Atsushi Koresawa, Regional Representative, UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP).
Pacific-wide and cross-sectoral the PP-NUA will bring together key actors from public, private, academic and intergovernmental organisations and strengthen regional collaboration and cooperation. We welcome participants to our PP-NUA launch and first webinar event: Local Economic Development in the Pacific Islands: Framework for a Blue and Green Economy on Friday, 30th October 2020. In alignment with the PP-NUA Urban Economy pillar and SDG8, partners EAROPH Australia, CLGF Pacific and the University of Melbourne will host a dialogue on local economic development planning (LED). The webinar will share best practice experiences from pilot communities across Kiribati, the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands including engagement informal sector actors, overcoming local institutional barriers and benefits to urban livelihoods, especially with respect to COVID-19 economic recovery.
To register and for more information please see our PP-NUA Community of Practice.
