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Bhubaneswar joined Asian Mayors Kyoto Declaration on the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) for Asian Cities

07th May 2007

City mayors and international experts gathered at the "Asian Mayors’ Policy Dialogue for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Cities" on 23-24 April 2007, Kyoto, Japan.

During the two-day meeting, 25 mayors from Japan, South Korea, China, India, Thailand and other Asian nations, as well as delegates from international and regional organizations are hold discussions on how to solve the environmental and social challenges in urban transportation and share practices and information.

At the opening of the Asian Mayor's Policy Dialogue for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Cities, Tomokatsu Kitagawa, parliamentary secretary of the Japanese Environment Ministry, said "The quick economic advancement in Asia has brought urbanization, motorization and heavier environmental burden."

It has been widely recognized that "cities must play an important role" in solving the issues, Kitagawa said.

The policy dialogue incorporated city-specific elements under the overall framework of the Regional EST Forum, and brought about greater coordination and collaboration among national and local efforts to realize the goal of sustainability in the transport sector in the Asian region. City mayors presented their initiatives in promoting EST at the city level, shared best practices and lessons learned, and discussed future steps with each other. As an outcome of the dialogue, the Kyoto Declaration was adopted by the city mayors towards further promotion of EST through city level action plans and programmes.

Mr. Kazunobu Onogawa, Director of UNCRD emphasized the importance of bringing city-level perspectives to the Regional EST Forum by saying that "national and city-level policies, programmes, and action plans to promote EST must be in harmony with each other, in order to maintain and enhance their efficacy." He also expressed his strong hope that this Mayors' message would be effectively transferred to all parties concerned, including international, regional, and bilateral supporting organizations, in order to fully implement EST in Asia.

Many Asian centers already have highly evolved urban transport systems in place. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Manila and Kuala Lumpur, for example, each possess an extensive network of subways and commuter trains. At the same time, dense development above ground makes it possible to use non-motorized transport like bicycles and rickshaws to get from one local destination to another.

Despite these strengths Asian cities cannot rest on their laurels: growing populations necessitate ever more efficient and sustainable transport solutions. Several of the conference’s participants presented interesting innovations. The team of representatives from Seoul presented a comprehensive system of color-coded neighborhood, citywide, and regional buses, while Ulaanbaatar’s Mayor spoke frankly of the need for financial and legal structures to support the right kind of urban development.

The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2040, vehicles in Asia would surpass those in Europe and North America. Therefore, efforts to enforce cleaner fuels and emission standards would probably be offset by the rapid growth of automobiles in the region.

Environmentally Sustainable Transport for Asian Cities seeks to offer an alternative to the current mobility form of urban centres that are increasingly chaotic, dangerous, unhealthy and environmental damaging. Measures and practices such as efficient public transport, quality public space and cycle ways, and prudent restrictions on private motorized vehicles have proven effective in not only reducing the negative impacts of unsustainable transport but also in providing a means to improve the basic quality of human life.

Choudhury Rudra Charan Mohanty, Environment Program Coordinator of the United Nations Center for Regional Development, said that Asia has sustained losses due to poor transport management. He noted that some 75,000 people died each year in urban road accidents and 4.7 million were injured in ASEAN countries, leading to losses of some 15.1 billion U.S. dollars, or 2.2 percent of regional GDP. He urged Asian cities should implement integrated EST strategies with adequate consideration to environment and people friendly urban transport infrastructures.

At the concluding remarks Mihir Kumar Mohanty, Mayor Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, said “We need to build cities livable with people-friendly transport system and adoption of the Kyoto Declaration by Asian Mayors was an historic moment for the Asian EST Initiative”.

As population continue to intensify urban areas, the provision of sustainable transport becomes even more pressing in environmental, economic, and social terms. Once an automobile culture becomes entrenched in the rapidly-growing economies of Asia, there will be a few opportunities to reverse the consequences. Thus, now is the time to act to move towards a more sustainable path before irreparable damage is done to the quality of our life today as well as that for future generations.

It is often observed that most of the city plans to build infrastructure to meet the demand posed by cars, heavy vehicles and motorized systems. However, most of the cities tend to forget about children, old citizens, physically deprived, pedestrian and bicycle users. The EST focuses more of non motorized intervention benefiting all categories of the citizens. EST is not only benefits environment but also improves financial benefits of rich and poor.

The Regional EST Forum is a joint initiative of the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) and the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan. The EST Forum provides a strategic/ knowledge platform for sharing experiences and disseminating among Asian countries best practices, policy instruments, tools, technologies, in relation to various aspects of EST.

Mr. Piyush Ranjan Rout, Executive Director of City Managers’ Association Orissa, adds that "CMAO will promote and set up an Indian EST Forum for promotion of knowledge dissemination among cities”. Further stressed the urgency of networking among Asian Cities for the promotion of best practices on EST. CMAO is discussing with UNCRD together with other stakeholders and partners about promotion of EST in cities of Orissa.

Download Declaration

Mayor of Kyoto signing the declaration

For any suggestion mail to:

City Managers Association Orissa,
C/o Vice Chairman,
Bhubaneswar Development Authority,
Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar - 751001,
Orissa, India
Phone: +91-674-2395614 Fax: +91-674-2390633
Email: cmao@sancharnet.in