DIREC parallel event: Strategy for Sustainable Habitats
Strategy for Sustainable Habitats
Session 1: Green Cities
[click on the links to download presentations]
Session 2: Green Neighbourhoods
[click on the links to download presentations]
Session 1: Green Cities
[click on the links to download presentations]
- Kathleen Bolcar, United States Department of State, on the Solar America Cities Initiative
- Alpana Mitra, Rajkot Municipal Corporation, on the Development of Rajkot as a Solar City
- Sunil D Pote , Thane Municipal Corporation, on the Devlopment of Thane as a Solar City
- Rian van Staden, Independent consultant to ICLEI on ICLEI's Local Renewables Iniative: Experiences with model communities in India and Brazil
- Mosi Kitwana, Deputy Executive Director, ICLEI USA
- Girish Sethi, Director, Industrial Energy Efficiency Division, The Energy and Resources Insitute on energy efficiencies in municipal services in cities
Session 2: Green Neighbourhoods
[click on the links to download presentations]
- Mili Majumdar, Director, TERI, on GRIHA for large campuses
- Ray Morgan, Chief Executive, Woking Borough Council, on Woking's initiatives in the development of green neighbourhoods
- Wolfgang Jung, Gelsenkirchen, on Solar City Gelsenkirchen
- Vinod Gupta, Space Design Consultants, on environmental friendly campus design
ICLEI involvement in two events at the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference 27-28 October 2010
The Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) 2010 was held at the Greater NOIDA Expo Center from 27 to 29 October 2010. DIREC 2010 is the fourth in the series of global Ministerial-level Conferences on Renewable Energy, which follows from the initiative taken at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, acknowledging the significance of renewable energy for sustainable development. DIREC 2010 is an international platform for government, private sector, and civil society leaders to jointly address the goal of advancing renewable energy. It will build upon the success and outcomes of the previous events in Washington in 2008, Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004. Government representatives from 71 countries were present at DIREC.
ICLEI South Asia was involved in organizing two events during the high-profile international conference, serving to put a spot light upon local governments in the renewable energy dialogue.
Day 1: day long Official Parallel Event ‘Strategy for Sustainable Habitats’
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), ICLEI South Asia, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Mirabilis Advisory jointly organized an official parallel event on the sidelines of the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) 2010 on the 27 October 2010. The event, “Strategy for Sustainable Habitats” focused on the development of sustainable habitats within urban centres in India, with special emphasis on the role of local governments in developing green cities, and the development of green developments within cities. With the relevant experience on sustainability, environment, energy and habitat assessment this parallel event proved to be a great platform to showcase the activities of local authorities, civil society, and renewable energy role players and developed and insinuated further ideas, concepts and solutions to further extend the green cause.
Over 200 participants ranging from academia to government attended this day long event that served to further inform the ongoing discussions in India on environment, energy and sustainability in India’s rapidly growing and developing urban areas.
Followed by the inaugural session (introduced by Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director ICLEI South Asia Secretariat) the event was divided into three sessions, namely Sustainability and Green Cities (chaired by Mr. Mark Ginsberg, Senior Executive Advisor, Member Board of Directors, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Department of Energy, USA), Green neighborhoods: Indian and international experiences (chaired by Dr. Dietter Mutz, Head, GTZ-ASEM), and Green Campuses way forward: Panel Discussion (moderated by Mr. Anupam Yog, Director, Mirabilis Advisory).
The event had several eminent speakers like Dr. Ajay Mathur (Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency), Mr. Mark Ginsberg (Senior Executive Advisor, Member Board of Directors, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Department of Energy, USA), Mr. D. H. Brahmbhatt (Commissioner Rajkot Municipal Corporation), Mr. Girish Sethi (Director, Industrial Energy Efficiency Division, TERI), Mr. Ray Morgan (OBE, Chief Executive of Woking Borough Council, UK), Mr. P.K. Kalra, (Director, IIT Rajasthan).
Presentations during the event will be available here shortly
Day 2: State and Local Governments Session in Main DIREC programme:
ICLEI South Asia, in collaboration with the MNRE, organized a session on state and local governments in the main programme of DIREC. This session, held on Day 2 of the conference, attracted over 80 participants. The session consisted of a panel discussion to develop consensus on the role that state and local governments should play in promoting and adopting renewable energy in India’s cities. Good practice examples from India (Local Renewables Model Communities Network Project) and Germany (City of Geselkirchen) and England (Woking Borough Council) were presented. An existing example of the interaction between local, state and national governments in India, the national solar cities programme, was presented and discussed by the city of Thane. The session was highly interactive and enabled the ministry to gain insights from a range of expert perspectives in developing a future strategy for involving state and local governments.
The DIREC Declaration:
DIREC 2010 concluded with the DIREC Declaration, which summarizes the benefits and growth of renewable energy over the past decade and goes on to outline the main issues that need to be addressed, particularly emphasizing the importance of the universal access to energy. The DIREC Declaration calls upon the United Nations to designate 2012 as the international year of energy access.
The next IREC will be held in 2011 at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Refer to the DIREC website for more information.
ICLEI South Asia was involved in organizing two events during the high-profile international conference, serving to put a spot light upon local governments in the renewable energy dialogue.
Day 1: day long Official Parallel Event ‘Strategy for Sustainable Habitats’
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), ICLEI South Asia, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Mirabilis Advisory jointly organized an official parallel event on the sidelines of the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) 2010 on the 27 October 2010. The event, “Strategy for Sustainable Habitats” focused on the development of sustainable habitats within urban centres in India, with special emphasis on the role of local governments in developing green cities, and the development of green developments within cities. With the relevant experience on sustainability, environment, energy and habitat assessment this parallel event proved to be a great platform to showcase the activities of local authorities, civil society, and renewable energy role players and developed and insinuated further ideas, concepts and solutions to further extend the green cause.
Over 200 participants ranging from academia to government attended this day long event that served to further inform the ongoing discussions in India on environment, energy and sustainability in India’s rapidly growing and developing urban areas.
Followed by the inaugural session (introduced by Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director ICLEI South Asia Secretariat) the event was divided into three sessions, namely Sustainability and Green Cities (chaired by Mr. Mark Ginsberg, Senior Executive Advisor, Member Board of Directors, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Department of Energy, USA), Green neighborhoods: Indian and international experiences (chaired by Dr. Dietter Mutz, Head, GTZ-ASEM), and Green Campuses way forward: Panel Discussion (moderated by Mr. Anupam Yog, Director, Mirabilis Advisory).
The event had several eminent speakers like Dr. Ajay Mathur (Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency), Mr. Mark Ginsberg (Senior Executive Advisor, Member Board of Directors, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Department of Energy, USA), Mr. D. H. Brahmbhatt (Commissioner Rajkot Municipal Corporation), Mr. Girish Sethi (Director, Industrial Energy Efficiency Division, TERI), Mr. Ray Morgan (OBE, Chief Executive of Woking Borough Council, UK), Mr. P.K. Kalra, (Director, IIT Rajasthan).
Presentations during the event will be available here shortly
Day 2: State and Local Governments Session in Main DIREC programme:
ICLEI South Asia, in collaboration with the MNRE, organized a session on state and local governments in the main programme of DIREC. This session, held on Day 2 of the conference, attracted over 80 participants. The session consisted of a panel discussion to develop consensus on the role that state and local governments should play in promoting and adopting renewable energy in India’s cities. Good practice examples from India (Local Renewables Model Communities Network Project) and Germany (City of Geselkirchen) and England (Woking Borough Council) were presented. An existing example of the interaction between local, state and national governments in India, the national solar cities programme, was presented and discussed by the city of Thane. The session was highly interactive and enabled the ministry to gain insights from a range of expert perspectives in developing a future strategy for involving state and local governments.
The DIREC Declaration:
DIREC 2010 concluded with the DIREC Declaration, which summarizes the benefits and growth of renewable energy over the past decade and goes on to outline the main issues that need to be addressed, particularly emphasizing the importance of the universal access to energy. The DIREC Declaration calls upon the United Nations to designate 2012 as the international year of energy access.
The next IREC will be held in 2011 at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Refer to the DIREC website for more information.
TTEB Report Launch New Delhi September 2010
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) Report for regional and local policy makers was launched on 9 September 2010 in Teen Murti Bhavan by the Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh in a national symposium attended by eminent policy makers, mayors, commissioners, scientists and experts in the field. The report encapsulates the essence of collaborating ecosystem services into policy making levels, to facilitate local authorities to streamline budgetary allocation for ecosystem services boosting the local economy, generating livelihoods and enhancing the surrounding environment. This report has been simultaneously released in India, Brazil, Belgium, Japan, and South Africa.
The New Delhi launch saw the gathering of representatives and delegates from the central government, state governments, local government authorities, biodiversity boards, environmental organizations, forest departments, acedemics and NGOs. The event organized by the TEEB study, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Indian Institute of Technology , Bombay, ICLEI-South Asia, Green India State Trust (GIST), and provided the opportunity to panelists , ministers and experts to express and discuss the TEEB approach in the Indian context. Mayors and city representatives expressed their views and concerns at the city level.
Ecosystems approach to planning was the focus of various presentations showcased in the forums during the launch. Hiware bazaar and the Biorights program in East Kolkata were some of the case studies. The TEEB report gives local policy makers direction in local planning with a difference. In tandem with growing demands on our natural resources it is very crucial that regional and local policy makers improvise, innovate and implement ecosystems management strategies and tools and the TEEB report is the first of its kind towards this end. The report enlightens how our natural resources can be an asset to efficient management of municipal services, how poverty and natural resource management are inseparable management aspects for an improved natural environment and for economic growth in rural areas.
The words of Mr. Pavan Sukhdev captured the whole purpose of the TEEB report: that the intricacy of the delicate balance between ecosystems and human well being is directly related to a healthy functional environment. Many local bodies have already accepted this fact and the TEEB report aims to give local authorities a useful tool to implement this at a local level.
The New Delhi launch saw the gathering of representatives and delegates from the central government, state governments, local government authorities, biodiversity boards, environmental organizations, forest departments, acedemics and NGOs. The event organized by the TEEB study, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Indian Institute of Technology , Bombay, ICLEI-South Asia, Green India State Trust (GIST), and provided the opportunity to panelists , ministers and experts to express and discuss the TEEB approach in the Indian context. Mayors and city representatives expressed their views and concerns at the city level.
Ecosystems approach to planning was the focus of various presentations showcased in the forums during the launch. Hiware bazaar and the Biorights program in East Kolkata were some of the case studies. The TEEB report gives local policy makers direction in local planning with a difference. In tandem with growing demands on our natural resources it is very crucial that regional and local policy makers improvise, innovate and implement ecosystems management strategies and tools and the TEEB report is the first of its kind towards this end. The report enlightens how our natural resources can be an asset to efficient management of municipal services, how poverty and natural resource management are inseparable management aspects for an improved natural environment and for economic growth in rural areas.
The words of Mr. Pavan Sukhdev captured the whole purpose of the TEEB report: that the intricacy of the delicate balance between ecosystems and human well being is directly related to a healthy functional environment. Many local bodies have already accepted this fact and the TEEB report aims to give local authorities a useful tool to implement this at a local level.
