12th High Level Seminar on Sustainable Cities
Concept Note

(Draft as of 18 February 2022)

Date
21–22 February 2022 (Monday and Tuesday)

Expected participants
National and local government officials
NGOs/NPOs working for sustainable development of cities
International/Regional organisations

Organisers
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lao PDR
Ministry of the Environment, Japan
ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC)
ASEAN Secretariat

Format
Zoom webinar
Download PDF (458 KB)

Access to the Webinar
[DAY1][DAY2]

 
OUTLINE
 
The High-Level Seminar (HLS) on Sustainable Cities (former title: HLS on Environmentally Sustainable Cities) is organised annually as a platform to gather influential East and Southeast Asia policymakers, experts, and practitioners working to make cities clean, green, and sustainable since 2010. The HLS provides opportunities for participants to share and promote their latest ideas and initiatives on sustainable city development; explore collaboration potential; and, importantly, develop specific recommendations to the East Asia Summit Environment Ministers Meeting, which includes ASEAN Environment Ministers, on practical cooperation activities on environmentally sustainable cities.
 
In response to the needs of transformative changes to more sustainable, resilient, and zero-carbon city in the context of green and inclusive recovery, many cities in the region began to take new initiatives. The 12th session of HLS (12 HLS), which is organised by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lao PDR; ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities; and the ASEAN Secretariat will focus on not only sharing of good practices of cities related to SDG11 and other environmental SDGs, but also new initiatives towards 2030. The 12HLS will be organised fully online for two days as a webinar series consisting of three parts: opening high-level plenary, thematic segment, and the concluding session, each of which exchange views and discuss the direction of cities’ development.
 
PROGRAMME
 
DAY 1: Monday, 21 February 2022
Laos Time: UTC+7
Japan Standard Time: JST (UTC+9)
Opening and High-Level Segment
09:00 (UTC+7) 11:00 (JST) Opening Remarks
  • Mr. Phouvong Luangxaysana, Vice Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lao PDR
  • Mr. SHODA Yutaka, Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
  • Dr. Sugumari Shanmugam, Undersecretary, Climate Change Division, Ministry of Environment and Water, Malaysia  
09:30 (UTC+7) 11:30 (JST) Photo session
09:40 (UTC+7) 11:40 (JST) High Level Segment
  • Mr. KITAHASHI Kenji, Mayor of Kitakyushu City
  • Mr. Viengthong Hatsachanh, Mayor of Luang Prabang City
  • Mr. Renato Y. Gustilo, Mayor of San Carlos City
  • Mr. Ridwan Kamil, Governor of West Java
  • Mr. Wijai Ummaralikhit, Panusnikhom Municipality, Thailand*

Moderator:
Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, Secretary General, UCLG-ASPAC

*to be confirmed
10:40 (UTC+7)
12:40 (JST)		 Report from the Secretariat on the SDGs Frontrunner Cities Programme
  • Ms. Shom Teoh, Programme Manager, Sustainable Cities, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
11:00–13:00 (UTC+7)
13:00–15:00 (JST)		 Break (lunch break)
Thematic Segment
13:00 (UTC+7)
15:00 (JST)		 Thematic segment [1]
Circular Economy (focus: Wastes and Marine Plastic Debris)
  • Dr. VU Dinh Hieu, Vice Director, Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands (VISI) Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands (VISI), MONRE, Viet Nam
  • YAMASHITA Shinichi, Assistant Director, Resources Recycling Promotion Division, Civil Life & Environmental Affairs Department, Nagasaki Prefecture
  • TPr. Ts. Norliza Hashim, the Chief Executive of Urbanice Malaysia, a Centre of Excellence for Urban Wellbeing and Sustainability
  • Nakhon Si Thammarat
  • Mr. Chek Noy, Deputy, public transportation,sanitation, environment and public order, Battambang municipality

Moderator:
Premakumara Jagath Dickella Gamaralalage, Director of CCET, IGES

14:30 (UTC+7)
16:30 (JST)		 Break
14:40 (UTC+7)
16:40 (JST)		 Thematic segment [2]
Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management (focus: Climate Adaptation and Nature Based Solutions)
  • Mr. Le Ngoc Thao, Hoi An City Government Hoi An
  • Mr. Ismet Adipradana, Sub-coordinator on Land-use planning, land and environment, City Planning Agency - Semarang CIty
  • Mr. Albert Magalang, Climate Change Service Department Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Philippines
  • Dr. Marcella D'Souza, Director, WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS)
  • Tetsuo Kuyama, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Moderator:
Dr. Srinivasan Ancha, Principal Climate Change Specialist and Climate Change Focal Point for Southeast Asia Asian Development Bank
16:00 (UTC+7) 18:00 (JST) Closure of the DAY 1
DAY 2: Tuesday, 22 February 2022
Laos Time: UTC+7
Japan Standard Time: JST (UTC+9)
Thematic Segment
9:00 (UTC+7)
11:00 (JST) 		Thematic segment [3]
Monitoring and Evaluation of the SDG Progress: Voluntary Local Review (VLR)
  • Dr. Fernando Ortiz-Moya, Policy Researcher, City Taskforce, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
  • Ms. Annie Syazrin Ismail, Senior Assistant Director, Sustainable Development Unit, Shah Alam City Council
  • Mr. ORII Ryoichiro, Executive Director of Development Cooperation Department, Yokohama City
  • Naomi, Legal and Cooperation Division, Surabaya City Government
  • Mr. Samiuddin Ahmed, Regional Sustainable Development Consultant, Environment and Development Division, United Nations Economic and Social Comission for Asia and the Pacific

Moderator:
Dr. Azmizam Abdul Rashid, Deputy CEO, Urbanice, Malaysia*

*to be confirmed
10:10 (UTC+7)
12:10 (JST)		 Break
10:20 (UTC+7)
12:20 (JST)		 Thematic segment [4]
Integrated approach towards sustainable and zero carbon cities
  • Ms. SHIMIZU Hitomi, Shimokawa Town, Hokkaido
  • Dr. Sameer Deshkar, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture and Planning of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT)
  • Ms. Sirinya Lim, Division Director of Innovation Economics Division, Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council, Thailand
  • Dr. Bijon Kumer Mitra, Deputy-Director, Integrated Sustainability Center &Adaptation and Water Unit, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Moderator:
Ms. Yatsuka Kataoka, Programme Director, City Taskforce, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Closing Plenary
Moderator: Dr. Vong Sok, Head of Environment Division, ASEAN Secretariat
11:20 (UTC+7)
13:20 (JST)

- Reflection of the seminar (elements to be included in the Output Document) by IGES

- Closing remarks
  • tbd. Laos
  • Mr. SHODA Yutaka, Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
12:00 (UTC+7)
14:00 (JST) 		Closure of the seminar
* This programme is tentative and subject to change.
CONTACT
 

Any enquiries should be directed to the Secretariat via email at 12HLS@pco-prime.com.