11th High Level Seminar on Sustainable Cities

(Formerly the ‘High Level Seminar on Environmentally Sustainable Cities’)

Date
29–30 September 2020

Format
On-line meeting via zoom
Live streaming in English and Japanese is also available.

Organisers
Government of Philippines
Government of Japan
ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities

Co-organiser
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)  

Livestreaming and Webiner
Download PDF (265.19 KB)

 

The East-Asia Summit High-Level Seminar (HLS) on Sustainable Cities (former title: HLS on Environmentally Sustainable Cities) is organised annually as a platform to gather together influential East and Southeast Asia policymakers, experts and practitioners working to make cities clean, green and sustainable since 2010. HLS provides opportunities for participants to share and promote their latest ideas and initiatives on sustainable city development; to explore collaboration potential; and, importantly, to develop specific recommendations to the East Asia Summit Environment Ministers Meeting, which includes ASEAN Environment Ministers, on practical cooperation activities on environmentally sustainable cities.

 

Since 2017, the HLS broadened its focus to the multi-dimensional nature of sustainable urban development and responded to the need of aligning city-level development with the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, particularly its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the climate change has intensified its impacts on the lives of people, the necessities to tackle socio-economic issues, such as poverty, hangers, resilience, and other issues remain evident. Hence, there is a growing demand to address both climate and developmental issues by leveraging synergy and avoiding trade-offs. Because the success of addressing these multi-faceted issues depends on the implementation in cities, the central theme of the HLS is “SDG localisation” in full consideration of the synergies between the SDGs and climate agenda.

 

The 11th HLS was originally planned in March 2020 in Manila, the Philippines, and it was postponed because of the spread of COVID-19. Currently, discussion on how to accelerate transformative changes to more sustainable and resilient city in the context of the New Normal is taking place in various occasions, and it is optimal time for cities and those who work with cities in the regions to share the on-going initiatives and consider future direction of recovery policies and measures on “building back better”. In light of the importance to address the issue, the organisers of the 11th HLS decided to organise the 11HLS on-line as a webinar series consisting four parts – opening high-level plenary, two thematic sessions, and the closing session on the direction of cities’ development.

 

 

Target participants consist mainly of government officials from environment ministries in ASEAN Member States. Local and city-level authorities, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, city networks, NGOs, private companies, academia and community groups will also join the seminar.

 

 

DAY 1: Tuesday, 29 September 2020 Philippine Time: PHT (UTC+8) / Japan Standard Time: JST (UTC+9)
Opening Session
Moderator: Dr. K. Nagulendran Chair of ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC); Deputy Secretary General (Environment), Ministry of Environment and Water, Malaysia
10:00 PHT 11:00 JST	Opening Remarks Mr. KONDO Tomohiro, Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan Atty. Jonas R. Leones, Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippines
10:15 PHT 11:15 JST	Messages from Cities “Sustainable and Resilient Cities in New Normal” Mr. KATAYAMA Kenya, Mayor, Niseko Town, Hokkaido Mr. SHIMIZU Hayato, Mayor, Saitama City (Video Message) Ms. Andrea Valentine A. Villaroman, Head, Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department, Quezon City Government The speech of Mr. Chansouk PHANDOLAK. Mayor, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR is cancelled According to circumstances.
10:50 PHT 11:50 JST	Presentations and Discussion Mr. Curt Garrigan, Chief, Sustainable Urban Development Section, Environment and Development Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Mr. Saiful Adib bin Abdul Munaff, Director of Sustainable Cities, Malaysian Green Technology Corporation, Malaysia Dr. Pornpimol Varathorn, Director of Public Participatory Promotion Bureau, Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand
11:15 PHT 12:15 JST	Closure of the Session
Thematic Session
Segment 1: Progress of the SDGs at Local Level
Moderator: Dr. Premakumara Jagath Dickella GAMARALALAGE the IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET)
13:00 PHT 14:00 JST	Mr. Pak Sokharavuth, Deputy Director General, General Directorate of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Environment, Cambodia Ms. MURAKAMI Emiko, Director of Business Promotion Division, Asian Center for Low Carbon Society, City of Kitakyushu Mr. Novrizal Tahar, Director of Solid Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, Director of Planning and Finance Department, Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands, Viet Nam Mr. IWASAKI Fusanori, Executive Assistant to President, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) Mr. Omar Siddique, Economic Affairs Officer, Environment and Development Division UN ESCAP, and Ms. Miho Hayashi, Programme Manager, CCET/IGES Mr. Kanchit Manoonphol, Deputy Mayor, Nakhon Si Thammarat City Municipality
14:00 PHT 15:00 JST	Break (5 min.)
Segment 2: Climate related Initiatives
Moderator: Mr. Emani Kumar ICLEI Deputy Secretary General and Regional Director, ICLEI South Asia Secretariat
14:05 PHT 15:05 JST	Framing Presentation by Moderator Mr. SHIBUYA Jun, Deputy Director, Environmental Strategy Division, Environmental Policy Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan Mr. Albert A. Magalang, Chief, Climate Change Division, Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Philippines Mr. MICHIGAMI Ryutaro, Deputy Director for International Cooperation Environment Bureau, Osaka City, Japan Ms. Erni Pelita Fitratunnisa, Head of Environmental Management and Cleanliness of Environmental Management Agency - Jakarta City Dr. KANG Sang In, Chief Research Fellow, Korea Environment Institute (KEI)
15:05 PHT 16:05 JST	Closure of the Session

DAY2: Wednesday, 30 September 2020 Philippine Time: PHT (UTC+8) / Japan Standard Time: JST (UTC+9)
Closing Session: Solidarity for sustainable and resilient city in the New Normal
Moderator: Dr. Junichi Fujino Programme Director; City Taskforce, IGES
9:00 Manila 10:00 Tokyo	PART 1. Presentations Ms. Thuy Trang Dang, Senior Urban Development Specialist, Urban Development and Water Division, Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank TPr. Annie Syazrin Ismail, Senior Assistant Director, Planning Department, Shar Alam City Council, Malaysia Mr. Angsutorn Wasusun, Investment and International Affairs Department, the Eastern Economic Corridor Office, Thailand Ms. Soumya Chaturvedula, Deputy Director, ICLEI-South Asia Secretariat
Moderator: Ms. Yatsuka Kataoka Joint Programme Director; City Taskforce, IGES
10:00 PHT 11:00 JST	Part 2. A way forward: future directions of HLS Engr William P Cunado, Director, Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Natural Environment and Natural Resources (DNER) Dr. K. Nagulendran, Chair of ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC); Deputy Secretary General (Environment), Ministry of Environment and Water, Malaysia Dr. Vong Sok, Head of Environment Division, Assistant Director of Sustainable Development Director - The ASEAN Secretariat Mr. Phothala SOUKSAKHONE, Deputy Head of Environmental Promotion Division, Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Laos Mr. KONDO Tomohiro, Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
10:30 PHT 11:30 JST	Closure of the Session