5th High Level Seminar on Environmentally Sustainable Cities

Date
28 February–1 March 2014

Venue
Sheraton Surabaya Hotel and Towers, Surabaya, Indonesia

Organisers
Government of Indonesia
Government of Japan
Government of the United States
ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities

  • February 28–March 1, 2014 marked the Fifth High Level Seminar on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (HLS ESC) organised by the Governments of Indonesia, Japan, United States, ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Working Group on ESC in Surabaya, Indonesia.
  • The two-day meeting brought together representatives of environment ministries, local governments, international organisations, NGOs, academe and front-line experts on urban environmental management issues in Asia to discuss the ongoing activities on ESC and to foster collaborative actions between stakeholders to achieve ESC under the East Asia Summit collaborative framework.
  • The Ministry of the Environment, Japan officially announced the Second Year of the ASEAN ESC Model Cities Programme, with ASEAN Member States discussing plans for its implementation.
  • Thematic Sessions were held on Urban Services, Water and Sanitation as well as Low Carbon Cities. 
  • Other topics addressed through Thematic Sessions were Governance and Public Participation; Resiliency; Air Pollution and Transport; and ESC in Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Vietnam (CMLV).  Local governments, NGOs and research institutions exchanged experiences and shared information.
  • Delegates discussed potential ways forward and opportunities for collaboration with strong support for sustaining the HLS platform and the Model Cities Programme.