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Nepal vows to build inclusive, resilient cities

Minister for Urban Development Arjun Narsingh KC speaking at a progamme in Kathmandu, on Friday, September 2, 2016. Photo: RSS

Kathmandu, october 21,2016: Minister for Urban Development Arjun Narasingh KC reiterated Nepal’s commitment to creating inclusive, sustainable and resilience cities through the implementation of Nepal’s Habitat III National Report.

The report was published under the theme ‘Inclusive Cities: Resilient Communities’ in synergy with New Urban Agenda and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially the SDG 11.

Addressing the third UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador yesterday, KC said the effective implementation of the report would help realise the objectives of the New Urban Agenda and ultimately contribute to sustainable development of Nepal.

Referring to the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in April 2015, Minister KC underscored the need to pay attention to disaster resilience since planning phase incorporating the principle of build-back-better, according to a statement released by the Permanent Mission of Nepal in the UN in New York.

He also added that this idea was inserted into the post-quake reconstruction plan of Nepal.

Minister KC highlighted that the new constitution of Nepal guaranteed basic rights of housing, adding that there had been progress in establishing a new urban governance structure at local, provincial and federal levels.

He also laid focus on scaling up investments in sustainable and resilient settlements and on the importance of implementing the New Urban Agenda in full coherence with the 2030 SDA.

Meanwhile, Minister KC also participated in ‘Urban Dignity: Equal Access to Sanitation and Hygiene in Public Spaces’, a side-event organised by Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council in Quito yesterday.

Soeaking at the meeting, he said the new constitution guaranteed water and sanitation, clean and healthy environment and housing as basic rights of all Nepali people.