Presentation on Dhaka City : Challenges for Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable City

BANGLADESH CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIESHouse 10, Road 16A, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, BangladeshPhone: 8818214-7, 9851234, 9852904; Fax: 9851417Website: www.bcas.net

Dr. Atiq Rahman, Ferdous Jahan, PhD & Dwijen Mallick

Workshop onBuilding Resilient, Inclusive & Sustainable Cities

Organized by: University of LeicesterVenue: Council Suite Rooms # 1&2

Date: 8-9 November 2018

Dhaka City: Rural-Urban Continuum

Dhaka City: Rural-Urban Continuum

Dhaka a Growing Megacity South Asia

Dhaka a Growing Megacity South Asia

• Bangladesh is experiencing rapid urbanization

• Urban population growth of 7% annually • Both pull & push factors including

poverty, environmental degradation, river ban erosion and climate change

• Dhaka is characterized with unplanned development, inadequate urban infrastructures and facilities, traffic congestion, low standard of living, environmental degradation, poor governance, lack of interagency coordination and growing climate change impacts on city population, economy and society

Dhaka a Growing Megacity South Asia• Dhaka is the capital city of

Bangladesh• A megacity in the South Asia having

immense economic, political and cultural importance

• The area of Dhaka has been inhabited since the first millennium and the city rose to prominence in the 17th century as a provincial capital and commercial centre of Mughal empire in the Indian sub-continent

• Under the British Empire, the city saw the introduction of electricity, railway, modern water supply and western-style education

• Dhaka is the home of over 15 million people within 306 sq km.

• The population density is very high• Dhaka will be the home of 25 million by the year

2025

The Key Challenges in Dhaka City• Rapid growth of population due to huge

in-migration (0.5-0.7 million annually)• Urban poverty & slum development

• Traffic congestion and road accidents• Air and water pollution• Lack of spaces and greenery

• Acute housing problems• Lack of energy and power supply• Inadequate health services, poor water

and sanitation facilities

• Lack of institutional integration• Poor governance• Growing disaster risks, &

• Climate change Impacts

• A consultation on Road Map for Implementation of UN Urban Agenda for 2030 has identified the following issues and challenges:

• Institutional Integration & Urban governance

• Pro-poor and climate resilience housing

• Accessibility to basic services & transport; and

• Disaster risk reduction• Climate change

Adaptation& Mitigation

Growing Urban Poverty in Dhaka City• Wealth and Economic Transition• Contradictions: Wealthy people and extreme poverty • Growing pollution & environmental degradation

Urban Slums

Urban Traffic Congestion

Poor Urban Infrastructure and Communication

Urban Flood & Water Logging

Urban Flood & Human Sufferings

Living in Inhuman Conditions

Urban Air Pollution• Air and water pollution severely

impact health of all, particularly children

• Bronchial diseases and Asthma one of the greatest killers

• The cost of human health impacted and time and fuel wasted by cars stationery in traffic is huge; is it worth paying for by our present development model

• Emerging diseases (e.g., dengue, chikungunya, diarrheal diseases) have been contributed by climate change and urban mismanagement

• Sound pollution is still dominant despite some efforts

Impacts of the Key Challenges: Studies & Data Sources

• All the key problems and challenges have serious negative impacts on

• Society, economy, human settlement, environment and natural systems of Dhaka city

• Few studies have been conducted recently by BCAS, academies and research institutions, UN agencies, INGOs and government departments

• A recent survey conducted by WFP (2015) says that main reasons of the rapid growth urban population is rural to urban migration. Thousands of people from disaster prone districts and climate hotspots like coastal districts, riverine chars (island), drought prone upland and haor basins migrate to Dhaka city every year

Impacts of the Key Challenges: Studies & Data Sources

• Other pioneering studies on Dhaka city include:• Rabbani and Rahman, 2011; Yahya et al., 2010; Mowla and Islam,

2013;; Alam and Rabbani, 2007, which focused on City population, infrastructures, society and economy in general, but on urban poor in Dhaka city and their working potentials, habitats, health and living conditions as well as on climatic hazards and their associated impacts in Dhaka city

• The studies by World Bank, 2007; Hossain, 2008; UNICEF, 2010; Ahmed, 2013) have focussed on human settlements and access to basic services; and

• Hossain et al. (2013) have mentioned two major problems with water supply in Dhaka slums; & the poor quality of the water supplied for the city dwellers

• There has been lack of study on climate change impacts and vulnerability of the communities and development sectors like garments industries, trade & business, SMEs and the growing service sectors

Impacts of the Key Challenges: Data Sources

Quantifiable impact on

Data sources Level of uncertainty (low, medium, high)

Population, poverty and urban slum improvement; inclusive social development and economic growth

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic (BBS), Population Council, Department of Population Sciences at the University of Dhaka; Urban Development Directorate (UDD); RAJUK, Planning Commission, GED, CUS, BCAS; BIDS, Coalition on Urban Poor

Low to Medium

Environmental Pollution, degradation, health, housing, traffic and basic amenities; Institutional integration & governance

MoEF&CC, DoE, DPHE, LGED, NLGI, HDRI, National Housing Authority, BCAS, NSU, BUET, University of Dhaka, NIPSOM,

Medium

Climate Change, Disasters, adaptation, mitigation, DRR and Resilience

BCAS, BRAC University, MoEF & CC, DoE, DDM, BMD, BBS, ICCCAD

Medium to High

Impacts of the Key Challenges: What are the Gaps?

• Nature and trends of the problems behind the challenges

• Deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change and consequences on society, economy and ecosystems & ESS

• Opportunities and options in the SDGs regimes• Integration of CCA & DRR under the Sendai and Paris

Agreements• Policy & sectoral responses: technology and innovation

for WASH, energy efficiency and resilient housing etc.• Institutional integration, participation and governance • Community actions and institutional measures

Relevant Policies & SDGs

• Government of Bangladesh has developed strategies and action plan in line with SDG-11 to make the cities and human settlement inclusive, safe and resilient

• The key goals and targets are: • By 2030, ensure access for all to

adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

• By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport

• By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease & the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

• By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management for all

Top Collaborating Partners in Dhaka City• Government Ministries & Departments (MoEF&CC, DoE,

DDM, BMD, Forest Department)• RAJUK and Urban Development Directorate• Planning Commission & GED• Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic (BBS)• Centre for Urban Studies (CUS) at the University of Dhaka• NILG & City Corporation• Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA)• Bangladesh Urban Forum (BUF)• Bangladesh Climate Change and Development Forum• ICCCAD at the IUB• C3ER at the University of BRAC

Specific Areas for Research, Innovation and Advocacy

• Affordable, pro-poor and climate resilient housing & habitats• Improvement of traffic systems• Sustainable water supply, sanitation and energy• Human health and well being• Greenery and city space• Climate change adaptation & DRR • Social and cultural heritage • How to expand the urban services to the rural areas in a

planned and environment friendly way• Equity, inculcation & justice; and• Responsible citizenship

Key Research Questions

• Resilience:• Inclusive and safe water, sanitation and health risk

management • Heat Stress and Health Risk Management of the Poor, Women,

Children and Elderly People• Improve resilience to Small and Medium Enterprise & Growing

Service Sector (which provide 60% employment in Dhaka City)• Synergy among the Sendai Framework and Paris Agreement

(NDCs) with focus on energy, industry, transports and service sector in Dhaka for

• Adaptation and DRR• Mitigation and pollution control• Resources and energy efficiency with 3Rs

Key Research Questions• Inclusiveness:• Inclusion of Poor, women, professionals and marginal groups in

adaptation planning and implementation• Inclusion of Community Based Organization and local/social

leaders in city planning and implementation: creating space for all to contribute

• Multi-stakeholder engagement in implementation of New UN Urban Agenda for 2030

• Sustainability:• How to increase ownership, participation and partnership of all

actors and stakeholders• Improving governance, integration and responsive institutions• Exploring the interface of the economic, social and

environmental imperatives in the resilient cities

In 2015, the world has seen a grand convergence of three global agreements

• Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (and climate change adaptation)

• SDGs: Agenda for 2015-2030• The World We Want• Universal Push to Transform Our World• Leaving No One Behind

• Paris Agreement 2015 November• 196 countries universal agreement• Came into force at unprecedented speed in CoP 23 Marrakesh

What do we want in Bangladesh?

• An Urbanized Bangladesh (planned and resilient cities with thriving population, vibrant economy & culture in sound environment)

• An Urban Areas and Centres with Rural Endowments

• A Rural Bangladesh with all Urban Facilities

• There is no Single Bangladesh Solution &• Let Thousand Flowers Bloom

Thank You