South Africa’s Preparatory Process for HABITAT III

Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements

12 August 20151

Context and Rationale1. Human settlements and urbanisation are leading issues

in the development of South Africa, Africa and the developing world.

2. The challenges related to informal settlements and rapid unmanaged urbanisation cannot be ignored, if we want to see the Vision 2030 of South Africa, as articulated in the National Development Plan, realised.

3. HABITAT I and HABITAT II played the leading role in developing the policy pre-scripts that have molded South Africa’s approach to progressively realising the right to adequate shelter and basic services.

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4. The preparatory process toward Habitat III enables sector stakeholders to actively engage with new thinking around addressing human settlements and urbanisation.

5. It provides awareness and active involvement by all South African sector stakeholders in unpacking the most suitable policy and programmatic approach.

6. It would thus galvanise parties to achieving the vision for human settlements and safer communities outlined in Chapters 8 and 9 of the National Development Plan.

7. South Africa should be an active contributor to the outcome of Habitat III

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UPDATE ON THE PREPARATORY PROCESS FOR HABITAT III

1. Habitat Conferences take place once every 20 years – 1976, 1996, and the next one in 2016

2. Habitat III will build on two previous UN Conferences on Human Settlements and Urban Development:a. Habitat I in Vancouver 1976 during which the term “human settlements”

was first coined and the UN Programme for Human Settlements (UN HABITAT) was established; and

b. Habitat II in Istanbul 1996 which adopted the Habitat Agenda, the global action plan for the development of sustainable human settlements

3. Countries are expected to prepare National Reports on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda since 1996

4. South Africa’s Report was prepared, by a DHS team in wide consultation with stakeholders, commended and endorsed by Cabinet, and submitted in September 2015 to the United Nations

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5. Habitat III will bring together governments, local authorities, civil society organisations, private sector institutions, academics and international organisations to:a. Review progress of existing policies, programmes and

practice in creating sustainable human settlementsb. Agree on a new global pact to deal with urbanisation, climate

change, insecurity, crime and rising informality within cities and human settlements – the “New Urban Agenda”

6. A successful Habitat III requires a thorough national, regional and international preparatory process, commencing in 2014 with the compilation of National Reports, consulted among key sector stakeholders

7. A United Nations Task Team on Habitat III prepared 22 issue papers in six areas: – Social Cohesion and Equity – Livable Cities, – Urban Frameworks, – Spatial Development, – Urban Economy, – Urban Ecology and Development and – Urban Housing and Basic Services

•Issue papers were made available at the beginning of June 2015on the Habitat III website •The Issue Papers are to guide the discussions, on what the eventual outcome document of Habitat III, the so-called New Urban Agenda, should address.

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8. Next, international policy units will be established that will work in collaborative teams to develop policy

papers Their work is expected to be complete in January 2016.•The ten policy units are:

– Right to the City, and Cities for All;– Socio-Cultural Urban Framework;– National Urban Policies;– Urban Governance, Capacity and Institutional Development;– Municipal Finance and Local Fiscal Systems;– Urban Spatial Strategy: Land Market and Segregation;– Urban Economic Development Strategy;– Urban Ecology and Resilience;– Urban Services and Technology; and– Housing Policies 7

National Preparatory process1. We will utilize the Habitat III issue papers as a basis

for an in-country stakeholder engagement through the National Forum on Human Settlements and Urban Development.

2. We will consult on policy papers- this process will also involve consultation with stakeholders in order to reflect on, respond to, and develop a South African commentary on the policy papers

3. Once the draft Outcome document is made available, another round of consultations will take place for a South African response to that document

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4. It is envisaged that Stakeholders of the National Human Settlements and Urban Development Forum will form part of the consultations to develop a South African position in preparation for Habitat III, including representatives from:

– Civil Society Organisations and Private Sector– University, Research and Think-tanks– Sector Institutions and Professional Associations– Local Government – Provincial Government– Parliament– Chapter 9 Institutions– National Government– Government Institutions

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Leading Change in the City International Conference

1. As part of Habitat III preparations, UN-HABITAT had requested South Africa to host an international conference

2. The conference will replace the “Leading Change in the City Conference” initially scheduled for 2013

3. The proposed conference would focus on addressing the persisting challenge of slums in the new post 2015 global development agenda and in preparation for Habitat III

4. The theme is proposed as “Leading Change in the City: From Slums to Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements”

5. The conference would not only be a contribution to preparation for Habitat III but also support our domestic discussions on improving informal settlements upgrading and adequate housing

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Regional Preparatory Process 1. African Union Specialised Technical Committee (AU

STC no.8) agreed to develop a Common African Position for Habitat III

2. Africa intends actively shaping the New Urban Agenda, in line with its vision for an African Urban Agenda which will promote the structural transformation of the continent to realise its development potential, as articulated in Agenda 2063

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3. Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for Habitat III will be held in Nigeria in December 2015 to discuss, refine and endorse the position paper on Habitat III developed in partnership with the AU Commission.

4. Caucus of SADC Ministers of Human Settlements and Urban Development - South Africa is proposing a SADC Caucus to foster a stronger collaboration on human settlements

5. AU Summit –African Heads of State will discuss urbanization as a special theme of upcoming Summits

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International preparatory process1. Preparatory Committee established by the General Assembly to hold

three meetings in preparation for Habitat III to discuss the form and content of the Habitat III Conference

2. Special thematic conferences – South Africa will be expected to participate in some of the thematic preparatory conferences for Habitat III. These are:– Tel-Aviv, Israel – Civic Engagement (September 2015)– Montreal, Canada – Metropolitan Areas (October 2015)– Cuenca, Ecuador – Urban Growth and Urban Renewal (November 2015)– Barcelona, Spain- Smart Cities (November 2015)– Mexico – Financing the New Urban Agenda (December 2015)– Johannesburg, South Africa – Addressing slums and adequate housing

(February 2015)

• • Habitat III Conference will be held on 17-20 October

2016 in Ecuador to adopt the New Urban Agenda.13

Road Map to Habitat III

Date Event

End of July/Aug 2015 Stakeholder Consultation on 22 issue papers

July 2015 2nd Expert meeting of African Union STC No. 8

September 2015 Habitat III Thematic Conference on Civic Engagement (Tel-

Aviv, Israel)

October 2015 Habitat III Thematic Conference on Metropolitan Areas

(Montreal, Canada)

November 2015 Habitat III Thematic Conference on Smart Cities

November 2015 Habitat III Thematic Conference on Urban Growth and

Urban Renewal (Cuenca, Ecuador)

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Road Map to Habitat III

Date Event

November 2015 Habitat III Thematic Conference on Smart Cities

(Barcelona, Spain)

December 2015 Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for

Habitat III (Nigeria)

December 2015 Financing the New Urban Agenda (Mexico)

January 2016 Stakeholder consultation on 10 policy papers

January 2016 AU Summit with special theme on urbanisation

to be confirmed

February 2016 Leading Change in the City Conference in SA

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Road Map to Habitat III

Date Event

June 2016 Further stakeholder consultation on draft Habitat

III outcome document

July 2016,

Indonesia

3rd Preparatory Committee meeting of Habitat III

October 2016 Habitat III Conference

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THANK YOU

“We have come a long way – Celebrating 20 Years of Freedom!”

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