Urban Environmental Accords A Review of Indian Cities ICLEI – SA and GTZ Study

Urban Environmental Accords UEAs are the synergic extension of the efforts to advance sustainability, foster vibrant economies, promote social equity and protect planet’s natural resources. More than 100 cities signed the UEAs on World Environment Day 2005 at San Francisco, USA. 16 Indian cities.

Issues in the UEA Energy - Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Waste Reduction - Zero Waste, Manufacturer Responsibility, Consumer Responsibility Urban Design - Green Building, Urban Planning, Slums Urban Nature - Parks, Habitat Restoration, Wildlife Transportation - Public Transportation, Clean Vehicles, Reducing Congestion Environmental Health - Toxics Reduction, Healthy Food Systems, Clean Air Water - Water Access and Efficiency, Source Water Conservation, Waste Water Reduction

Need for the Study Cities across the world are making efforts to implement the 21 agreed actions under the accord agreement before 2012. Since 2005, no reporting or review of the implementation status from the committed Indian cities. ICLEI - South Asia through GTZ - ASEM, India undertook the study to report the status of UEA implementation through City Environmental Performance Report (CEPR) covering all 16 Indian cities.

UEA Cities in India

Methodology Desktop review Questionnaire review and data collection Review of literature regarding environmental activities for 16 cities Baseline information collected Questionnaire review and data collection A questionnaire to get information on actions taken under UEA issues in last 2 years 14 cities have responded Analysis Initial analysis was conducted on information from questionnaires Top 5 ranking cities selected Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Gwalior, Bhilai, Kota Site visit Meetings with the mayors and commissioners Detailed information obtained Final documentation Top 3 cities selected Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bhopal Mumbai and Muzaffarpur did not respond

Results All cities graded according to the implementation of UEA as reported in the questionnaire survey. The cities of Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Gwalior, Bhilai and Kota have performed well in implementing actions as outlined in the Urban Environmental Accords. Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bhopal cities have the least number of actions not implemented. Gwalior, Bhilai and Kota cities have a significant number of poorly implemented actions as well, and have a low number of activities which have medium implementation. Cities like Delhi, Jamnagar, and Lucknow have almost same number of good implementation level of actions as poor ones. Cities like Darbhanga, Kozhikode and Mysore have fewer number of good implementation of actions as compared to poor implementation, but they also have a number of actions which are in a medium state of implementation.

Good level of implementation Medium level of implementation Poor level of implementation Cities Green Red Yellow Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir 1 16 Darbhanga, Bihar 2 4 Mysore, Karnataka 8 11 5 Calicut, Kerala Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh 9 7 6 Delhi, Delhi 10 Jamnagar, Gujarat 12 Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Kota, Rajasthan Bhilai, Chattisgrah 15 3 Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 17 Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 18 Ahmedabad, Gujarat 20

Final Analysis Site visits to 6 cities to verify actions reported in questionnaire. An analysis of 29 actions taken by the cities. Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bhopal are the best performing cities. Ahmedabad has 20 actions which are well implemented, 6 which are poorly implemented and 2 which are in medium state of implementation. Hyderabad has 18 actions which are well implemented, 6 which are poorly implemented and 3 which are in medium state of implementation. Bhopal has 17 actions which are well implemented, 6 which are poorly implemented and 5 which are in medium state of implementation.

Lessons Learnt Cities lack awareness regarding the UEA and are unaware of being a signatory to the Accords. Cities are aware of environmental issues to some extent, specially energy water and waste related issues and have started work keeping in mind the urban environmental impacts of a developmental activity. Environmental activities undertaken as part of the city development plan and not because of the UEA. Necessary to improve awareness in the city regarding UEA and the necessity to fulfill their international obligations. Necessary to increase capacity to work in a streamlined and effective manner for sustainable development.

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Figure 4: Number of Efforts to Reduce Electricity Consumption in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits) Figure 5: Number of Projects Planned or Undertaken for Sustainability, Climate Change, Energy Efficiency, etc in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits)

(Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits) Figure 6: Amount of Solid Waste Disposed or Handled Daily in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits) Figure 7: Number of Urban Planning Principles in Building By Law in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits)

Figure 8: Number of Projects Planned or undertaken for Improved Solid Waste Management in the City (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits) Figure 9: Number of Projects undertaken by the 6 Cities to Improve Green Cover (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits)

Figure 12: Gap in the 6 Cities Water Requirement and Water Supply Figure 10: Number of Projects to Promote Public Transport, Clean Fuels or Emission Control in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits) Figure 12: Gap in the 6 Cities Water Requirement and Water Supply (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits)

Figure 14: Number of Efforts to Improve Water Supply in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits) Figure 13: Number of Efforts to Reduce the Amount of Waste Water in the 6 Cities (Source: Analysis of Questionnaire Survey and Site Visits)