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Publications/Newsletter

Lao PDR: Publications

UN-Habitat implemented the “Project for Improving Living Environment and Disaster Prevention Capacity in Cambodia” with grant aid from the Government of Japan (2019-2020) to support the recovery process of the 2018 floods and strengthen climate resilience of the disaster-affected population. The project was completed with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 202 houses with 1,098 people.

UN-Habitat Pakistan, implemented the project on Development and Implementation of Retrofitting Guiding Tools for Hazard Resistant Learning Spaces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) addressing the emerging need of promoting resilient infrastructure in the education sector to enhance safety and health of the children, teachers and to promote resilient communities. The project aim was through risk analysis enabling the consolidated approach with partners working on Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) and other models such as School Based Disaster Risk Management (SBDRM) to demonstrate retrofitting methods that can be replicated in the education sector and to develop retrofitting guidelines and tools that are to be shared with government agencies for institutionalization.

The consortium of partners of Fukuoka and UN-Habitat signed the first Memorandum of Understanding on 28 April, 1997. The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) opened soon thereafter on 1 August. This was the start of a unique and continuing collaboration on housing and urbanization, now passing the mark of 20 years. This publication retraces the foundations of ROAP becoming hosted in Fukuoka, which was, for a good part, rooted in Japan's own unique legacy with regard to the growth and governance of cities.

This publication highlights the key achievements of the project “Sustainable Resettlement through Community-Driven Improvement of the Learning Environment in Mannar District, Sri Lanka” implemented through a participatory people’s process from 2015 -2017. Through this project, UN-Habitat supported the construction and improvement of learning facilities in 25 schools in Mannar district with funding from the Government of Japan. It supported the construction of primary and secondary classroom buildings, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and teachers’ quarters benefitting 10,000 returnees including 6,800 school children.

When three decades of conflict ended in May 2009 in Sri Lanka, approximately 450,000 people had been displaced, with many having to rebuild their lives following the destruction of homes, villages and livelihoods. The Post-Conflict Reconstruction Programme in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, implemented by UN-Habitat from 2010-2016, provided numerous opportunities as well as challenges and proved to be a testing ground for many new strategies and technologies. This report looks closely at three main elements that made the programme a success, the participation of people from the inception to the end, the diverse partnerships, donors, government, community based organisations that brought people together to implement the projects and the new and innovative technologies that were introduced to make the programme cost effective and sustainable.

UN-Habitat Newsletter: URBAN IMPACT
Myanmar: E-Newsletter "Community-Driven Development Programme"
People's Process in Post-disaster and Post-conflict Recovery and Reconstruction

A large number of countries in Asia and the Pacific region are prone to disasters of various kinds. The impact of disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, floods, land/mud slides, and cyclones, on people in terms of loss of life, assets and impediment to development is colossal. During the last decade, UN-HABITAT- ROAP has responded to the calls by governments and donors to assist people in recovery and reconstruction following conflicts and disasters. This has, on the one hand given UN-HABITAT an opportunity to assist the affected people rebuild their lives rapidly, whilst on the on other hand, a position to advocate for progressive policies on recovery and reconstruction.

At UN-HABITAT- ROAP, we strongly believe that unleashing the potential of the people is the only way in which all the affected people can recover in a short time. People have been able to cope with extreme difficulties and have demonstrated a relentless ability to improve their lives in the face of extreme circumstances. In the post conflict and post-disaster scenario, their ingenuity and creativity need to be directed for the rebuilding of their lives and their physical assets.

In all the projects that UN-HABITAT- ROAP has implemented, we have advocated an approach where the affected people were placed at the centre of their development and recovery process. Community Action Planning has been practiced by UN-HABITAT for over two decades, but its application to conflict and disaster recovery situations has not been documented before. While we have used a strong and systematic methodology in the implementation, one shortcoming was that it had not been consolidated into a document that can serve as a Guideline.

This Guideline attempts at presenting the complex process of recovery and reconstruction in a simple practical manner. We have learned lessons from the past disasters where governments, development agencies and humanitarian organizations responses were not coherent and caused confusion and delays in recovery and reconstruction. Therefore in anticipation of responding to future disasters, with a firm policy and systematic approach, this guideline is published for the use of all interested parties.

Accommodating People in the Asia-Pacific Region

This publication introduces readers to the dramatic and profound changes that have taken place and are taking place in the way people live and work in the Asia-Pacific region. It describes how the unprecedented speed of transforming from predominantly rural agrarian economies into predominantly urban industrial and service economies is posing enormous challenges to the peoples and the governments of the region. Drawing on the first ten years of operational experience of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP-Fukuoka) of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the publication highlights the critical role of well-managed urbanisation in accommodating present and future generations in a secure and sustainable manner.

The publication explains how urbanisation, in fact, alleviates poverty and slows population growth, both of which are urgently needed to achieve sustainable human development in the world, especially in the world’s most populous region. However, the information provided also alerts readers to the increasing vulnerability of densely-populated and fast-growing cities and towns to environmental and natural disasters, as well as to social and political conflict and upheaval, without urgent, concerted, and continued efforts to prevent, or minimize, the potential for and impact of such events.

The ROAP-Fukuoka has undertaken diverse operations in partnership-based technical cooperation and in advocacy campaigns to promote more people-friendly and environmentally-sound policies and practices. Their activities have demonstrated a range of effective and equitable approaches to meeting these daunting challenges, now, and in the future. 

This publication has been issued to mark the occasion of the ROAP-Fukuoka’s first ten years of operations in the region, since its establishment in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1997.

ROAP Newsletter: Quarterly Journal of UN-HABITAT ROAP and WAC activities in the Asia and the Pacific Region.
TOOLS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL SAFETY

The Toolkit comprises four sets of assessment tools for both existing and new schools as well as hospitals. The Toolkit is a result of cooperation amongst the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), UN-Habitat and UNISDR.

The Toolkit serves Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and complements the work of the SAARC Disaster Management Centre. The aim is to offer user-friendly tools for the multi-hazard context of South Asia, targeting policy makers, experts, and end-users responsible for local level planning and implementation.

The toolkit explains the complex process of retrofitting existing facilities as well as ensuring safe construction of new infrastructure in a practical manner.

Importantly, the tools have been reviewed by a group of experts including policymakers, professionals and users, and have undergone field testing in several locations in India, Nepal and Pakistan.

This new approach will provide concrete indices in support of the recommendations of the 2011 Chair's summary of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global advocacy campaigns: One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals, Making Cities Resilient - My City is Getting Ready and, the World Urban Campaign.

This is an important step towards achieving risk reduction targets and building the resilience of nations and communities in the South Asian subcontinent. The toolkit demonstrates that making critical infrastructure safe from disasters is achievable.

School Safety

Hospital Safety

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Information Brochures

Towards Sustainable Urbanization in Asia & the Pacific
35 Years of People at the Heart of Their Own Development - The People's Process: From Grassroots to Governance
The Right to Smile - Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific - Fukuoka
Post-disaster Projects in Asia
Afghanistan: Empowering People to Overcome Poverty and Building Peace in the Communities
Pakistan: Building Back Better
Sri Lanka: Community Recovery and Reconstruction Partnership
Sri Lanka: Innovative Approaches for Involuntary Resettlement
Myanmar: Community Water Supply and Sanitation Recovery Project
Enhancing Urban Safety and Human Security
Cities and Climate Change Initiative Brochure

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Reports

Occasional Papers

The following is a selection of reports prepared by the UN-HABITAT Fukuoka Office. Some of the reports were presented at events organised in cooperation with UN-HABITAT global or regional programmes, or prepared for United Nations agencies and other development partners.

Community Contracts
Seminar on Securing Land for the Urban Poor
Fukuoka, Japan, 2-4 October 2001
High-Level Regional Meeting in Preparation for Istanbul +5
Hangzhou, China, 20-22 October 2000
ISLT '98 International Symposium on Lowland Technology Organized by the Institute of Lowland Technology, Saga University
Saga, 4-6 November 1998
UNCHS (Habitat) Regional Symposium on Urban Poverty in Asia
Fukuoka, 27-29 October 1998
UNCHS (Habitat) Regional Conference on Sustainable Consumption Patterns in Asian Cities
Fukuoka, 29 June - 1 July 1998
Project Reports

The following is a selection of reports prepared by the UN-HABITAT Fukuoka Office. Some of the reports were presented at events organised in cooperation with UN-HABITAT global or regional programmes, or prepared for United Nations agencies and other development partners.

Afghanistan
East Timor
Istanbul +5
Indonesia
Myanmar
China, People's Republic of
Bangladesh
Articles on Projects Organized by UN-HABITAT Fukuoka Office
Speeches

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  • KCAP / KCAP is a virtual platform linking environmental issues and needs of cities in Asia and the Pacific with technology. Knowhow, and experience available in Japan.

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