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Batam, Makassar, Palembang promise green transport
Eleven Asian cities including Batam, Makassar and Palembang signed a declaration Wednesday promising to promote eco-friendly public transport to help clean the cities' air
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Eleven Asian cities including Batam, Makassar and Palembang signed a declaration Wednesday promising to promote eco-friendly public transport to help clean the cities' air.
Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan, Palembang Mayor Eddy Santana Putra and the assistant to Makassar Mayor for Economic and Social Development Burhanuddin Jalaluddin signed the Kyoto Declaration on the sidelines of the Better Air Quality conference in Bangkok.
The other signatories were mayors from Baguio, Cebu, Makati (the Philippines), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Karachi (Pakistan), Katmandu (Nepal), Surat and Guwahati (India).
Under the declaration, the mayors pledged to promote environmentally-sustainable transport, clean fuel technology and non-motorized vehicles in the cities.
The mayors also agreed to provide exclusive pedestrian and bicycles lanes and ensure safe and comfortable movement of women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
"Environmentally sustainable transport (EST) offers a complementary and integrated package of public transport, quality paths and cycle-ways," Kazunobu Onogawa, Director of the United Nations Center for Regional Development (UNCRD) said.
He said sustainable transport would offer unique opportunities for urban mobility and create a more people-friendly urban environment.
"Without political will and strong leadership, environmentally sustainable transport projects will not materialize," he said.
The Kyoto declaration was launched in Japan in 2004 under the cooperation of UNCRD and the Ministry of Environment of Japan. It aims to promote better transport to deal with worsening air pollution and climate change.
Twenty-two Asian mayors from 14 countries, including Surabaya, Semarang and Yogyakarta signed the Kyoto declaration in 2007. Yogyakarta hosted the Better Air Quality conference in 2006.
Road vehicles generate about 74 percent of total emissions from the transport sector.
Palembang Mayor Eddy said the city would improve land transportation.
"The first step is to promote the use of cleaner fuels such as biofuels for public transportation," he told The Jakarta Post.
Burhanuddin, the Makassar mayor, said the city planned to build special lanes for mass transport systems similar to the busway system in Jakarta.
"We will transform the current smaller vehicle options into larger buses that could accommodate more commuters. Hopefully, it will cut the air pollution in Makassar," he said.
The Makassar administration is also going to plant more trees in the city to help absorb vehicle emissions.
Meanwhile, the conference awarded the Kong Ha prize for excellent air quality management to Shi Han Min, director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, for his efforts cleaning the air quality ahead of the 2008 Olympics games.
The Kong Ha award was named after the chairperson of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian cities, who died in April 2007.
Shi took strict measures to clean the city's air, including prohibiting heavy polluting vehicles from entering urban areas and upgrading the fuel standard.
In his acceptance speech, Shi pledged his commitment to follow up on the success of air quality management in the future.
Former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso received an award for his work in 2006 with the city's TransJakarta busway and its aim to reduce air pollution in Jakarta.
