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Green City Initiative

등록일 2024.12.18

 

 

 

BIMG-EAGA 5 strategic pillars – Environment
Green City Initiative

 

 

Young Kyung Ko (ASEAN Center, Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University)

 

 

 

BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025 (BEV 2025) has five strategic pillars, and environment is one of them. The Environment pillar aims to promote sustainable eco-tourism, climate-resilient agriculture, green technology advancement, and sustainable urban development.

 

Cities in Asia have experienced rapid growth, providing millions of people with better economic opportunities and higher living standards. However, urban densification and development have also brought about significant environmental and social costs, including population growth, inadequate infrastructure, deteriorating transportation conditions, air pollution, polluted rivers, and widening inequalities. The increase in prosperity and urban population is likely to lead to greater resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Already, cities consume nearly 75% of the Earth's natural resources and account for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions (THE GREEN CITIES INITIATIVE FOR BIMP-EAGA). The worsening urban issues could result in deteriorating living environments and reduced economic productivity.

 

Without dramatic changes, urban problems are likely to worsen. Therefore, continuing to adopt traditional urban development approaches is no longer the right choice. As part of the Environment strategy of BIMP-EAGA (BEV 2025), the Green Cities Initiative (GCI) has been introduced.

 

The BIMP-EAGA Green Cities Initiative (GCI) aims to contribute to a paradigm shift. GCI seeks to promote integrated urban development and environmental planning, transforming present cities into cleaner, more environmentally friendly, and prosperous cities of the future. For example, while conventional urban development focuses on infrastructure expansion, green city development aims to enhance infrastructure through integrated planning and management to improve the city's management capacity.

 

The BIMP-EAGA Green Cities Initiative (GCI) has introduced the Green City Action Plans (GCAP) as practical implementation measures. GCAP contains highly detailed and specific content aimed at making cities within the BIMP-EAGA region smarter, more environmentally friendly, and livable, ultimately promoting sustainable urban development. It includes profiling, baseline setting, and performance indicator establishment to enhance integrated urban planning, as well as project pipelines, assessment of urban financial capabilities, consideration of alternative funding mechanisms for proposed project pipelines, and implementation plans for project pipelines.

 

 

Action Plan Development in 10 Step

 

 

For GCAP to achieve the expected outcomes in urban development, it is essential to thoroughly consider the characteristics and environment of the target cities. Therefore, while GCAP maintains a standardized format, its content is tailored to each city's specific needs. City-specific GCAP plans prioritize and schedule green development and investment plans according to their unique requirements. These plans are then combined with city management and implementation strategies, financial procurement plans, and performance monitoring indicators before being finalized. For instance, the GCAP for Kota Kinabalu includes a detailed examination of Malaysia's renewable energy policies, local government development plans, land use, water supply, and other pertinent aspects, all forming a city profile. Based on this, action plans and strategies are formulated.

 

The Asia Development Bank (ADB) has partnered with BIMP-EAGA to support the formulation of strategies aimed at enhancing economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Given the need for an integrated approach when planning environmental infrastructure, services, and other public goods, GCAP also receives advisory and support from the ADB.

 

In 2016, the BIMP-EAGA Green Cities Initiative was launched, and nine pilot cities were selected for the application of GCAP. The nine cities are as follows: Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Kendari, Pontianak and Tomohon in Indonesia, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, Labuan in Malaysia, Davao and General Santos City in the Philippines.

 

GCAP has already been applied in Kendari and Kota Kinabalu, with each completing GCAP in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The third GCAP was developed for General Santos City in 2021, while Bandar Seri Begawan and Pontianak are scheduled to be prepared by 2022.