Canada and Agenda
21Canada and Agenda
21
CHAPTER 7
Promoting Sustainable Human Settlement Development
-- Gordon Clifford --
Gordon Clifford is a consultant with Consulting and Audit Canada. The views expressed in this chapter are those of the author with input from a number of other stakeholders, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Consulting and Audit Canada or the Projet de Société.
THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
Human settlements range from small rural villages to vast mega-cities. They form the living and working environment of most of the people on the Earth, and the main setting for economic and social development. Human settlement issues are central to sustainable development. They combine the following two factors: the development aspects of meeting the needs of the present generations through provision of shelter and other basic needs; and ensuring that the natural environment is maintained for future generations by effective human settlements management.
By the year 2000, half the world's population will live in cities. The urbanization of society is part of the development process; cities now generate approximately 60% of nations' gross national product. However, a growing number of cities are showing symptoms of environmental and socio-economic stress. Urban infrastructure often results in loss of small traditional farming communities; loss of greenbelts, natural ecosystems and animal habitats; depletion of resources from and transfer of wastes to rural areas; loss of land-based, indigenous cultures; overburdened, unsustainable transportation systems; increased pollution of air, land and water; increased poverty and localized overpopulation; increased crime and drug abuse; and a decline in access to health services. Moreover, in most developing countries, a lack of clean water and sanitation leads to widespread ill-health and many preventable deaths each year.
The environmental implications of human settlement development should be recognized and addressed in an integrated fashion by all countries, with high priority given to the needs of the urban and rural poor, the unemployed and the growing number of people without any source of income.
PROGRAM AREAS AND OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of Chapter 7 is to improve the social, economic and environmental quality of human settlements and the living and working environments of all people, in particular the urban and rural poor. Such improvement should be based on technical cooperation, partnerships amongst the public, private and community sectors, and participation in the decision-making process by community groups and special interest groups, such as women, indigenous people, the elderly and the disabled.
The following eight program areas, along with their corresponding objectives, are presented in Chapter 7.
(1)Providing adequate shelter for all;
(2)Improving human settlement management;
to ensure sustainable management of all urban settlements, particularly in developing countries, in order to enhance their ability to improve the living conditions of residents...
(3)Promoting sustainable land-use planning and management;
to provide for the land requirements of human settlement through environmentally sound physical planning and land use so as to ensure access to land to all households and, where appropriate, the encouragement of communally and collectively owned land...
(4)Promoting the integrated provision of environmental infrastructure including water, sanitation, drainage and solid-waste management;
to ensure the provision of adequate environmental infrastructure facilities in all settlements by the year 2025...
(5)Promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements;
to extend the provision of more energy-efficient technology and alternative/renewable energy for human settlements and to reduce negative impacts of energy production and use on human health and the environment...
(6)Promoting human settlement planning and management in disaster-prone areas;
to extend the provision of more energy-efficient technology and alternative/renewable energy for human settlements and to reduce negative impacts of energy production and use on human health and on the environment...
(7)Promoting sustainable construction industry activities;
to enable all countries, in particular those that are disaster-prone, to mitigate the negative impact of natural and man-made disasters on human settlements, national economies and the environment..., and,
(8)Promoting human resource development and capacity-building for human settlement development;
to improve human resource development and capacity-building in all countries...
UNCED considered human settlements issues as "cross-cutting" with links to other environment and development problems. As such, the human settlements dimension is included in other Agenda 21 chapters, e.g., atmospheric pollution, land use, accessible supplies of freshwater, waste disposal, oceans, poverty, population and health.
CANADIAN POSITIONS AT RIO
1.Official Canadian Position
Canada had four main objectives regarding the promotion of sustainable human settlement development:
(1)to underline the importance of the roles and responsibilities that all countries have in addressing this issue;
(2)to strengthen partnerships among existing international and national agencies and organizations as well as with the private sector and communities in implementing the chapter's recommendations and activities;
(3)to strengthen the mandate of existing programs and agencies to address the proposed activities; and,
(4)to recommend that priorities be established among the eight program areas.
2.Non-Governmental Organizations
Canadian NGOs advocated that sustainable human settlements depend upon there being a sustainable environment. Therefore the concept of sustainable human settlements depends upon and is linked with all sustainability issues including those environment and development issues covered by UNCED as well as those issues, such as disarmament, which were not discussed at UNCED. In addition, they held the view that all sectors of society need to be involved in planning, decision-making, policy implementation and management of human settlements.
3.Business and Industry
Canadian business and industry had no direct input into Chapter 7. However there is strong support for the official Canadian position.
4.Indigenous
Indigenous Peoples testified extensively for the need of sustainable development. However, sustainability must be social, cultural, economic and political in nature. Indigenous knowledge and values are the basis for sustainable practices as evidenced by Indigenous Peoples whom have inhabited harsh and fragile ecosystems like the desert and the arctic for thousands of years. While inhabitants from the developed world have been only been able to survive in these ecosystems through the aid of unsustainable technologies.
COMMITMENTS MADE BY CANADIANS
1. Legally-Binding Documents
None.
2. Political Pronouncements
None.
3.Alternative NGO Treaties and Kari-Oca
NGO Treaties
At the same time as UNCED, two major international events were also held at Rio. One was the International Non-Governmental Organization Forum (Global Forum). At the Global Forum, 3,100 NGOs discussed a number of matters related to environment and development and produced a parallel set of documents: an NGO Earth Charter and 38 Alternative NGO Treaties. Of these treaties, one addressed the issues discussed in Chapter 7.
NGO Treaty on Urbanization
This treaty is based on the principle that there is a need to create a new sustainable development model for cities which focuses on humanity's well-being. NGOs at Rio saw an opportunity to reduce dependency of countries on centres of power. They saw the need for an urban transformation based on rights to basic needs, democracy and on common interests prevailing over individual rights to property. According to this treaty, the NGOs should forge linkages between the public, private and social sectors that create participatory mechanisms for the formation of public policy. NGOs will work for a new balance between cities and rural areas by "eliminating the middleman" and establishing direct relations between producers and consumers. The treaty promotes the use of resources to improve public transport, housing, and employments opportunities. Priority actions should favour those who have suffered most from social exclusion imposed by the current model of development. The NGOs also agreed to work to end forced evictions and populations transfers and by acting in solidarity with those facing oppression or retaliation for their struggles to change the system.
Kari-Oca
The second alternative forum at Rio was the International Conference on Territory, Environment and Development (the Kari-Oca Conference). The Kari-Oca Conference was held immediately prior to UNCED by and for the world's indigenous peoples. More than 650 indigenous representatives participated in meetings and cultural events during the conference. They developed and adopted a 109-point Indigenous Peoples Earth Charter.
In the context of this chapter, indigenous people maintain their inalienable rights to:
their lands, territories and resources;
their traditional way of life;
be free from population transfer policies dictated by state governments which lead to the loss of traditional lands and livelihoods; and,
decide the direction of their communities.
Specifically:
parks must not be created at the expense of indigenous peoples;
indigenous peoples must not be removed from their lands in order to make
it available to settlers or other forms of economic activity;
the problem of decreasing numbers of indigenous peoples due to encroachment by non-indigenous peoples must be avoided.
DEFICIENCIES, GAPS AND CONSTRAINTS WITHIN CHAPTER 7
The following weaknesses and constraints to the achievement of this chapter's objectives have been identified.
The objectives under each program area are not easily linked with the means through which they are to be achieved. Without this linkage, implementation of the chapter will be both more difficult and more open to interpretation.
The high funding requirements outlined for this chapter need further rationalization. Without a better explanation, the high costs of implementation will lead to scepticism and criticism.
A number of concepts which are used are ill-defined or vague. For example, it is unclear what is meant by "adequate" shelter, a "participatory approach" to sustainable urban development, or "an integrated approach to the provision of environmentally sound infrastructure in human settlements". By emphasizing the generic rather than the specific, or by using terms which are unclear, the chapter may be open to too much interpretation.
The chapter would have been stronger, and its credibility enhanced, if some of the underlying causes of the problems identified in the chapter were discussed. For the chapter to propose such large expenditures without providing a proper analysis of the problem is inappropriate.
The inequality in the distribution of existing resources in most developing countries may go far in explaining many of the problems cited in this chapter. It may also represent the main obstacle to their solution, and yet it is not addressed in this chapter.
The chapter inappropriately focuses mainly on developing countries. Human settlements and the crisis in housing for the poor is a global problem found in nearly all nations.
COMPARISON BETWEEN CURRENT CANADIAN GOVERNMENT POLICY AND COMMITMENTS MADE
It should be noted that this chapter is directed mainly (and often explicitly) to the needs of developing countries. Nevertheless, with some 1.2 million Canadian households considered by Canadian standards to have substandard housing in terms of quality, affordability and suitability, there is still much to be done to meet the objectives of this chapter in the Canadian context. The housing of some Canadian groups, such as the rural poor and indigenous peoples, is often inadequate by any standards. To date, government policies have not enabled all Canadians to have access to "adequate shelter". Notwithstanding the need for improvement, it is clear that Canada is considerably further ahead of other countries in meeting this chapter's objectives.
CANADIAN ACTIVITIES EVOLVING THROUGH THE SUSTAINABILITY PROCESS
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Canada has endorsed and funded many international activities related to human settlements. For example, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has supported a major South American network to evaluate ways of improving drinking water distribution and solid waste collection and disposal in 14 cities in seven countries. In Africa, IDRC funded research to assess the privatization of municipal functions and better cost recovery of service delivery. Research has been undertaken on how to improve the poor's access to safe, reliable food supplies, including urban agriculture.
IDRC, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Environment Canada have provided funding for the Local Agenda 21 Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). This project will build local government capacity to address environmental problems in twenty-one municipalities around the world.
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
CIDA is a facilitator for and is providing financial support to the following programs: Open China Cities Project and Africa 2000 (both managed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities); the creation of two urban-oriented Centres of Excellence at Canadian Universities; Management Development Program (Sub-Saharan Africa); and the SACDEL program (the Regional Training System for Local Urban Development and Improvement of Municipal Administration in Latin America).
Canada Mortgage and Housing Cooperation (CMHC)
CMHC's "Healthy Housing" initiative deals with community, housing and indoor air quality issues. This initiative involved a design competition in which partnerships were encouraged to propose innovative and integrated solutions to a broad range of design criteria, including occupant health and safety, energy and resource efficiency, environmental responsibility, and affordability. The two winning designs are being built in Toronto and Vancouver.
Supported by CMHC and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Urban Research on the Environment Project (CURE) is directed at tracking municipal policies, technologies and environmental indicators. CURE is a database and information source on the environmental initiatives of a wide range of municipalities in every province and region of Canada. The project will publish a directory of municipal environmental contacts and a compendium of environmental initiatives for Canadian municipalities.
National Round Table on the Environment and Economy (NRTEE)
The NRTEE, in partnership with the Canadian Construction Association, has published a report on waste reduction for the construction industry. The report includes sections on rules and regulations, waste stream analysis, recycling potential, codes of practice and a directory.
Toward Sustainable Communities: A Resource Book for Municipal and Local Decision Makers, discusses the application of sustainable development concepts in local communities. It reviews topics such as air quality, transport, land use, energy conservation, waste management, water and sewage, and economic and community development.
Other publications of the NRTEE with reference to human settlements include: The National Waste Reduction Handbook, Discussions on Decision Making Practices for Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development: A Manager's Handbook, and Reporting on Sustainable Development at the Municipal and Household Level.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
FCM is undertaking a survey of Canadian municipal resources, expertise, and policy and program innovations in sustainable development and documenting those that could be of use to developing countries. The project is creating a data base that will facilitate cooperative international partnerships and exchanges between local governments in Canada and developing country counterparts on issues of sustainable development.
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)
The CCME is producing, in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), a Municipal Primer on UNCED. The Primer is intended to communicate the accomplishments of the Earth Summit to municipalities and to promote action plans for local sustainable development.
Environmental Planning Institute of Canada (EPIC)
EPIC is a not-for-profit initiative of the private sector with the aim of establishing and promoting environmental standards for the construction and management of industrial, commercial, institutional (IC&I) as well as real estate across Canada. The primary goals of EPIC are to establish and update design, engineering and management guidelines for environmental planning, and to communicate information about IC&I buildings to owners, tenants, industry suppliers, governments, and the public.
New Brunswick Commission on Land Use and the Rural Environment
The NBCLURE has recommended policies to encourage compatible rural development, environmental protection and the preservation of high-value agricultural land.
Mount Allison University
The Rural and Small Town Research and Studies Program of Mount Allison University has developed a pilot project designed to help smaller communities explore their own potential and develop and implement sustainable development strategies.
National Research Council (NRC)
The NRC's Institute for Research in Construction (IRC) recently transferred a heat pump technology to the private sector for application in cold climates. This technology is expected to revolutionize foundation construction saving local governments millions of dollars annually. The Council also developed and promoted the R-2000 energy efficient home program, which provides performance standards for designing, constructing and equipping a home to high standards of energy efficiency, comfort and control.
Cities and Sustainable Development, Global Forum, Manchester, 24 June - 3 July 1994
The major theme of Global Forum '94 will be Cities and Sustainable Development. Citizens groups, local authorities, the business community and others will be brought together to forge practical action plans for the sustainable management and development of urban areas across the globe. Participants will examine sustainable development issues in urban areas and the interrelationship between urban and rural areas.
Local and Provincial Round Tables
Several of the Provincial Round Tables on Environment and Economy have in place programs and publications which are intended to support initiatives to establish local Round Tables. These may be instrumental in promoting local efforts directed at sustainable development.
Most municipalities, particularly the larger ones, have undertaken strategies to improve energy and transportation efficiency by employing various transportation-related policies, energy audits, and district energy systems.
Canadian NGOs continue to be involved in settlement issues either through advocacy on affordable housing, child welfare, air quality, increased green belts and parks, or through direct action, such as non-profit housing and food cooperatives, membership on urban transportation and zoning committees, Earth Day festivals, and education and product fairs on appropriate technologies and lifestyles. NGOs also continue to promote community participation in all settlements issues as well as integrated approaches to urban policies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, recognizing that such integration demands full consideration of creating a sustainable hinterland upon which sustainable settlements depend.
OTHER RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY-RELATED FORA
Canada is party to various international events, programs and organizations relevant to this chapter which include:
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Group on Urban Affairs and the Development Assistance Committee
International Union of Local Authorities (IULA)
Urban Management Program (United Nations Development Program, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, Habitat, World Bank) biennial meetings
World Cities and their Environment Congress of Municipal Leaders
World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future
Montreal Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (Ottawa)
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
International New Towns Association
HABITAT- UN Centre for Human Settlements and its Global Strategy for Shelter to the year 2001.
Global Forum '94 - "Cities and Sustainable Development", Manchester, England.
United Nations Committee on Economic, Scientific and Cultural Rights
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (1993)
SUGGESTED READINGS AND INFORMATION SOURCES
Cook, P. (ed.). Social Structures for Sustainability, Fundamental Questions Paper No. 11., Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (Canberra: Australian National University, 1990).
Gordon, D. (ed.). Green Cities: Ecologically Sound Approaches to Urban Space. (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1990).
Government of Canada. Canada's Green Plan. (Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1990).
. Canada's Green Plan and the Earth Summit. (Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1992).
. Canada's National Report: United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development Brazil, June 1992. (Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1991).
. CIDA Activities Re: Municipal Training, (Ottawa: Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA), 1992).
. An Urban Problematic: The Challenge of Urbanization for Development
Assistance (Ottawa: Canadian International Development Agency, 1992).
. The State of Canada's Environment. (Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1991).
HABITAT. People, Settlements, Environment and Development. 1990.
Hardoy, Jorge and David Satterthwaite, Squatter Citizens, (Buenos Aires: International Institute
for Environment and Development - Latin America, 1988).
International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Agenda 21: Abstracts, Reviews, and
Commentaries. (Theodora Carroll-Foster, editor), (Ottawa: IDRC, 1993).
Keating, Michael. Agenda for Change: A Plain Language Version of Agenda 21
and the Other Rio Agreements. (Geneva: Centre for Our Common Future, 1993).
Lowe, M.D. "Shaping Cities: The Environmental and Human Dimensions", Paper 105
(Washington D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991).
Morehouse, Ware (ed). Building Sustainable Communities, (New York: The Bootstrap Press,
1989).
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Environmental Policies for
Cities in the 1990s, (Paris: OECD, 1990).
Report on the Meeting of International Associations of Cities and Local Authorities. Rio de Janeiro, January 1992.
Roseland, Mark. Towards Sustainable Communities, (Ottawa: National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy, 1992).
Stren, Richard, Rodney White and Joseph Whitney. Sustainable Cities, Urbanization and the
Environment in International Perspective, (San Francisco: Westview Press, 1992).
White, R. and J. Whitney. "Human Settlements and Sustainable Development: An Overview"
Draft prepared for the Colloquium on Human Settlements and Sustainable Development, June 21-23, 1990, (Toronto: University of Toronto Centre for Urban and Community Studies, 1990).
World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1987)
Information Sources:
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Place du Centre, 200 Promenade du Portage, Hull, Quebec, K1A 0G4, tel: (819) 997-5456, fax: (819) 953-5469).
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 1565 Carling Avenue, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Z 8R1 tel: (613) 728-6884, fax: (613) 748-5130.
Environmental Planning Institute of Canada (EPIC)
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), 24 Clarence St., 2nd floor, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 5P3, tel (613) 237-5221, fax (613) 237-2965.
International Development Research Centre, 250 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 3H9,
tel (613) 236-6163, fax (613) 567-7749.
Mount Allison University, The Rural and Small Town Research and Studies Program, Sackville, New Brunswick, E0A 3C0, tel (506) 364-2398, fax (506) 364-2601.
National Research Council, Headquarters, Building M-58, Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, tel (613) 993-9101, fax (613) 952-7928.
New Brunswick Commission on Land Use and the Rural Environment, c/o N.B. Department of the Environment, P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, N.B., tel (506) 453-3095, fax (506) 453-3377.
University of British Columbia Centre for Human Settlements, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, tel (604) 822-5856, fax (604) 822-6164.
University of Toronto Centre for Urban and Community Studies, 455 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2G8, tel (416) 978-2072, fax (416) 978-7162.
Cite as: Projet de société: Canada and Agenda 21.Winnipeg: IISD, 1995. Online. Internet. http://iisd.ca/worldsd/canada/projet/c07.htm.
