UN Habitat:

GS Paper 2:

Syllabus: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.

Context:

UN-Habitat has identified various pressing issues posing challenges for urban planners of Jaipur City.

Issues highlighted include:

1. Rapid expansion of cities.
2. Weak urban mobility.
3. Extreme levels of drought during summer and also urban floods.

Recommendations:

1. Increase the green cover, strengthen urban biodiversity, and thereby enhance the quality of life for citizens.
2. Implement the idea of a compact city with re-development and re-densification of the existing urban areas.
3. To curb development on the city’s outskirts, link the distance from the main city to the development charges imposed on citizens.
4. Eco-trails with plantations along natural drainage channels and railway tracks are recommended in the city.
5. The 800 dry wells in City could be used for rainwater harvesting and raising the water table, mitigating urban floods and ensuring efficient utilisation of water resources.

About UN Habitat:

• The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–Habitat) is the United Nations agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development.
• It was established in 1978 as an outcome of the First UN Conference on Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat I) held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976.
• It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
• It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
• UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly.
• It has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Habitat Agenda:

• The mandate of UN-Habitat derives from the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996.
• The twin goals of the Habitat Agenda are adequate shelter for all and the development of sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. UN Habitat.
2. Habitat Agenda.
3. The United Nations Conference on Human Settlements.

Mains Link:

What is UN-Habitat programme? What are its objectives? Discuss with special emphasis on role played by India with respect to it.

Q.3) Consider the following statements:

1. 1. The mandate of UN-Habitat derives from the Habitat Agenda.
   2. Habitat Agenda was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996.

Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1. 1 only.
   2. 2 only.
   3. Both.
   4. None.

Sources: the Hindu.