Good governance is vital in tackling the challenge of the sustainable development of cities, and achieving the right balance between economic growth, environmental protection, and high quality of life for urban dwellers, said Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong here Tuesday.
Speaking at the joint opening of the Singapore International Water Week, World Cities Summit and East Asia Summit Conference, Lee said, "Countries and cities should work together, so that we make progress towards cleaner, more resource-efficient, and more vibrant cities for the future."
He cited Singapore's experiences on water management and urban planning to show one way a dense and land-scarce city can achieve "both economic vibrancy and environmental sustainability."
Singapore has placed a vital role of R&D, technology and innovation in water management. Beyond local catchments and imported water, Singapore now have desalinated water and recycled water, which Singapore calls new water (NEWater).
New water supplies 15 percent of Singapore's water needs today, which will rise to 30 percent in the next few years.
He also announced that the city-state will set up two new institutes that will focus on the policy and practice of sustainable development, which has become especially important with urbanization taking place at an unprecedented scale.
The prime minister said the Institute of Water Policy will be set up under the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. It will undertake policy research, to complement the investments in water research and development R&D and the expanding water industry cluster here in Singapore.
The second institute, the Center for Live-able Cities, will bring together Singapore's expertise on sustainable urban development from across government, industry and academia.
It will host an integrated body of knowledge on the livability of cities, encompassing areas such as urban planning, environmental management, sustainable transport solutions and effective resource management.
However, the prime minister also stressed that no single city or country will have all the answers, "we need closer collaboration to share expertise and experiences, pursue joint research projects and develop pragmatic, workable solutions."
Last year, the United Nations reported that 2008 is the first time in history where more of Earth's inhabitants live in cities than in rural areas, according to Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, who spoke at the same opening ceremony.
"Today, there are more than 400 cities with more than one million people living in them, more than twice as many as 30 years ago, and if UN researchers prove correct, the world's urban population will grow by an average of 1.6 million every 10 days until 2030. By then, nearly two-thirds of the world's population will be living in cities," said Ibrahim.
More than 5,000 participants from 60 countries and regions are attending the week-long meetings to discuss water solutions and sustainable development for cities.
Source:Xinhua
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