Social

Home page

Social

UN Secretary General sends message on World Habitat Day

05 October 2009 20:27 (UTC +04:00)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon sent a message on October 5 â€“ World Habitat Day, UN Office in Baku told APA. The theme of this yearâ€™s observance of World Habitat Day is Planning of Urban Future.

The UN Secretary General said evidence from around the world suggested that governments at all levels are largely failing to address the urban challenges. â€œUrban sprawl and unplanned development are among the most visible consequences. Hundreds of millions of urban dwellers are also increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels, coastal flooding and other climate-related hazardsâ€.

â€œBetter, more equitable urban planning is essentialâ€ said Ban Ki-moon and added: â€œBut planning will work only where there is good urban governance and where the urban poor are brought into the decisions that affect their lives. And planning will work best only where corruption is honestly tackled. United Nations bodies such as UN-HABITAT can provide vital help with capacity building, research, and knowledge management and exchange. At the dawn of this new urban age, we recognize the problems and we know how to tackle them. We understand perhaps more clearly than ever before that no-one can be excluded, especially the poor. On World Habitat Day, let us pledge to do our part to follow through on our plans for a better, greener, more sustainable future for our increasingly urban planetâ€.