Durban - The BRICS countries committed themselves to sharing solutions on dealing with rapid urbanisation and building climate resilient infrastructure at a conference that started in Durban yesterday.
The summit, titled “Advancing urban resilience for sustainable cities and towns for future generations”, brought together key leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to play a significant role in localising the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementing actions at the local level to address challenges related to sustainable development, urban resilience and rapid urbanisation.
The delegates made reference to the disastrous flood in Durban in April 2022, which has been described as the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KwaZulu-Natal in terms of the number of lives lost, homes and infrastructure damaged or destroyed and for its economic impact on the province.
They also agreed that joint project facilitation, sharing information and knowledge and working together to create a level of efficiency in response to climate change and making cities more resilient would benefit not only BRICS countries but all developing countries.
Brazil’s Carlos Tomé, Vice-Minister for Metropolitan and Urban Development, said funding was crucial to protect against the adverse effects of climate change.
India’s Kuldip Narayan, director-general for Housing For All Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said his country was the least urbanised of all the BRICS nations and as their population continued to grow, so did the challenges.
“The urban planning and governance framework is crucial as we cannot leave cities to fend by themselves or they will keep reinventing the wheel all the time. If a city is based on a single economy, then technology will make that obsolete and municipalities can have their own policies and use their methods but must conform to a federal or national model.”
Narayan said India was willing to share its knowledge, including how the country leveraged its experience with technology for urban management, and to agree on a partnership to support other countries during national disasters.
“We will support the creation of a network of urban local bodies of BRICS nations to share experiences for developing innovative solutions.”
India was also devising innovative mechanisms for enhancing the financial strength of urban local bodies for sustainable urban development and ensuring equitable access to all sections of the society, Narayan said.
Russia’s Maria Sinichich, head of Comprehensive Territorial Development, said the country had been working on an effective urban management system for the smart city space and were ready to share the experience.
China’s Qin Haixiang, Vice-Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said the safety of people and self-will are an important principle of urban construction and development.
Parks Tau, Deputy Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, said cities in South Africa sometimes felt overwhelmed by rapid urbanisation, growth of informal settlements, high levels of unemployment, inequality and poverty, adding that there was a need for innovative solutions.