The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Zephania Ubwani
27 October 2008
Climate change could lead to higher sea levels, affecting most of the world's coastal cities and towns, the United Nations has warned.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) says with 60 per cent of the world cities on the coastal zones, the situation could be grim.
"With over 60 per cent of the world's cities being by the sea, climate change and the rise of sea levels will affect cities around the world," said a statement issued by the UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi.
Climate change is a phenomenon in which rising global temperatures on the earth's surface trigger global warming leading to melting polar ice and rising sea levels, among other impacts.
More critically, the statement said the cities which now accommodates nearly a half of the world's population, would worsen the climate change situation through emissions.
The UN warning came as the UN-Habitat is bracing for the 4the World Urban Forum to take place in China next week during which the organisation's executive director Prof Anna Tibaijuka will launch the new State of the World's Cities Report for 2008/009.
The launch of the new report is intended to act as a curtain raiser for the forum which will take place in Nanjing, China, on November 3-6.
Several officials from Tanzania, including from the government, the local authorities and civil society are expected to travel to China for the four-day meeting.
The theme of the "Forum is Harmonious Urbanization: The Challenge of Balanced Territorial Development", according to Ms Zahra Hassan, a media liason officer with UN-Habitat.
By the middle of the 21st century, the total urban population of the developing world will more than double. Over three million people are moving to cities in developing countries each week.
Given the urgency of the situation, in his foreword to the report, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, states that the data and analysis contained in the new State of the World's Cities Report 2008/9.
"Harmonious cities, are intended to improve our understanding of how cities function and what we, as a global community, can do to increase their liveability and unity," the UN boss is quoted saying by the report.
Dedicated to encouraging harmonious cities and aimed at policymakers and planners, and all those concerned with the welfare of a rapidly urbanizing world, the report breaks new ground by taking the Gini coefficient to measure inequality at the city level.
"The resulting comparative analysis is both surprising and shocking" the statement emphasized, noting that there were many challenges to be addressed to improve the living standards of people there.
Prof Anna Tibaijuka, the UN-Habitat executive director, says governments should promote equity and sustainability to ensure better lives for millions of people.
"These governments recognise that cities are not just part of the problem, they are, and must be, part of the solution, " she says.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
