Environment-friendly smart cities should be the norm

SALALAH, August 19 - Care for environment is on the focus of town planners, policymakers and all other stakeholders at the second edition of ‘Smart Cities’ conference where representatives from seven Arab countries along with 200 participants are discussing the right modalities for developing new cities and modernising the existing ones. The gathering titled ‘Arab Conference on Sustainable Cities’ opened at Salalah Millennium Resort on Monday under the auspices of Shaikh Saif bin Mohammed al Shabibi, Minister of Housing, in the presence of Shaikh Salim bin Aufit al Shanfari, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality, civic body chiefs of some Arab countries and a large number of housing and planning experts from the region. In his opening speech, Abdul Qader bin Ahmed al Haddad, Deputy Chairman of Dhofar Municipality, outlined the aim of the conference and termed it an ideal platform for discussing the larger goals of smart cities and issues involved in it.  “It is good for the civic bodies to make a holistic approach for urban development and cities which are sustainable. With the involvement of all the stakeholders, it would be easy to exploit the potential without adversely affecting the lifestyle of others,” he said. FIGHT POLLUTION He put stress on effective city management to ensure decrease in pollution, as every city has its own unique nature and with changing times necessary steps need to be taken to keep the city sustainably smart. The two-day event is part of the lecture and academic series of the Salalah Tourism Festival (STF) and being organised by the First Care in association with urban development partners from the municipal sector, housing, environment, the private sector and regional organisations. The speakers made strong points for involvement of locals while doing any big changes in city planning for the sake of continuity and sustainability. They also tried to fix the “role of urban development partners in achieving sustainable urban development through sustainable housing.” Mohammed Jamil al Taweel, Chairman of the conference Organising Committee and Director-General of First Care, said development is an essential element to ensure stability and human and social development.  “It is a continuous process and takes various forms aimed at advancing the humanitarian situation in accordance with its needs and economic, social and intellectual potential.” He lauded the efforts undertaken by the Sultanate’s Ministry of Housing with clear plans and objectives and said that the municipalities, councils and specialised bodies from public and private sectors were working in tandem with those policies to integrate all urban, health and environmental conditions towards the welfare of citizens. “This is part of the national vision that aspires to maintain the best practices through competitiveness at the regional and global level.” He cited the report of ‘UNDP Sustainable Development Goal 11’, which seeks to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The report is not binding on nations but a nice advisory to the governments to take the ownership of develop frameworks. Several presentations were made by the experts along with interactive sessions on the first day, while the conference is likely to come out with important resolutions on Tuesday. Kaushalendra Singh