Projects-about

About the project

The world is urbanizing more rapidly than ever before, and cities in developing countries are growing at an even higher pace. Recognizing that cities are key to achieving global environmental and sustainability goals, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) launched the Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SC-IAP) in 2016 as part of the GEF-6 cycle (2014-2018). The Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SC-IAP) aids 28 cities from 11 countries to address the challenges posed by megatrends of global environmental degradation, in an integrated manner. The project is being implemented by UNIDO in close cooperation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. The GEF grant, through UNIDO as the implementing agency, invested in solutions to decarbonize and enhance municipal services and promote integrated and compact cities with resilience at its core.

The SC-IAP project in India has been implemented in five pilot cities since 2019, aiming to integrate sustainability strategies into urban planning and management and create a favourable environment for investment in infrastructure and service delivery. The 5 cities under SCIAP in India are- Bhopal, Jaipur, Mysuru, Vijayawada, and Guntur. The three main project components of the project are-

1. Sustainable Urban Planning and Management handled by UN-HABITAT

2. Investment Projects and Technology Demonstrations handled by UNIDO

3. Partnerships and Knowledge Management Platform handled by NIUA

The primary role of NIUA is to undertake the implementation of Component 3– Partnerships, Knowledge Management and Capacity Building. As a part of this component, a Training and Assistance Needs Assessment (TANA) was conducted from February 2020 to August 2020 for the ULBs of five pilot cities to assess and identify the needs of the ULB officials and to further prepare the training modules. Through TANA, a set of two stakeholders were identified for whom training modules have been prepared, viz, mid and senior-level officials, and ground functionaries. Based on the results of TANA, five training modules have been developed by NIUA for the mid and senior-level officials of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). These have been finalized in coordination with experts and officials from the five pilot cities. Also, Training of Trainers (ToT) modules were developed for the training of ground functionaries. Based on the training modules and Training of Trainers (ToTs) developed, NIUA conducted in-person capacity-building workshops in each of the pilot cities for the ULB officials and ground functionaries. The trainings have been organised separately for the two groups viz, mid and senior-level ULB officials and ground functionaries. ULB officials at the mid and senior levels received training in solid waste management, used water management, and urban water management. Experts from the three sectors gave presentations on topics based on the knowledge requirements identified by TANA. Training for ground functionaries was provided as per NIUA's ToT and was delivered by selected partners who were familiar with the local context. To suit the requirements of the ground functionaries, the workshops were conducted in the vernacular languages of the respective cities. A scale-up workshop was also conducted to impart the knowledge to an additional 45 ULBs. A total of 8 capacity-building workshops were conducted where 50 ULBs were trained with a total of 586 participants. Based on the experience of conducting in-person workshops and in view of the needs of capacity-building of ULBs e-modules on the same themes have been prepared. A total of 9 e-modules spanning over 4 hours have been designed to suit the needs of all stakeholders. The e-learning modules cover the following topics:

1. Solid Waste Management

a. City-Wide Strategy for SWM

b. Construction and Demolition Waste Management

c. Integrating Informal Sector for Sustainable SWM

d. Plastic Waste Management

e. Legacy Waste Management

2. Urban Water & Used Water Management

a. Integrating Urban Water Management & Drinking Water Security in Urban Areas

b. Project Planning in Waste Water Management

c. Introduction to Used Water Management

d. Sustainability and Circularity in Urban Water Management
These e-learning modules will be integrated into existing e-learning platforms like the IGoT portal and National Urban Learning Platforms (NULP). These platforms are widely known and accessed by officials working in the Central, State and local governments. A feature to receive e-certification post-completion of training modules is also available. The modules were developed to highlight the best practices of Indian cities. This has been done to ensure peer-to-peer learning between cities. At present, the e-learning modules are under review by a committee set up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). As part of the capacity-building initiative under SC-IAP, a two-day exposure visit to Indore and Ujjain was organised by NIUA for the senior officials from the MoHUA, UNIDO and municipal corporations of Mysuru, Bhopal, Guntur, Vijayawada, and Jaipur. The participants were immersed in the intricacies of Indore’s solid Waste Management journey, from 6 bin-segregated waste collections at the doorstep to cutting-edge waste processing facilities, including a mechanised MRF and transfer station and a Bio-CNG plant.

They witnessed Indore’s remarkable achievement of being named the cleanest city for the seventh consecutive time. The participants also visited Ujjain smart city projects and Swachh Bharat Mission initiatives, marvelling at their innovative solutions such as floral waste management and cloth-to-paper recycling plants. Beyond mere observation, this visit served as a platform for robust knowledge exchange, peer-to-peer learning and collaborative efforts towards a sustainable urban future. Going forward, NIUA will organise a closing workshop to share the outcomes of the project for wider dissemination.

Status: On-going

Funded by: United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Location: Bhopal, Vijayawada, Jaipur, Guntur, Mysuru

Partners: UN-Habitat, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)

Contact: pdey@niua.org

Highlights

Dissemination of capacity building and training outcomes through a digital platform.
Exposure Visits - Good practices in plastic waste management and circular economy concepts for tackling issues and challenges within the waste management sector.
Project concept note for a scale-up for GEF-8 Cycle
Dissemination of tools and methodology for enhancing municipal finance in the sanitation sector at the national scale.
Communication strategy for the SCIAP project

Publications