The Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific 2019 was brought to an end, as Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI, and Emani Kumar, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI, presented the key takeaways of the Congress.

The three-day Congress was composed of 8 plenary sessions and 7 parallel sessions, gathered over 200 participants from 90 local governments of over 25 countries, covering the main pillars of:

• Localization of global frameworks;
• Capacity building, peer learning and exchanges on climate knowledge and urban resilience;
• Participatory governance and inclusive co-creative local level projects – multi-stakeholder involvement in resilience planning and action;
• Nature-based adaptation; and
• Financing urban resilience.

On this occasion, Emani Kumar, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI, also announced and congratulated the 16 nominated members of the Asia LEDS Partnership Steering Committee 2019-2021, who will lead the voluntary regional network in designing, promoting, and/or implementing low-emissions development strategies in Asia.

Guilherme Jonston, Global Resilient Cities Coordinator and Program Manager, of the ICLEI World Secretariat warmly welcomed sub-national governments to participate in the Resilient Cities 2019 in Bonn in June. "This year marks the 10th anniversary of the ICLEI Resilient Cities, the leading platform for local governments, the private sector, international organizations, and academia to discuss the latest developments in urban resilience and adaptation, and will provide an opportunity to bring the dialogue and discussions in RCAP2019 further," he said.

Led by Sunandan Tiwari, Senior Progam Manager, Global Projects of the ICLEI World Secretariat, and Ingrid Coetzee, Senior Manager of the ICLEI Cities Biodiveristy Centre, local governments and participants of RCAP2019 jointly announced the Delhi Call for Action, which reinforces commitments towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement, integrated with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 11 which seeks to make cities ‘resilient, inclusive and sustainable’, the Sendai Framework, and the New Urban Agenda, by supporting innovative and effective solutions that build resilience to climate change at the sub-national level in the Asia-Pacific region.

RCAP 2019 officially closed as Randhir Sahay, Additional Commissioner, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, delivered his final remarks and appreciation to the participation and contribution of local governments from the Asia-Pacific.

“The forum has set a strong stage for bold and ambitious statements and actions towards sustainability. We are excited to announce the Delhi Call and its Commitments. I request and hope that each of us will strive for climate resilient actions in our homes and in our cities,” said Mr. Sahay.

(Written by Yuting Chang from ICLEI East Asia Secretariat)