HABITAT III is scheduled to take place in Quito, Ecuador, in September 2016. But, preparatory efforts are already taking place among Indonesian Authorities, since President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s administration will host at least two serial preparatory meetings,these are the High-level Regional Preparatory Meeting to Habitat III for Asia-Pacific this October and the Third PrepCom next year.
It is in the context of preparation that Agustaviano Sofjan from the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, who has been in communication with the UN in Bangkok, came for a courtesy visit to UCLG ASPAC and met the organization’s Secretary General to discuss related matters on sustainable urban development.
They exchanged views on how to prepare for the Habitat III and discussed about plans for the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, which will take place on 19-21 October in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sofjan’s involvement in development issues –to be precisely on sustainable urban development—started during his duty at the Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi (Kenya), where the UN HABITAT head office is also located. “I was in Nairobi from 2006 until 2010 and represented Indonesia in many UN Habitat – related meetings and forums” he said.
“It was also a place where I learned further about the success story of the resettlement projects initiated by President Joko Widodo, at that time Mayor of Surakarta, when he managed to make a peaceful deal with street vendors. The deal consisted on a Peaceful Resettlement Project. It has been a good example on how resettlement projects can be done without doing any harms to the target audience,” he added.
Joko Widodo gained nationwide and international attention, inspiring later on also other local government to practice the same ‘methods’. As a developing nation in the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia is putting its best efforts to minimize poor living areas across the country. On the other hand, Indonesian Authorities have also been trying to develop decentralization so that local governments can become more effective ‘agent of change’ to bring sustainability in their urban areas.
Sofjan’s contacts with other UN agencies continued in Bangkok, where he is now assigned as the First Secretary, Economic Affairs and UN-ESCAP for the Indonesian Embassy. “In Bangkok I can contribute to the discussions on regional economic and social issues, including sustainable urbanization and human settlement matters with the UN Regional Office. Thus, we can contribute to make a positive difference for the development in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region” he added.
Role model
With an intensive practice of decentralization system into force, Indonesia is widely considered as a good role model among nations in Asia-Pacific, where best practice on peaceful resettlement programs can be taken into force. “Beside the Surakarta, Joko Widodo also initiated the Resettlement Program in Pluit, an area in North Jakarta, where dozens of people were morally and socially motivated to move to a better place rather than staying in extremely poor spots,” explained Sofjan.
When asked about why Indonesia is enthusiast to host two Preparatory Meetings prior to the HABITAT III in Ecuador, Sofjan answered that it is the concern of Indonesia and other developing countries to continue to strengthen efforts in managing human settlements and sustainable urbanization. Indonesia and other developing countries in the region are facing challenges of urbanization and this has to be handled cautiously.
It is with UCLG ASPAC, he confirmed, that all issues related with local government’s capacity to perform sustainable development and urbanization can be discussed. He also thanked the Secretary General and the Secretariat for the hospitality of the organization.
