2000 Winners
Summary of 2000 Winners
Luanda-Sul Self-financed Urban Infrastructure Program, ANGOLA [619]
Luanda Sul is a trend-setting model for innovative practice. It is based on a self-sustaining urban infrastructure program aimed to valorize public assets through careful land-usemanagement and planning. In close partnership with Government agencies, the private sector and community-based organisations, the population living in temporary settlements and the people displaced by the war are being resettled.

The program was initiated in 1995 through a self-financing process to improve the living conditions of the city and to meet the immense unmet needs of a low-income and displaced community. The improvements in the Luanda Sul included the construction of 70km of pipes providing drinking water, 23km of drainage, 12 km of power lines, 2,210 houses and adequate shelter for 16,702 people.

The program operates from an Achievement and Management Fund. The resources are mobilised through; (i) the sale of concessions (or land tenure rights) derived from the allocation of public land for private development; (ii) taxes and tariffs perceived on the exchange of goods and services; and (iii) investments made by the private sector. The Government, by issuing guarantees for private investments, provided the basis for the self-financing of the programme.

The technical and human resources come from a team of skilled urban and infrastructure experts. The process involved the identification of suitable land for urban development, the acquisition of the land from landowners by the state, the legislation of the status of the land according to a land-use plan and the mobilisation of capital investment of the private sector. The program involved an initial investment of US$30 million and a subsequent investment of US$14 million. The infrastructure development includes community facilities, schools, commercial establishments, an industrial estate and a hospital.

The program so far has:
• Resettled 2,700 families displaced by the war;
• Managed to fully service 8 million sq. m with 121 km of power lines, 70 km of piped water and 3 sewerage treatment plants;
• US$96 millionhas been generated and invested, mostly in social services;
• 4,000 jobs have been created;
• The settlers have secure land tenure and the project is now part of the World Bank’s Luanda Master Plan;
• The community participated in the design and planning of the program and is given first option to buy land;
• The project meets internationally accepted standards and is guaranteed by the Government;
• There are plans to replicate the program in Benguela Province.

Training Program in Public Security, Human Rights and Citizenship, BRAZIL [460]
In Brazil there is much police arbitrariness, causing aggravation of exclusion and violence. In Amapá, a former Federal Territory, police behaviour was based on the Armed Forces motto of “defending the frontiers against invaders”. This war-like ideology degenerated into treating the citizen as the enemy. Furthermore, the police force was badly coordinated and often worked at odds with security departments.
The programme was initiated in 1996. It’s objective is to humanize police action by training the police force to become aware of and uphold human rights and the exercise of citizenship. The training includes social psychology, group interaction and self-analyses focusing on changes in behavior and attitudes based on the respect of ethical principles of citizenship, defense and security for the people. It also aims to provide better integration of different departments involved in the public security system.

The programme led to the adoption and implementation of the following policies and initiatives: (i) interactive policing involving civil society in determining priorities for public security; (ii) establishment of an Environmental Battalion responsible for monitoring and preventing environmental degradation and promoting environmental education; (iii) an unified Public Security system integrating all security departments at all levels to coordinate their actions and interventions including coordination between the Chief Justice and the Secretary of the State for Security; (iv) de-commissioningof the Shock Battalion which was used in the past to suppress labor unions and popular manifestations.

The Hamilton-Wentworth Air Quality Initiative and Vision 2020, CANADA [656]
The high cost of air-quality studies often makes them prohibitive to communities who want to get involved improving their environment. The H-W Air Quality Improvement Committee demonstrated that it is possible to collect information on air quality, coordinate its analysis and propose interventions in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. The approach used is based on multi-stakeholder involvement in monitoring and evaluating air quality and in proposing recommendations for many small but integrated actions and behavior changes. Perhaps, the most significant result of their practice is the development of indicators tools and methods that have been transferred to other communities and organisations undertaking air quality studies.
The work of H-W falls within the framework of VISION 2020, a plan for regional decision-making adopted by the region in June 1990 and revised in 1999. Through its VISION 2020, the Hamilton-Wentworth region has instituted a process which links the municipality, citizens’ organizations and other local stakeholders in the development and implementation of strategies to achieve a sustainable community. The Vision 2020 process is led by a citizens’ team which reviews suggestions raised by various groups in the community and recommends regional strategies for action.

To improve its air quality, H-W proposes interventions ranging from tree planting to traffic and transportation to an international conference on air quality. In less than five years, it has achieved a remarkable improvement of its environmental conditions. H-W’s approach to sustainable development in general and to air quality control in particular has become a model studied by local authorities and institutions world-wide. In 2000, H-W was recognised for its achievements and received ICLEI’s Local Initiatives Award in the category of air quality.

The project has demonstrated that:
• Assessment of complex issues can be achieved with proper coordination of information, research and action;
• The participatory process used for developing indicators to monitor air quality have been used to monitor other aspects of sustainability and has been transferredto other settings;
• Developing public awareness through local information campaigns, action plans as well as international conferences have proven to be effective contributions to the initiative’s success;
• The multi-stakeholder approach and involvement has proven to be sustainable over time resulting in public-private partnerships, the institutionalization of the process, in policy change and in promoting other similar initiatives in support of more sustainable forms of urban and regional development. The principles and values of sustainable development have been firmly entrenched in the community and are used as a guiding force in all decision and policy-making;
• The flexible approach adopted allowing for multiple entry points for public, private and community actors to initiate action plans and projects.

The Comprehensive Revitalization of the Fu and Nan Rivers and the Improvement of the Urban Environment, Chengdu, CHINA [104]
In 1990 Chengdu, with a metropolitan population of 10 million and located in the poorer western region, was one of the most severely polluted cities in China. Surrounded on four sides by two rivers (Fu and Nan), industrial effluent, raw sewage and the intensive use of freshwater deteriorated the rivers’ waters and silted the rivers causing annual floods during the rainy season and dryness during the dry season. Slum and squatter settlements proliferated on the banks of both rivers, exacerbating the social, economic and environmental problems of the city. In 1993, further to a petition by school children to the Mayor, Chengdu started the Fu and Nan Rivers comprehensive revitalization plan.
The primary objective of the plan was to harness the river, prevent future flooding, restore the ecological balance and flow of the rivers and improve water quality. To achieve this objective, however, several other objectives had to be pursued in tandem. These included: (i) finding alternative housing solutions for the 100,000 inhabitants of the slum and squatter settlements bordering the rivers; (ii) relocating, retrofitting or closing down over 1000 enterprises and factories to reduce or eliminate industrial effluent and emissions; (iii) implementing a comprehensive waste water collection and treatment system; (iv) adopting the necessary policies that would enable all of the above to be implemented in a transparent and accountable manner.

Owing to the quantity of capital investment required and the number of people and communities affected, the Municipal Government of Chengdu adopted a strategy of partnership and participation. This resulted in a massive rise in environmental awareness and the mobilisation of central and provincial governments, domestic and foreign investors and the general public. A gearing ratio of one part central government finance to two parts local government finance to three parts private sector investment was established.

Over 30,000 households previously inhabiting the slums on both banks of the two rivers have been re-housed in new, fully equipped housing estates. The vacated land has been used to create a continuous green space replete with parks, gardens, recreational and cultural facilities. The two rivers have been de-silted, widened and their ecological flow restored, reducing flood vulnerability to a 200 year risk. A series of concomitant projects dealt with solid waste, sewage collection and treatment, industrial effluent, road infrastructure, transport and communications, and parks and gardens.

Chengdu today is a clean and green modern city boasting a buoyant and much more diversified economy. The natural flow of the rivers has been largely restored and the lessons learned in participatory planning and partnership are being transferred in an unique setup whereby staff involved in the project have been seconded to surrounding towns and districts. Chengdu’s efforts were recognised in March 2000 by winning ICLEI’s Local Initiatives Award in the category of fresh-water management.

Democratization of Municipal Management for Equitable and Sustainable Development, Ecuador [763]
This practice is developed in a subtropical zone of Latin America, forming part of the Cotacahi-Cayapas ecological reserve, one of the greatest bio-diversity areas of the planet. The municipality covers an urban and a rural area (canton) located on the foothills of the Andes Mountains where most of the indigenous population is settled. The canton metropolitan has a population of 35,000 and the city 7,300. It is an emigration zone, with 80% living under the poverty line. The main economic activity is agriculture and stockbreeding, followed by manufacturing and artisan production. Recently, tourism is starting to provide a source of employment.
In 1996, for the first time in Ecuador, an indigenous Mayor was elected. He immediately initiated citizenship involvement in the local administration. Citizen participation is organized through Unity Assemblies that identify and discuss problems, issues and opportunities. Sector Harmonization roundtables formulate proposals and action plans for inclusion in the Development Plan. Several social, economic and environmental projects have been implemented which have contributed to a significant increase in living standards and conditions and to strengthening democracy through participatory decision-making. The IULA-CELCADEL program for improving the capacity of rural municipalities has been involved in improving managerial skills of the Municipality.

Cost-Effective and Appropriate Sanitation Systems: Sulabh International Social Service Organization INDIA [286]
The practice of open-air defecation and use of bucket latrines is prevalent in India resulting in health hazards for the scavengers as well as their being classified as “untouchables” by society. The two sanitation technologies generally introduced – septic tanks and sewerage – are not affordable by most and are difficult to maintain. They also do not solve problems of the paucity of public latrines.
Sulabh International (NGO) initiated a cost-effective sanitation system in 1970. It converts dry/bucket privies to sanitary toilets, supplies toilets to houses where no latrines existed, provides well designed and maintained community facilities, trains and rehabilitates scavengers to find other jobs and generates bio-gas from public toilets for energy generation. Sulabh International has also forged close co-ordination and partnership between the government, local authorities and the communities involved.

The major problems faced included: (i) reluctance from health engineers to accept the technology developed by Sulabh; (ii) the lack of awareness by the common people of the link between health and sanitation. An appropriate design of pourflush waterseal toilets with twin pits for on site disposal of human waste was developed and tested to the satisfaction of health inspectors. Similarly an appropriate social marketing and delivery system ensuring community participation and involvement of women backed by education and awareness building campaigns was implemented.

Results to date include 1 million toilets and 4000 “pay & use” community toilets serving more than 11 million people daily, liberating 40,000 scavengers. 240 towns have been made scavenger free. Due to this success, state and local governments have started to implement the sanitation program all over the country. Finding that affordable and sustainable technology is available and that institutional capacity has been built to train scavengers, the Government of India has passed legislation to ban scavenging in the country. The program is being replicated in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Tanzania and Kenya.

Women’s Empowerment Program NEPAL [514]
Seventy percent of Nepali families are below poverty line. Male dominated cultural traditions discourage female education, restrict their legal rights and participation in decision-making, and permit women little control over their lives. Females are often malnourished or in poor health. Only 20% of them are literate. Women’s Empowerment Program (WEP) founded on the principle that dependency is not empowering. It works to empower women through an innovative program integrating literacy, micro-finance and micro-enterprise training, and an understanding of legal rights and advocacy.
WEP however offers no seed money, matching grants or subsidized interest rates. Women must own the program by creating their own group policies, paying fees, buying books, providing facilities and supplies, and finding literacy volunteers. WEP assumes that the poor will pay for the services they need. It requires all members to be literate, understand the banking process and know how to form and operate a business. As a result, women in-kind contributions are estimated at $260,000 so far.

240 NGOs work as partners for implementation. WEP also encourages financial independence and for every ten WEP group they work with, the NGO receives less than $5 for administration. As a result, in-kind contributions from supporting NGOs are estimated at $100,000 to date. The program uses an approach based on Appreciative Planning and Action (APA) that was developed in Nepal and encourages women to build on their strengths and has been key to overcoming obstacles. This approach teaches an organization to learn and implement a major program in a transparent and accountable manner, to adopt low-cost methods to promote literacy and economic participation in order to reduce dependence on external funding, In summary, the program instills a sense of self-reliance.

Overall, the program shows that women can teach themselves the skills they need to improve their lives, to save money and start small businesses. Programs based on this model can engage millions of women everywhere at costs they can afford. The no handout policy inspires motivation, pride and commitment in a program integrating literacy, economic and legal components. Simplified books developed by partner NGOs enable newly literate women to teach each other basic skills. Within a few months they start putting them to use in ways to ensure skill retention.

Spanish Greenways Program: Ecological Re-use of Disused Railways Lines, SPAIN [354]
The aim of the Greenways Program is to use former railway lines as bike and footpaths, as well as, for persons with reduced mobility. This program started in 1993 and to date, 850 kilometres of Greenways have been refitted for new users and uses. This program covers the entire national territory of Spain. A special group, under the leadership of the Spanish Railways Foundation was created. Many partners including local authorities, NGOs, regional governments and citizens associations are involved. The partners are responsible for management, maintenance and promotion of the Greenways according to mutually agreed ideas and responsibilities.
The process of developing the Greenways programme stimulates the active participation of all concerned groups. Environmentalist associations, cyclists and sports associations, disabled groups, agricultural co-operatives, railway fans associations, elderly groups, and scientific researchers have benefited from the initiative. Once the new eco-tourism activity started it became one of the most efficient sectors to generate employment. All the Spanish regions and more than 180 municipalities are involved in this program. The Spanish Parliament expressed their unanimous support to this program.

Results of this program show positive and tangible impact as follows:
• Renewal of natural and cultural heritage which had been abandoned;
• Socio-economic support for depressed areas, especially rural and isolated ones;
• Establishment of local employment creation programs linked to eco-tourism;
• Creation of spaces for a peaceful civic coexistence and tolerance and a place for daily meeting places;
• The introduction of environmental education and awareness program;
• With the year 2000 publication of the Greenways Guide, many remote and unknown areas have been widely publicised.

In conclusion, the Greenways Program is a tool to re-vitalise rural and isolated spaces, as well as a new infrastructure for promoting the integration of different communities.

Shambob Brick Producers Co-operative Society (Kassala), SUDAN [382]
The initiative aims to improve the standard of living of poor brick producers and their families in Eastern Sudan through the generation of secure employment and income. This is happening in a context where brick production traditionally is in the hands of middle-class businessmen who reap most of the profits and pay little to the workers.
An important element of the initiative is therefore the support given to a group of workers from the same village to manage their own enterprise. Each of the 115 workers has inserted US$ 20 each in the venture and formed a cooperative.
Other key aspects of the initiative are the improvement of brick quality and increased energy efficiency (and related environmental benefits) to the commercial viability of brick making.

The replacement of wood fuel by residues such as coal and bagasse (a residue of sugar production) has had positive impact that has environmental advantages in saving the trees.

Production and sales have increased which has resulted in a 100% increase in the income of the cooperative members.

Women in the village have also been enabled to make an income from this initiative through transporting water. A community center has also been built as a result of income from this project. The cooperative system has proved successful and is being implemented by other villages.

Tourism and Coastal Zone Management in Turkey: The Ciral Practice [490]
A large number of government initiatives in the tourism sector starting in 1982 resulted in a rapid expansion of tourism facilities along Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The pressure caused by massive construction projects, frequent changes in policies, the lack of co-ordination among central agencies and inadequate legislation led to severe negative social and environmental impacts. Ciral, a small village on the coast surrounded by the high mountains of the Olympos National Park was spared such a fate owing to its remoteness. However, by the 1990s, it’s fragile natural (marine turtle nesting beach) and cultural (Olympos archaeological ruins) heritage was being put at risk by the construction of medium-sized hotels, illegal constructions and use of the coastal eco-system by the local inhabitants.
Owing to its unique qualities Ciralwas chosen as a demonstration area for eco-tourism and organic agriculture. The Ciralpracticeconstitutesthe most important component of the “Ciral and Belek Coastal Management” initiative. The overall objective is to promote sustainable development and the conservation of bio-diversity and of natural resources in selected coastal areas of Turkey. The specific objective for Ciral is to promote environmentally and socially sound development. The results of the project include: (i) completion of the development plan for the area (March 2000); (ii) courses on eco-tourism and organic agriculture; (iii) initiation of an environmental education programme in primary schools; (iv) introduction of new sea turtle nesting areas comprising of beach cleaning during the marine turtle nesting season, screening lights in the restaurants and avoiding the lights after 11 p.m., putting chairs and umbrellas beyond the 35 meters line, closing the beach to vehicles; establishment of an environmental protection plan for the town.
The sustainability of the project is ensured by the establishment of a local co-operative that produces and distributes organic products and the revenues from eco-tourism. In social and cultural terms, the inhabitants of the town, have taken over the ownership of the project and are very active in managing their own environment.