A three-day International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning (ICURP 2023) hosted by Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) ended on Monday, endorsing '12-point Dhaka Declaration: Advancing Sustainable Urban Development for a Resilient Future'.
The conference began at a city hotel on Saturday with participation of representatives and experts from different countries of the world attended by urban and regional development planners.
The Dhaka declaration states, "We, the participants of the 3rd International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning (ICURP 2023), held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, under the theme "Spatial Planning for Sustainable Development - Achieving National and Global Goals", hereby declare our shared commitment to advancing sustainable urban development and resilience in Bangladesh.
In the declaration, "We highlight the essential role of urban, regional and rural planning in achieving global and national visions and targets of Bangladesh as a country and nation; as well translating these global and national targets at city, rural and community levels which will contribute to achieving the status of Developing Country by 2026, followed by the status of Developed Economy by 2041. We appreciate the commitment of the Government of Bangladesh to foster spatial planning for sustainable urban development. Guided by the principles enshrined in global agreements, we have distilled our collective aspirations into the following tenets:
Regarding delivering a Spatial Planning Framework for Bangladesh, it states, "We endorse the need for a Spatial Planning Framework for Bangladesh as the foundational pillar for our shared vision of sustainable urban, regional and rural development in Bangladesh."
About aligning Global Commitments and Building Local Capacities, it says, "We affirm the importance of aligning our actions with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as this is the overarching framework that includes the SDGs, the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework recognizing these as the compass to guide our journey towards a sustainable future. We also equally confirm the essential requirement of local capacity building in terms of accredited planning education; effective legislative, governance and budgetary framework for plan making, implementation and development control and/or facilitation."
Regarding 'Spatial Planning Guides Smart Development Initiatives', it says, "We advocate for a paradigm shift towards placing comprehensive spatial planning at the forefront of economic, infrastructural or other development plans or initiatives. We restate that 'spatial planning is smart planning'."
About 'Strategic Planning Steers and Informs project preparation and prioritisation', it states, "We affirm that strategic planning should guide project selection and prioritization, not the other way round. We understand and underscore that only projects aligned with long-term sustainability goals can optimise resource allocation and prioritisation and minimise the risk of fragmented or unsustainable development."
