[ISOCARP Haiti UPAT] UPAT Program Update

[Ric]

Haiti. As you know, immediately after the January earthquake, a call
was made to members interested in participating in an ISOCARP response
to this urgent matter. President appointed Ric Stephens as Team
Leader of such response, which is set under the UPAT programme, and
hence under the responsibility of VP Paco Perez. Ric has opened a
Google group (http://groups.google.com/group/isocarp-haiti-upat.)
through which you can provide input to the initiative. EXCO expresses
its gratitude to Ric and the more than 70 experts (both members and
non-members) who have joined the initiative.
The next step was to prepare a framework for ISOCARP’s participation
in the post-emergency planning phase. We have been in close contact
with UN-HABITAT, aligning ourselves with the “building back better”
approach. A draft proposal was delivered in parallel to numerous
lobbying efforts. ISOCARP was the only planning organisation invited
by UN-HABITAT’s ED Anna Tibaijuka to participate in the Haiti Special
Session during the World Urban Forum in late March. VP Perez
participated in this panel on behalf of ISOCARP.
During WUF, our objective was to consolidate the high-level
endorsement that the participation in the panel meant with a meeting
with the persons who would be undertaken the operational day to day,
discussing how we could implement in practical terms. The ISOCARP team
met with UN-HABITAT’s coordinator on the field, who is being deployed
to Haiti as we speak. The agreed next step is to send an ISOCARP
scoping mission to Haiti in May. This mission will have the objective
of understanding gaps and priorities and making local contacts in
order to define the scope and depth our participation, which can be
certainly beyond the format of an UPAT. This scoping mission will be
undertaken by 2-3 ISOCARP members and is being coordinated by VP Perez
with UN-HABITAT.
Chile. A call was made to all members interested in participating in a
response after the earthquake in Chile in early March. Since we have
no members in the country, we tried to obtain contact details of local
universities and experts through a special call to NDs of several
Latin American countries, who were soon joined by other locations.
EXCO is very thankful for the impressive response of our membership,
including Haydee Beltrán, Oscar Bragos, Luigi Cipolla, Ebru Gencer,
Helena Heyning, Knut Felberg, BK Jain, Alex McGregor, Iliana Mignaqui,
Juan Felipe Ordóñez, Joseph Savitzky, Carlos Scornik, Bert Smolders,
and Marcela Villa Luna amongst others who had already joined the Haiti
team. We have contacted the Universidad San Sebastián, in Santiago,
who is interested in exploring how we could jointly articulate a
response; through them, we could contact various instances of
government. We have also details for the Universidad del Bío Bío in
Concepción, Universidad de Temuco, and the Universidad Nacional del
Nordeste, in Argentina, in addition to a number of independent
professionals. As for UN-HABITAT, their focus during WUF was centred
on Haiti; we are in any case in touch with the specialist for the
Latina American region, who is based in Rio. We did meet with a
senior urban specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank who
told us that they would be interested in advice on post-tsunami
planning.
In order to move the Chile initiative forward we would need to find a
member who would be willing to take the role of Team Leader,
coordinating expressions of interest from members, contacts in Chile,
and the preparation of a specific proposal under the steering of VP
Perez. If you are interested, please let us know.
China. On 14 April, a 7.1 earthquake hit Yushu, in the province of
Qinghai, China, leaving over 2,000 dead and 12,000 severely injured
according to the latest reports. The same day we contacted the ND of
China to offer ISOCARP’s support and contribution should it be
necessary. Shi Nan (BM China) informs us that the central government
has sent high officials to the scene (including President Hu Jintao)
and has allocated RMB 200 million for the relief. Rescue teams from
military and civil departments have arrived to Yushu, setting more
than 5,000 tents in the area. Currently, our partners UPSC are working
together with government agencies to evaluate the demands for
professional planners. Through UPSC, we will inform you when this
assessment is completed and what opportunities for involvement may
arise.
Building Back Better Group. The substantial member interest in
participating in an ISOCARP response to these disasters could suggest
an opportunity to create a specific pool of planners with expertise
and/or interest in post-disaster planning. Thinking aloud, this could
lead to a permanent response group, which could begin with activities
such as compiling knowledge and case experience on the topic. We could
make this “product” available to organisations and donors through
specific partner agreements. Our colleague Tom Wolters (China) has
already expressed interest in this initiative. Please let us know your
views so we can asses if it would be a possible to move this it
forward.
UPAT Abu Dhabi, UAE. Please see the YPP section
UPAT Sitges, Spain. The fifth UPAT in Sitges is scheduled to take
place on 16-23 October. The theme is tentatively the impact of the
trans-European high-speed rail line in Sitges and its adjacent
region.
UPAT Tuxtla, Mexico. A UPAT in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capital of
Chiapas, is on the pipeline for the end of July.
UPAT Damascus, Syria. In the pipeline, part of the collaboration with
the Damascus Regional Centre for Sustainable Local Development, an
initiative of Peter Ross.

[Ric]

20 May 2010

Dear UPAT-

ISOCARP Recovery UPAT

Our website has been renamed per direction from ISOCARP Vice President
Francisco "Paco" Perez to reflect responsiveness to global post-
disaster and post-conflict recovery planning.

As this program will be the first in a series of post-disaster and
conflict recovery UPATs, care is being taken to develop inter-agency
programs and relationships.

'Thank you' to all who are contributing files and resources for this
website.

Sincerely,

Ric Stephens, Haiti UPAT Leader