SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: COVID-19 REFRAMING AND REALIZATION
16 MARCH 2021

Sustainable Urbanization and Tourism
amid COVID-19 Crisis

Atsushi Koresawa (EM: atsushi.koresawa@un.org)
UN-Habitat Regional Representative,
Asia and the Pacific(Fukuoka, Japan)1

UN Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

2United Nations Human Settlements Programme
A better quality of life for all
in an urbanizing world

Under-Secretary-General andExecutive Director of UN-Habitat
Maimunah Mohd Sharif

3

UN-Habitat works with partners
to build inclusive, safe, resilientand sustainable cities andcommunities. UN-Habitat
promotes urbanization as apositive transformative force forpeople and communities,
reducing inequality,discrimination and poverty.

Regional Office for Arab States(ROAS) – CAIRO, EGYPT

Regional Office for Asia and Pacific(ROAP) – FUKUOKA, JAPAN• Covers 18 countries,
Offices in 13 countries• Regional Portfolio 2014 – 2019:• Covers 42 countries, Offices in 17countries• Regional Portfolio 2014 -2019:164 projects in 18 countries,
USD 348 million

206 projects in 23 countries,
USD 523 million

Regional Office for Latin American
and the Caribbean (ROLAC) – RIO
DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL• Covers 33 countries, Offices in 9countries• Regional Portfolio 2014 – 2019:

101 projects in 18 countries,
USD 74 million

With projects
in 2014 - 2019
ROAf
ROAPROAS
ROLAC

No project in2014 - 2019

Regional Office for Africa(ROAf) – NAIROBI, KENYA• Covers 48 countries, Offices in 24countries• Regional Portfolio 2014 – 2019:

210 projects in 22 countries,
USD 194 million

29 UN Offices in Japan

5Source) UN, Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 (March 2020)

6SDGs Progress/Regress and COVID-19 ImpactSource) UNESCAP, Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2020 (March 2020)7

World Cities Report 2020
The most vulnerable to disease are those living on themargins of our cities. Unplanned urban living leaves people

vulnerable…
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep inequalities
and demonstrated that tackling the virus is morechallenging in urban areas…
sustainable urbanization remains central to overallsustainable development by creating economic, social andenvironmental value that supports the fight against poverty,inequality, climate change and other global challenges.
https://unhabitat.org/World%20Cities%20Report%202020
https://www.fukuoka.unhabitat.org/docs/project_reports/pdf/WCR2020_Keymessages_J.pdf
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Policy Briefs by Theme, Population Group and RegionSource) https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/un-response
9Policy Briefs’ recommendations
COVID-19 in an Urban
World
1. Tackle inequalities
and development
deficits
2. Strengthen thecapacities of local
actors, particularly
local governments
3. Pursue a resilient,inclusive, genderequal and green
economic recovery

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The Impact of COVID-19
On South-East Asia

1. Tackling inequality
2. Bridging the digital
divide3. Greening theeconomy
4. Upholding humanrights and good
governance practices

COVID-19 and Transforming
Tourism

1. Mitigate the socio-economic
impacts of the crisis.
2. Build resilience across theentire tourism value chain.
3. Maximize the use oftechnology in the tourism
sector.

4. Promote sustainability andgreen growth.
5. Foster partnerships to enable
tourism to further support
the SDGs.

UN-Habitat Activities to COVID-19 Pandemic
Action 1. Support local governments and community driven solutions in informal
settlements Community Awareness & Preparedness in Informal Settlements: Fiji, Philippines, Myanmar
 Community based infrastructure (WASH) facilities: Fiji, Philippines, Myanmar, Lao PDR,Pakistan, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Safety kits, PPEs to vulnerable communities: Fiji, Philippines, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Pakistan,Cambodia

Action 2. Provide urban data evidence-based mapping , knowledge for informed
decision making
 Socio-Economic Impact Assessments - Afghanistan, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar,Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal
 Virtual Community Coordination Platforms for informal settlements: Pakistan
 Vulnerable Mapping to identify geographical areas most at risk from COVID-19 : Lao PDR
 Issue papers, technical notes related to impacts in different sectors/thematic areas: Myanmar,
Lao PDR , Pakistan
Action 3. Mitigate economic impact and initiate recovery
 Livelihood improvement support to vulnerable groups through projects: Fiji, Philippines,Myanmar, Lao PDR, Nepal
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Myanmar - Enhancing Community Resilience Against COVID-19
 To enhance public preparedness to combat COVID-19 by expanding access to water,
essential support kits, and sanitizers and supporting to develop family preparedness plan for
COVID-19;
 To improve community and public knowledge to tackle COVID-19 by provision of access toreliable and accurate information through appropriate medium; To provide direct support to combat loss of income to a network of community mobilizers andvolunteers; and To expand capacity of COBs and local governments to respond to COVID-19 in informal
settlements by addressing gaps in data. The project targets informal settlements of Yangon.

12Philippines - Covid-19 Response as We Rebuild Marawi
 Assist the internally displaced people (IDPs) of Marawi City living in the transitional sheltersites and families in preventing the spread of Covid-19 virus by installing hand-washingfacilities, distribution of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and provision of disinfectant
supplies Provide easy access to food and basic necessities through the operation of satellite markets
and rolling stores; Promote small-scale vegetable growing at the household and community levels; and Provide capacity development support to the local government of Marawi City throughenhancement of its Incident Command System.

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UN–Habitat Activities to Promote Turism
The case of Nepal

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Heritage Tourism: Vehicle to Sustainability of Traditional
Towns - Revitalizing Bungamati through People's Process

Heritageconservation

Tourism
promotion

Livelihoodenhancement

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Traditional Ryokan in Hitoyoshi City, Kumamoto hit twice by
COVID-19 and Flooding and now showing its resilienceSource) https://www.glocal-cf.com/news/project/20200704?a=420

Digital Reconstruction of Shuri Castle in Okinawa

https://www.our-shurijo.org/en/
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Impactof BudgetReductions
Deliverour passion
and heart to people••••••••Country offices currently receive very limited funding from core resources – further reduction will result in 100% project funding
reducing the time the country offices have to support ad hoc support to governments, coordination with development partners andthe UN and to support the normative mandate of UN-Habitat (beyond the country)
HQ and the Regional Office for AP will proportionally be more affected by a reduction of core resources: Implications for countries:• 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific Region do not have offices but ongoing programmes managed by RO – this will need to be cut• 11 countries have no country activities – engagement will be further reduced
All 31 country-programmes / and the portfolio of USD 70M / year are coordinated by only four Senior/Human Settlements Officers(S/HSOs) (2 P5s and 2 P4s) mainly paid for by non-earmarked resources/project support costs; 2P5s and 1P3 are currently not filled
because of lack of core resource
The Operational support for all but 3 countries is provided by the Regional Office by 1P3 (and X LL and LICA) – 1 P4 position not filled
The lack of personnel has a direct impact on Knowledge Management, Advocacy and Communication as well as non-project related
technical advisory services
The Bangkok office serves as UN liaison office. To implement the Secretary General’s Reform in the AP region this position is crucial in
support of the Regional Representative. The Head of Office position (P5) is currently not filled.
To roll out the Asia-Pacific Strategy effectively and enhance concrete impact on the ground, we need to increase our capacity  ROAP
needs to access more core resources
To activate the Regional Architecture, increase the UN-Habitat footprint in Asia-Pacific, implement resolutions and support theimplementation of SDG11 at country level, Member States should co-fund the establishment of Multi-Country Offices and CountryOfficesThank you