 Mr. Surawut Cherdchai, Mayor of Korat City and Mr. Yuxue Xue, UNDP Thailand Deputy Resident Representative, following the signature of the Declaration of Partnership. |
Nakhon Ratchasima Municipality and UNDP Join Hands under Newly-Launched ‘Clean City, Clean Mind’ Initiative
1 May 2009, Nakhon Ratchasima - Nakhon Ratchasima Municipality and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a declaration of partnership under the ‘Clean City, Clean Mind’ Initiative, which aims to make cities environmentally sustainable while ensuring high standards of accountability and transparency.
Under the partnership between Nakhon Ratchasima Municipality and UNDP, policy advice and technical support will be provided to Korat City to become a ‘low carbon city’. This will be achieved by enhancing the city’s capacity to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through the promotion of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and solid waste management.
Cooperation under ‘Clean City, Clean Mind’ from a governance perspective will focus on encouraging more public participation in city management as well as creating monitoring and evaluation systems for the public to be able to hold city officials accountable for their public management and service delivery.
Korat is the first municipality working together with UNDP under this cooperation. “It is not just by chance that Korat city was selected as the pilot city for cooperation under the ‘Clean City, Clean Mind’ initiative,’ said Mr. Yuxue Xue, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Thailand. “As the gateway to the poorest region in the northeast of the country, Nakhon Ratchasima is an obvious target province for economic development. UNDP is proud to be able to support the city of Korat in its efforts to balance the economic development of this municipality with environmental concerns and good governance.”
“We may be able to carry out these activities by ourselves, but the support and advice provided by UNDP will be essential in providing us with a better development perspective, different policy options, and a wide network of expertise and experience to draw on,” said Nakhon Ratchasima Mayor Surawut Cherdchai in his keynote speech. In his opinion, there are three necessary building blocks for a city to develop sustainably: visionary policy, capable local officials, and well-informed as well as active citizens. “Support from outside can provide guidance. But changes have to happen from within. The people of Korat have to work together to make these efforts successful,” emphasised the Mayor.
An exhibition entitled ‘Global Warming: We can Make a Difference’ was held from 1 to 3 May 2009, in conjunction with a signing ceremony for the Declaration of Partnership between UNDP and Nakhon Ratchasima Municipality, at the Mall Department Store, Nakhon Ratchasima.
UNDP is currently in discussion with other cities including Trang, Chonburi, and Lampang to develop similar cooperation under the ‘Clean City, Clean Mind’ Initiative.
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For more information, please contact:
Dominique Larsimont: dominique.larsimont@undp.org UNDP Thailand; 02 288 1814
Punnipa Ruangtorsak: punnipa.ruangtorsak@undp.org; UNDP Thailand;
02 288 2130
