This is a side event of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD-13) and will convene the second session of the Community of Practice (CoP) under the regional initiative “Confronting the Silent Crisis of Asia-Pacific’s Sinking Cities.” Building on the official launch of the CoP, this second session will focus on city-level experiences and practical approaches to managing land subsidence, bringing together national and local governments, technical experts, development partners, and regional organizations. The CoP serves as a collaborative platform to strengthen regional cooperation, peer learning, and coordinated action on land subsidence as a critical challenge for sustainable urban development and climate resilience.
The second CoP session will emphasize how cities are translating data, policy, and planning into practice. Through comparative case studies from cities at different stages of subsidence risk, the session will examine technical, institutional, and governance measures that have contributed to prevention, mitigation, and adaptation efforts. Discussions will highlight enabling conditions such as regulatory frameworks, political commitment, long-term monitoring systems, and community engagement, as well as constraints related to financing, capacity, and fragmented governance.
Objectives of the session include:
- Present and analyze case studies from champion and peer cities to identify practical, scalable solutions and emerging innovations.
- Explore technical, social, and institutional measures that have reduced subsidence risks and improved urban resilience.
- Identify key enablers of success, including political commitment, community participation, and effective regulatory and governance reforms.
- Compare challenges faced by diverse urban contexts and governance systems to identify transferable lessons and good practices for other cities in the region.
Registration
Participants are required to register in advance through the official APFSD Indico platform. After accessing the registration page, participants should select “Side events and associated events” to complete their registration via the following link:
https://indico.un.org/event/1020567/registrations/23415/
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| APFSD 2026 Side Event Concept Note_Sinking Cities 1.pdf (316.59 KB) | 316.59 KB |
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Presentation Slides_2nd CoP_Confronting the Silent Crisis_Addressing Land Subsidence through Regional Cooperation and City Action.pdf (18.96 MB) | 18.96 MB |
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Sinking Cities_2nd CoP_Summary Report.pdf (824.36 KB) | 824.36 KB |
The sixth session of the Committee on Transport is scheduled to be held from 12 to 13 November 2020.
The secretariat is monitoring the rapidly evolving situation with regard to the COVID-19 outbreak and is putting into place measures to mitigate public health risks associated with mass gatherings. The secretariat continues to receive guidance from the World Health Organization, the authorities of the host country of ESCAP and the United Nations Secretariat.
Decisions on the schedule and modality of the Committee session to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants will be communicated as soon as practicable.
Delegations are kindly requested to submit letters of credentials to Mr. Weimin Ren, Director, Transport Division, ESCAP, United Nations Building, Rajadamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand, Fax: (66-2) 288-1067, 288-3050, at their earliest convenience prior to 1 October 2018.. Letters of credential should be addressed to the Executive Secretary of the ESCAP and emailed to escap-ttd@un.org.
Members of delegations are kindly reminded to bring official identification with them, duly signed by the appropriate authorities of their respective Governments/Agencies/Organizations, and provide them to the Secretariat staff at the registration counter located on the ground floor of the UNCC along with a copy of the letter of credentials indicating their appointment to the delegation.
Participants are requested to register and obtain a visitor’s badge with ID picture on the first day of the meeting, i.e. Monday, 19 November 2018 between 08.00 hours and 09.00 hours. This is done at the Registration Counter located on the ground floor of the UNCC. Participants who are not able to register during the time indicated above are requested to do so immediately upon their arrival at UNCC and before going to the conference room. This procedure is important for security reason and will also ensure that all participants’ names appear on the list of participants.
Online registration
In conformity with standard United Nations security procedures, all participants must complete a mandatory online registration at https://meetings.unescap.org/. Participants are encouraged to complete this procedure well in advance of the meeting and no later than 1 October 2018. To facilitate the process, participants are encouraged to submit their photo in advance.
For identification and security reasons, all participants are requested to wear their meeting badges at all times when on the United Nations compound, and also during the meeting and at social functions. The loss of a meeting badge should be communicated to the Conference Management Unit, located on the ground floor of the UNCC behind the registration counter, so that a new one can be issued immediately.
Mail intended for participants during the session should be addressed as follows:
(Name of delegate)
c/o Mr. Weimin Ren
Director
Transport Division
ESCAP, United Nations Building
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue
Bangkok 10200
Thailand
Fax: +66.2.2883022, +66.2.2881000
E-mail address: escap-conference-management@un.org
The secretariat has adopted a paperless approach to meetings. As a result, participants are expected to get acquainted with all the meeting documents prior to the meeting. Should participants wish hard copies of the documents, they are expected to bring them to the meeting. These documents will be made available prior to the session at www.unescap.org/events/committee-transport-fifth-session
Participants wishing to circulate any papers or literature at the meeting are requested to consult staff from the secretariat servicing the meeting for the necessary arrangements.
ESCAP does not provide financial assistance for participation in the 5th session of the Committee on Transport. However, it does cover the travel expenses of officials participating in the workshop on cross-border co-deployment of fibre optic infrastructure along road and rail networks. In that regard, the following shall apply:
Depending on which of the above applies, participants whose travel is sponsored (or partly sponsored) by ESCAP will receive a DSA to cover all costs associated with their participation in the meeting, including accommodation, meals and local transport while in Bangkok. A voucher to be cashed at the bank located on the ESCAP premises will be given to participants. Participants will receive their vouchers against submittal of a copy of their passports, copy of their air-tickets and the original boarding pass(es) for the flight(s) to Bangkok. To facilitate the issuance of vouchers, eligible participants are kindly requested to come with read-made copies of their passports. To date, the DSA for Bangkok is Thai Baht 7,150 (about US$ 216). Please note that this amount is subject to change without prior notice.
Participants who are unable to stay for the entire duration of the meeting are requested to inform the secretariat as soon as possible after their arrival so that the DSA can be adjusted accordingly.
In those cases where the participation costs are borne by ESCAP, the secretariat will provide only travel and DSA as expressed and will not assume responsibility for any other expenditures, including the following:
- You are representing your Government only at the 5th session of the Committee on Transport: ESCAP does not provide any financial support and participation is on a self-financing basis.
- You are representing your Government only at the workshop on co-deployment: ESCAP provides air-ticket and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) for two nights (i.e. 21 and 22 November 2018 depending on flight schedule.
- You are representing your Government at both the 5th session of the Committee on Transport and the workshop on co-deployment: ESCAP provides air-ticket and DSA for two nights (i.e. 21 and 22 November 2018 depending on flight schedule and participants have to cover three nights on a self-financing basis (i.e. 18 to 20 November 2018).
- all expenses in the home country incidental to travel abroad, including expenditure for visa, medical examination, inoculations and other such miscellaneous items and internal travel to and from the airport of arrival and departure in the home country;
- salary and related allowances for the participants during the period of the meeting;
- cost incurred by participants in respect of travel insurance, accident insurance, medical bills or hospitalization fees in connection with attending the meeting;
- compensation in the event of death or disability of participants in connection with attending the meeting;
- any loss of or damage to personal property of participants while attending the meeting or losses or damages claimed by third parties as a result of any negligence on the part of the participants;
- any other expenses of a personal nature, not directly related to the purpose of the meeting.
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