C. Innovative Partnerships to Expand Environmental Services for the Urban Poor: The UNDP Perspective

Dr. Suresh Hurry
UNDP/PPPUE
New York

The expansion of urban areas throughout the developing world has resulted in inadequate service provision for a large portion of the urban poor. UNDP's focus on expanding urban environmental services for this population is based on the premise that providing greater access to water supply and sanitation, waste management and clean, sustainable sources of energy services will provide poor urban residents with greater economic opportunities in the future. There is also a clear link between these services and public health. For instance, in the case of energy, clean sources will reduce the extent of respiratory illnesses associated with urban air pollution, while clean water and efficient disposal systems reduce the risk of spreading water-borne diseases.

Furthermore, expanding environmental services to poor areas can lead to both direct and indirect job creation.

Another reason for UNDP's focus lies in the fact that UNDP has considerable experience in these sectors. For example, The FINESSE Concept (Financing Energy Services for Small Scale End-users) has led to loans and grants for energy investments of up to $1.2 billion in Asia. Contributions have combined the resources of donor government agencies and quasi-commercial lending institutions like the World Bank.

As with previous experiences in other programmes like FINESSE, PPPUE will move forward by working directly with local clients - the municipalities and communities most affected by the shortfall of finances for expanding urban services. In order to make sure that UNDP's assistance matches local needs, PPPUE must be responsive to the demands expressed by these local constituencies. In this respect, PPPUE does not propose to prescribe solutions, nor to make direct investments. Instead, the Programme will help to establish an institutional and policy framework that will facilitate partnerships and provide a range of options from which local stakeholders can choose the most appropriate arrangement for their given situation.

Although UNDP hopes to empower the national private sector, including NGOs, corporations, micro-enterprises and community-based organisations to carry out PPP projects, PPPUE will not exclude partnerships involving international private sector companies. The most important aspect of UNDP's work will be to identify complementary advantages of different actors, and to facilitate partnerships that apply these advantages to the task of improving living conditions and development opportunities for the urban poor.

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