Thematic Round Tables and Parallel Sessions
Salvador Esteve, President of the Province of Barcelona, described
the role of second-level governments in improving wellbeing. The Province of Barcelona directly provides services and supports local governments in doing so.
Chair of Metro Vancouver, Greg Moore, underlined the role that citizen engagement can play in improving people’s wellbeing. He described Metro Vancouver’s work on solid waste management and recycling – partnered with Canadian Federation of Municipalities, NGOs and Private Sector on National Zero Waste Marketing Council to reduce packaging and waste from consumption. He called for GOLD III to be used as a tool for peer learning, and highlighted the report’s conclusion that decentralization must be accompanied by appropriate funding mechanisms. Salvador Esteve, President of the Province of Barcelona, described the role of second-level governments in improving wellbeing. The Province of Barcelona directly provides services and supports local governments in doing so. Municipalities in Spain are seeing reductions
in revenues and transfers, owing to the crisis, which are making basic service provision more difficult. Citizens turn to local governments with their demands for basic services. We are trying to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and ensure the financial viability of local municipal services in the province. Jockin Arputhnam, President of Slum-Dwellers International, made a passionate case for citizen participation in the improvement of basic services – representative democracy is not enough. He underlined the particular importance of including women. 50% of the Mumbai population live in slums and 60% have no access to basic services. He described his campaign for cities free of open defecation in which the municipal administration pays the capital costs for toilets and citizens build and manage them.
15