Confirming the decision at the 4th BRICS Summit held in New Delhi in March 2012 on the need for BRICS countries to address urban challenges linked to food security, poverty alleviation, rural-urban migration, water and waste management, public health and sanitation.
Building on the 1st BRICS Urbanisation Forum which successfully took place in New Delhi in February 2013 with a special focus on urbanization and infrastructure.
Reaffirming the outcomes contained in “The Future We Want” adopted by the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro; Acknowledging the increasing importance of urbanization in global debates on sustainable development, recalling the commitment expressed in the eThekwini Declaration ‘to work together for accelerated progress in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015, and calling upon other members of the international community to work towards the same objective.
In this regard, we stress that the development agenda beyond 2015 should build on the MDG framework, keeping the focus on poverty eradication and human development, while addressing emerging challenges of development taking into consideration individual national circumstances of developing countries’.
Recognising the importance of coordinated urban planning, effective urban governance for the ‘smart city’ and a sound fiscal base to sustain safe, efficient and liveable cities; Having conducted candid and in-depth discussions under the theme ‘Towards Sustainable Urbanisation’ and having reached broad consensus on strengthening BRICS cooperation in urban development, addressing urbanisation challenges, and promoting coordination of international and regional issues of common interest, such as such as protection of heritage, culture and diversity, in pursuit of sustainable urban development.
On the occasion of the 2nd BRICS Urbanisation Forum, we the participants representing the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of South Africa being committed to furthering our agreed priority actions as recommended in this 2nd BRICS Urbanisation Forum, thus confirm the following:
1. The Urbanisation Forum will be convened annually by the country which hosted the BRICS Summit, with the first Urbanisation Forum having taken place in India in February 2013, and the second in South Africa in November 2013.
2. We will endeavour to work in conjunction with the BRICS Friendship Cities and Local Government Cooperation Forum in order to encourage linkages and exchanges between local governments and national governments of BRICS countries on urban development and local governance issues.
4. We commit to sharing our experiences, our policy intentions, our lessons from practice, and extending dialogue between our national, provincial / regional governments and our major cities, to further our goals of building productive and sustainable urban economies.
5. We emphasize our commitment to the following collaborative agenda:
5.1 To deepen our understanding of rural-urban linkages as they manifest in our respective countries, and share knowledge and approaches as they have been applied in that rural and urban areas are economically, socially and environmentally interdependent and that cities and towns are engines of growth contributing to the development of both rural and urban human settlements.
5.2 To strategise and share experiences on approaches for the targeted development of vulnerable areas such as ‘mining’ towns, declining inner city areas, and areas of environmental degradation.
5.3. To share experiences on approaches to local economic development, prioritising the provision of expanded social and economic urban infrastructure developing integrated transportation networks, including transit-oriented development, mobility planning, and creating a high quality of life for urban citizens and an urban environment that attracts and retains skilled individuals as a draw for businesses looking to invest
5.4 To exchange approaches to integrated spatial planning that address public safety and security, accessible housing, efficient public transportation, and improved access to public services and socio-economic facilities.
5.5 To explore ways of planning, financing and delivering urban infrastructure in an integrated, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable manner.
5.6 To build collaborative links between each level of government and the people of the BRICS countries, academia and business to assist in understanding urbanisation dynamics and shaping new urban forms, through engagement and liaison with the various BRICS structures, such as the BRICS Business Council, and the BRICS Think-Tank Councils.
5.7 To develop mechanisms for peer to peer partnerships, comparative studies, evidence-based policy-making, and networking amongst BRICS member states and their research institutions to promote more successful urban development policy and practice.
6. To submit the Outcome Report of the 2nd Urbanisation Forum to the next BRICS Summit.
7. To encourage cooperation between BRICS countries for the active implementation of this Declaration.
8. We convey our appreciation to our hosts, the government of South Africa for convening the second BRICS Urbanisation Forum. We welcome that the government of Brazil has indicated that it will host the 3rd BRICS Urbanisation Forum in 2015.
Enquiries:
Tsakani Baloyi
Cell: 082 052 0892
