The silent crisis of Asia-Pacific’s sinking cities

Background

While coastal cities are at risk of sea-level rise and frequent climate-induced disasters, many of the region’s cities—both coastal and inland—are themselves sinking due to a lack of urban planning and inadequate management of natural resources. The consequences place millions of residents and trillions of dollars in physical and cultural assets at extreme risk. While the threats of land subsidence are most visible in megacities such as Bangkok, Dhaka, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Karachi, Manila, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Tianjin, similar conditions are affecting secondary cities like Chittagong in Bangladesh and Perth, Australia.

The region’s most rapid subsidence is occurring in South, Southeast, and East Asia, with Manila, for example, experiencing land subsidence seven times faster than average sea-level rise between 2015 and 2020. However, some cities have shown progress in tackling this challenge, and new solutions are emerging that need to be more broadly shared. For example, Bangkok has recently introduced a revised policy and enforcement of groundwater over-extraction, which has led to a reduction in subsidence.

The event will raise awareness of the crisis emerging as a common issue in Asia-Pacific cities and highlight the root causes of land subsidence (over-extraction of water resources from rapid and/or unplanned urbanization), the need for enhanced urban planning and monitoring systems, and the development and finance of solutions, including nature-based solutions, sponge city approaches, and effective urban water resource management.

Objectives

The key objective is to share with a broader audience the urgency of action to better manage urban development and water resources in cities across the Asia-Pacific region to mitigate existing land subsidence and prevent similar risks in future urban development. The event will focus on developing practical outcomes, including raising awareness among the global WUF12 audience of the urgency of addressing land subsidence to the future sustainability of Asia-Pacific cities, fostering an ongoing dialogue and network among cities and urban stakeholders on mitigation and adaptation measures, and discussing support and capacity needs to develop, finance, and implement those solutions.

Scope of discussion

• Raising greater awareness of the risks of land subsidence
• Enhancing monitoring, data, and information
• Developing urban policies, investments in urban nature-based solutions, and innovative approaches such as sponge cities and water harvesting

Co-organizers

• Stockholm Environment Institute Asia Centre
• ESCAP/UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
• UCLG ASPAC