In 2008, a symbolic milestone was reached when, for the first time in the history of mankind, over half of the world's 6.8-billion total population were living in an urban environment. This growth primarily concerns developing countries: according to the UN, in 2030, 81% of the world's urban population will be living in developing countries, with 70% of this population living in Africa and Asia. And in fact, the poorest populations will be the first to contribute to this phenomenon. The struggle against social and spatial segregation will thus add to the many challenges already confronting Southern cities, such as demographic transformation, access to community infrastructures and services, mobility needs, globalisation of economic exchanges, environmental degradation and climate change. And yet, despite these deficiencies, the city is already acting as the prime driving force behind progress: a concentration of persons, resources, power and knowledge. In this context, technological innovation is both the cause and effect of urban development, playing a decisive role in the structuring of cities but also representing a means of fulfilling the new needs being expressed. In view of this, the international community has for several years been urging the transfer of urban technologies to developing countries and the joint creation of technologies adapted to the major problems confronting public authorities, economic actors and users. There are five particularly suitable domains for this transfer in the urban environment: water, energy, transport, sanitation and habitat.
The aim of this workshop is to examine the link between technology and development in an urban environment by: - questioning the contribution of contemporary technologies to the sustainability of development in its environmental, social and economic aspects: analysing individual perception of technologies according to sectors, needs and access.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the Environment
Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer promising potential for the environment in developing countries: mobile information and communication systems are used to build wireless sensor networks and produce complete sets of data on the environment; GSM applications can support data transfer for various applications; cell phone networks and many internet applications contribute to a better understanding or governance of the environment. Although new technologies are available, enabling of ICT in developing countries remains a challenge in the form of obstacles to technology transfer, closing of numeric gaps, and contributions to ensure environmental sustainability. Ensuring environmental sustainability is a major objective worldwide and one of the UN Millennium Development Goals in the fight against poverty. Closing the numeric gap is also a concern on the international agenda. A part of the environmental challenge is directly linked to the economy and governance: although resources may be sufficient, poverty, competition, and poor choices make sustainability rare. Adequate information and communication are essential to obtain data, monitor and manage resource exploitation and inform. When environmental management fails, ICT can provide innovative solutions that will encourage sustainability. The idea of this workshop is to generate discussion of new technology, examples of applications, and innovative uses, which will enable ICT to be used for environmental management in developing countries. The workshop aims at exchanging ideas and pilot experiences involving mobile information and communication systems, GSM applications, cell phone networks, internet, and other ICT. The objective of the workshop is to review the emerging ICT and discuss innovative applications of ICT and the conditions for successful implementation, such as the importance of tackling challenges relating to development.
Science and Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction
Over the past few decades, the number of major disasters and persons affected by them throughout the world has steadily increased. This particularly applies to natural disasters involving hydrometeorological phenomena . According to work carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007), this trend can be expected to continue due to the possible impacts of global warming, including the likely - even very likely - increase in the number of extreme phenomena. Not all countries are equally equipped to cope with these risks however, since a community's adaptive ability is closely linked to its level of development. Poverty and unequal access to resources are both factors likely to increase vulnerability in the face of natural hazards and climate change. Science and technological innovations are essential components of « Disaster Risk Reduction ». They play a role at every stage of the process right through to the actual crisis: from risk analysis (identification of hazards and vulnerabilities), to mitigation measures (impact diminution in case of unavoidable hazard) and preparedness (early warning systems in particular). The aim of this workshop is to reflect on the questions: which technologies for what sort of development in the field of natural disaster reduction, and how can their effectiveness in coping with these disasters be improved and better adapted to local environments and their populations.
Technology for Sustainable Energy Production
Strong demographic growth, the rapid industrialisation of large countries emerging on the international economic scene and the environmental impact of industrial, agricultural and urban activities mean that energy choices made over recent decades have to be rethought. In view of the anticipated depletion of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) and their proven contribution to the deteriorating living conditions on the Earth (pollution, climate change), it is essential that dependence on these inherently non-renewable energy resources be reduced. The energy crisis is not just linked with a problem of resource supply and shrewd effluent management however - it also involves economic and social aspects: the extremely volatile nature of fuel prices, large disparities in access to energy sources, and ambivalent public policies regarding consumer prices. These questions, if posed on a global basis for the planet as a whole, entail especially serious consequences for developing countries. The precariousness of populations, whether rural or urban, also has energy implications: although the changes observed in ways of life in developing countries result in an overall increase in energy consumption, one quarter of the human race is entirely reliant on « non-commercial » biomass fuels (particularly firewood), whilst 1.6 billion people still have no access to electricity. Developing countries are confronted with a dual challenge: gaining access to alternative and renewable energies with low environmental impact, adapted to their geographical and climatic conditions, and encouraging the use of local primary energies, produced at reasonable cost and efficiently transformable into energies accessible to the vast majority of low-income inhabitants. The aim of this workshop is to reflect on the links that exist between energies, appropriate technologies and socioeconomic development in Southern countries by: - evaluating the potential of contemporary technologies for sustainable development relating to energy and the environment; - focussing workshop participants' attention on the major innovations in the energy sector and the necessary conditions for adapting these to the context of developing countries; - examining individual perception of technologies according to sectors, needs and access possibilities.
