UNDP And Mmu Team Up To Improve Lives And Protect Nature
Partnership between UNDP and MMU aims to accelerate development progress for centre of Turkish industry with 25 million residents.
Under the agreement, Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU) will cooperate with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on promoting efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among its members. As a first step, UNDP will support the MMU and its constituent municipalities in “localizing” the SDGs. This is a process of translating the global agenda for sustainable development into local plans, policies and practices. This effort will include helping municipalities in preparing Voluntary Local Reviews, the local-level counterpart to the Voluntary National Reviews that countries present to the UN General Assembly to document their progress toward the SDGs.
“We are confident that examples set here will help build strong local momentum for the SDGs.”
“Too often achieving the SDGs is considered the sole responsibility of national governments,” said UNDP Resident Representative Louisa Vinton. “But we stand no chance of reaching these global goals without energy and engagement at the local level. That is why we are so pleased to forge a partnership with MMU, which is home to so much of Turkish business and industry. We are confident that examples set here will help build strong local momentum for the SDGs.”
“Protecting our planet for future generations.”
“The SDGs offer an ambitious framework for improving people’s welfare and protecting our planet for future generations,” said Tahir Büyükakın, MMU’s President and Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. “As we promote this effort across the Marmara region, having UNDP as our partner will help us motivate our member municipalities, identify tested global solutions to urban development challenges and share our success stories.”
Other agreed areas of cooperation include supporting the region’s municipalities in hosting Syrian refugees; devising solutions to environmental challenges such as the mucilage problem in the Marmara Sea; and improving preparedness to prevent and respond to natural disasters.
UNDP will also support ongoing MMU initiatives, including the Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF); the Golden Ant Awards rewarding good municipal practices for sustainable urban life; and support to university students conducting research in areas of shared interest.
