In 2004 the UNECE
discussed the necessity of revising its Strategy
for a Sustainable Quality of Life in Human Settlements
for the 21st Century, which was adopted at the UNECE
ministerial meeting on human settlements in 2000,
in order to better account for the new developments
since the beginning of the century, as highlighted
at the first regional implementation forum on sustainable
development. In particular, member States saw a
need for the Strategy to better incorporate the
concerns of the countries of the Eastern Europe,
Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region. It was
agreed that a high-level meeting may be organized
in 2006-2007 to review the Strategy and that the
implementation of the Strategy should be assessed
with a particular focus on strategic issues, including
the role of housing in the national economy, the
new role of spatial planning, regional disparities
in human settlements, and the role of human settlement
policies for social cohesion.
An in-depth discussion jointly
organized with ISOCARP, an international NGO of
urban planners, helped to establish a common conceptual
understanding of spatial planning systems and to
foster a dialogue between government officials and
urban planners for the management of urban areas.
It was recommended that enhanced dialogues with
practitioners should be sought also in the framework
of UNECE other programme elements including the
country profiles programme on the housing sector.
Conceptual changes have been implemented
within the country profile programme in particular
through a shift towards a more problem-oriented
approach. Country profiles on the housing sector
were finalized in 2004 for Armenia and the Russian
Federation. Preparations for a country profile on
Serbia and Montenegro are ongoing. Importance has
been given to the follow-up of the implementation
of past country profiles - a workshop on follow-up
of the country profile on Albania has already been
held.
The study on trends and progress
in housing reforms in South East Europe is being
carried out jointly with the Council of Europe Development
Bank and the Council of Europe and in close cooperation
with the Stability Pact for South East Europe. A
land administration review was carried out for Lithuania
and a high-level launching event organized to disseminate
the findings of the land administration review on
the Russian Federation which was carried out in
2003. Workshops have been held on concerns related
to land registration, land and real property markets,
and on real property administration for development
of an information society. Guidelines on real estate
units and identifiers are being published.
The UNECE land administration guidelines
are in the process of being updated in order to
reflect the new challenges the countries in transition
are facing after having implemented a considerable
number of transition policies, such as land transfer
to the local level and privatization. Work is continuing
on a study on housing finance systems for countries
in transition, on guidelines on social housing,
and on implementation of the guidelines on condominium
ownership for countries in transition. These guidelines
have been translated into several national languages.
Major challenges for 2005
include strengthening the link between the country
profile programme, in which a number of countries,
in particular from the EECCA region, have expressed
an interest, and the land administration reviews.
The study on trends and progress in housing reforms
will be finalized and submitted to the Committee
on Human Settlements as well as to the Council of
Europe Group of specialists on housing policies
for social cohesion. A task force will be set up
for the preparation of guidelines on spatial planning.
A number of workshops will be held
addressing the concerns highlighted in the review
of the land administration guidelines. The guidelines
on social housing will be finalized and adopted,
including steps to be taken to support the implementation
of the guidelines.