The silent crisis of Asia-Pacifics Sinking Cities

Many of Asia-Pacific region’s growing cities face escalating climate-related risks, compounded by rapid urbanization, unplanned development, over-extraction of groundwater, and degradation of ecosystems. 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. A study of cities in China has determined that more than half of the country’s urban areas are sinking as much as 3 mm per year, potentially impacting 270 million people, while 67 million people are living in areas subsiding faster than 10 mm per year, all primarily due to urban groundwater extraction. , 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 which need to be more broadly shared. For example, Bangkok has recently introduced 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 will 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.
The proposed event is as follows:

A moderator and 4 panelists will be identified. The moderator introduces the session and each panelist. (5 m). Panelists will present on the causes of land subsidence and experiences from their respective countries/cities. (40 m)

Moderated dialogue among the panelists and member State discussants/audience focused on the following three key components of future cooperation (30 m):

How to raise greater awareness of the risks of land subsidence; enhanced monitoring/data and information
Development of Solutions: urban policies, investment in NBS, and approaches such as sponge cities and water harvesting.
Future investment strategies incl. for urban nature-based solutions, which according to the World Economic Forum received only 0.3% of spending on urban infrastructure in 2021.
Q&A (10 m)

Co-organizers (SEI Asia, ESCAP, UN-Habitat) provide brief closing remarks.