Background
This project is wholly funded by the Government of Libya through a UN-HABITAT trust fund. Under the joint management of a national project manager from the Urban Planning Agency (UPA) and an international project coordinator from UN-HABITAT, Libyan planners and technicians are engaged, trained and guided to carry out numerous activities. The project focuses on institutional development and capacity-building of the Urban Planning Agency. The objectives of the project are to:
- Support the process of the implementation of the third planning phase (Third Generation) and the implementation of the National Physical Perspective Plan (NPP) 2000-2025;
- Develop and build the institutional capacity of the UPA and its branches;
- Train and build the capacity of the UPA staff in improved urban development and management and GIS technologies;
- Specify the basic planning standards in cooperation with the national authorities and revise planning laws as well as ordinances to include participatory approaches to ensure sustainable development.
Activities
- Evaluation of the 1996-2020 draft National Physical Perspective Plan (NPPP), and production of final 2000-2020 NPPP.
- Setting-up of operational geographical information management systems (GIS) in the UPA main office and familiarizing the staff with the operation of the equipment.
- Support to the launching of the Third Generation Planning, which will be executed nationally and not through the United Nations.
- Update urban planning approaches utilizing participatory decision-making and planning techniques.
Results
The training needs assessment has been completed and an action plan is under implementation. The GIS expert, during 2002-2003, has designed and conducted training in GIS for the UPA staff. A national expert has trained the staff in scanning and documentation of maps, which have commenced, and the plans and maps of several areas have been scanned and archived. In 2003, UN-HABITAT conducted two backstopping missions to review progress and provide advisory services in capacity-building to UPA and its branches. The GIS expert's contract was not extended as the national project director indicated a preference for short-term consultancies in particular areas of expertise. Two UPA staff have been sent to a GIS training institute in Holland, while three others are participating in a GIS programme at an Egyptian institute. As the large-scale planning exercise is about to be launched, a project coordinator has been fielded in July 2004. Given the large budget required for the Third Generation Project and the current delays in allocating funds, a realistic assessment is hard to predict as to when this will materialize. A project document on the rehabilitation of historic settlements that was prepared upon the request of the National Counterpart in 2002 has been accepted by the relevant authorities.
