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ICLEI Completes Urban Resilience Toolkit as ACCCRN Scales Up to New Countries ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability finalizes the ICLEI-ACCCRN Guide and Toolkit to help municipal governments in Asia build resilience to climate change New cities in Asia commit to year-long programs to create City Resilience Strategies using the toolkit as a foundation Long-term goal is for more local governments in Asia and beyond to integrate City Resilience Strategies into their planning processes and to catalyze a range of new interventions

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31 May 2013, Asia ICLEI has finalized a new guide and toolkit aimed at helping municipal governments in Asia build City Resilience Strategies to cope with the growing impacts of climate change as part of its engagement with the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN). A number of municipal bodies in cities not previously associated with ACCCRN have already committed to undergo training on use of the new toolkits and to embark on year-long programs to create City Resilience Strategies, representing significant expansion of ACCCRN initiatives to new geographies. The new municipalities involved include Barisal Municipal Corporation, Singra Municipality and Mongla Municipality in Bangladesh; Shillong Municipal Corporation, Leh Municipality and City Corporation of Panaji in India; Quezon City and Makati in the Philippines and Sukabumi and Cimahi cities in Indonesia. The ICLEI-ACCCRN Guide and Toolkit is one of the first products to emerge from a US$1.75 million grant extended to ICLEI, one of the key partners involved with ACCCRN, by the Rockefeller Foundation in November of last year. Since 2008, the Rockefeller Foundation has supported ACCCRN, a 9-year initiative aimed at building climate change resilience among vulnerable and poor urban communities in Asia. The ACCCRN program began with 10 core cities in four Asian countries (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and India). ICLEI is using its grant to directly engage up to 40 new cities in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh to plan similar urban climate change resilience interventions. The Rockefeller Foundation and our partners are committed to building a more resilient future. With the completion of the new Guide and Toolkit, this marks an important milestone in efforts
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to scale up ACCCRN initiatives to more cities and new countries everywhere so that they can prepare for and enable a swifter recovery to shocks and stresses that are only going to increase in frequency and scale, said Heather Grady, Vice President of Foundation Initiatives at the Rockefeller Foundation, speaking at the Resilient Cities 2013 4th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation in Bonn, Germany on 31 May. ICLEI has already secured commitment to undertake the resilience planning process from cities in Bangladesh, India, the Philippines and Indonesia, she said. As part of the ICLEI-ACCCRN program, cities will undergo a process lasting approximately 12 months to develop City Resilience Strategies that can be incorporated into their planning processes.
About ACCCRN Launched in 2008, ACCCRN is a network of cities and partners in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines and is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of a US$59 million, 9-year climate change resilience initiative. ACCCRN aims to strengthen the capacity of cities to plan, finance and implement climate change resilience strategies while also capturing and sharing knowledge and experience among practitioners. ACCCRN also works to enable new cities and actors to take climate change resilience action through policy mechanisms, finance, and technical assistance. ACCCRN began rolling out tangible pilot projects in late 2010 and more than 32 such interventions are now underway. ACCCRN involves more than 20 partner organizations. About The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation aims to achieve equitable growth by expanding opportunity for more people in more places worldwide, and to build resilience by helping them prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. Throughout its 100 year history, The Rockefeller Foundation has enhanced the impact of innovative thinkers and actors working to change the world by providing the resources, networks, convening power, and technologies to move them from idea to impact. In todays dynamic and interconnected world, The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to address the emerging challenges facing humankind through innovation, intervention and influence in order to shape agendas and inform decision making. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org About ICLEI ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is the leading global association of local and metropolitan governments dedicated to sustainable development. ICLEI is a powerful movement of 12 mega-cities, 100 supercities, 450 large cities and urban regions as well as 650 small and medium-sized cities and towns in 80 countries. ICLEI promotes local action for global sustainability and supports cities to become sustainable, resilient, resourceefficient, biodiverse, low-carbon; to build a smart infrastructure; and to develop an inclusive, green urban economy. The ultimate aim is to achieve healthy and happy communities. ICLEI has developed enduring, longterm programs to support local-level sustainability and continue to develop innovative new programs to build urban resilience.

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Related Links About ACCCRN

ACCCRN Media Enquiries: Tamora Chan tchan@apcoworldwide.com Telephone: +852 6809 1718 ICLEI Media Enquiries: Steve Gawler steve.gawler@iclei.org Telephone: +62 81510997996 Michael Perry mperry@apcoworldwide.com Telephone: +852 2826 9332