ESTEBAN ECHEVERRÍA

Local governments play a central role in the daily lives of communities, making it essential to strengthen collaborative efforts among cities to address global challenges at the local level. This emphasizes the need for adaptation policies in various scenarios, with a focus on developing public policies to mitigate the consequences of climate change and raise awareness among the population.

Esteban Echeverría has been actively engaged in enhancing its resilience. In partnership with the Department of Hydraulics at the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of La Plata (UNLP), the municipality has devised a comprehensive plan encompassing twenty projects aimed at addressing flooding challenges. Moreover, the district has made substantial infrastructure advancements to ameliorate sanitary conditions, becoming one of the most developed areas in the metropolitan Buenos Aires region in terms of sewage infrastructure.

The Local4Action HUB Esteban Echeverría focuses on sharing of best practices among municipalities to promote decentralized cooperation, build capacities through learning materials and activities related to disaster risk reduction, alignment with the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, and building urban resilience based on the Hyogo and Sendai frameworks. The Local4Action HUB runs a combination of in-person, virtual, and hybrid activities that foster interaction among local governments, further reinforced by identifying and building partnerships with relevant institutions.

This initiative emphasizes the active involvement of cities, particularly intermediate and peripheral ones, providing them with tools to develop cooperation projects. The aim is to enhance the development of such projects by collaborating with other stakeholders, including global organizations focused on climate action and resilient city development.

Expected Outcomes

• Successfully organized an annual city-to-city exchange activity involving a minimum of 10 cities, with a strong emphasis on the active participation of ASPAC, African, European, and North American UCLG member cities.
• Facilitated a minimum of three exchanges of experiences between cities, leading to fruitful knowledge sharing and collaboration.

The Local4Action HUB Esteban Echeverría proposes the exchange of practices among local governments, sharing experiences to build more resilient, inclusive, and compassionate cities. It is an initiative that promotes global cooperation, strengthening cities’ work with contributions from organizations worldwide. The activities are deepening cooperation between local governments, reinforcing partnerships, and collaborating with the entire global actor ecosystem.

Link to Agenda 2030

• SDG 5 – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• SDG 11 – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• SDG 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• SDG 15 – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• SDG 17 – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Link to the UCLG Pact for the Future of Humanity 

• Commitment for People
  • C10 – Respect for planetary health and the well-being of future generations. 

• Commitments for People
  • C8 – Promote sustainable and inclusive food systems managed and improved by all spheres of government promoting access and quality of food, food security and sovereignty, and resilience.
  • C10 – Identify mechanisms to redress the historically uneven distribution of environmental benefits and burdens and co-create resilience systems
• Commitment for Government
  • C1 – Promote inclusive, participatory, responsible and accountable multilevel governance leading to global action. 

Link to other Global Agendas

• The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)
• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

Participation in networking activities

• [Online Workshop]  Disaster Risk Reduction,Risk-informed Governance, Finance Mechanisms and Innovative Solutions for Local Resilience – 11 to 18 April 2023. Read more here
• [Webinar] From Emergency Response to Resilience: City and Regional Food Systems Ready for the Future”in the Framework of Building Resilient Cities 2030 (MCR2030) series – May 24th 2023
• [Training] Whole-of-society approach to creating healthy, resilient and sustainable cities, organized by UNDRR and PAHO/WHO – 7, 14, 21, 27 June 2023 Read more here

• Local4Action HUB Esteban Echeverría Official website
• Promoción de ciudades resilientes, inclusivas y solidarias Brochure in Spanish