Habitat III - GS questions based on daily current affairs

1)   Which of the following are amongst the development measures in India Habitat III National Report?

1) 100 per cent sanitation
2) 40% power to be generated by solar energy
3) High travel speed, above 30 kmph peak time


a. 2, 3
b. 1, 2
c. 1, 3
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 3

Explanation:
The agenda has 4 points. 2 of them are –
1) Economic Growth and Productivity.

  • Fully planned and sustainable human settlements
  • High travel speed, above 30 kmph peak time
  • Well-distributed business district centres
  • Intensive use of technology/innovations
  • E-governance
  • Smart grid
  • Normative norms/self-declaration/ approvals of buildings/ town layouts.

    2) Improving Quality of Life

  • 100 per cent sanitation
  • Well-developed public facilities
  • Easy access to public utilities and services
  • High-security streets and buildings by CCTV
  • Crime-free society and access to social justice and gender equity
  • Full of greenery/ plantation, bamboo and other suitable trees
  • Green and barrier-free buildings


2)   The ‘New Urban Agenda’ is related to

a. Paris Agreement on Climate Change
b. Habitat III
c. UNFCCC
d. None of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Habitat III

Explanation:

  • The New Urban Agenda will be the outcome document agreed upon at the Habitat III conference in October 2016.
  • In turn, it will guide the efforts around urbanization of a wide range of actors — nation states, city and regional leaders, international development funders, United Nations programmes and civil society — for the next 20 years.
  • Inevitably, this agenda will also lay the groundwork for policies and approaches that will extend, and impact, far into the future.
  • The United Nations’ current line of thought and action on global urbanization is based on and explained in the Habitat Agenda: Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, the outcome document agreed upon in 1996 at the Habitat II conference.
  • The twin goals of the Habitat Agenda are ‘adequate shelter for all’ and ‘the development of sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world’.


3)       Which of the following is/are true regarding United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development?

1) It is held once every decade.
2) Habitat II was held in Canada.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

  • Habitat III is the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 – 20 October 2016.
  • The UN Conferences on Housing (Habitat) are occurring in the bi-decennial cycle (1976, 1996 and 2016).
  • The United Nations General Assembly decided to convene The Habitat III Conference.
  • Habitat II, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, was held in Istanbul, Turkey in 1996. The conference outcomes were integrated in the Istanbul Declaration.
  • Habitat I was the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976. Here the governments began to recognize the need for sustainable human settlements and the consequences of rapid urbanization, especially in the developing world. The conference outcomes were integrated the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements


4)   ‘Habitat III’ Conference is related to

a. Housing
b. Environment where we live
c. Habitat of animals
d. Habitat of plant and animal species which are threatened
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Housing

Explanation:

  • “Habitat III” is shorthand for a major global summit, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development.
  • The objectives of the Conference are to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging challenges.
  • The conference will result in a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document.
  • India has released its ‘India Habitat III-National Report’, which defines its own strategy for sustainable urban development.