The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the eleventh of which is “Sustainable Cities and Communities,” namely: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Under this major goal, there are 17 targets, the 11. C of which is “Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials.”

●Current Situation

About the World

We will make a great effort to support for the least developed countries

Currently, there are 46 countries on the list of least developed countries, mostly in Africa. These countries account for about 14 percent of the world's population, just 1.3 percent of global gross domestic product, 1.4 percent of global foreign direct investment and less than 1 percent of global merchandise exports. They are characterized by low levels of income, vulnerability to economic and environmental shocks, low levels of human development, extreme poverty and high mortality rates. As a vulnerable group in the world economy, these countries are deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the ongoing energy and food crisis. While the least developed countries did not cause the climate crisis, they are bearing its worst effects. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that the death toll from floods, droughts and storms is 15 times higher in the most vulnerable countries and regions than in other countries. Therefore, least developed countries need substantial technical and financial support to initiate a fair transition to renewable energy and green jobs, which is essential to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Source: un.org

About China

China continues to provide assistance to the least developed countries

China had a similar experience with the least developed countries so that she has empathy on their plight. China has always supported the efforts of the least developed countries out of poverty, and has also been in her best with the principle of “sincerity, real results, amity and good faith” to provide aid to the least developed countries which are, in particular, dealing with development difficulties through assisting the complete sets of projects, providing material assistance, conducting technical cooperation and human resources development cooperation, dispatching medical teams to foreign countries, and providing emergency humanitarian assistance, etc.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China's foreign aid has witnessed an unprecedented high growth and high resilience, accounting for an increasing proportion of the world's aid, and the relative gap between China's foreign aid and that of the United States and Japan is narrowing. China has become the world's fourth largest foreign aid. On April 18th, 2018, China formally established “China International Development Cooperation Agency”, making clear the country’s the key tasks for further strengthening and improving foreign aid the new situation, and promoting the reform of foreign aid methods, which signaled the new stage of China's foreign aid. Mutual care and making the people of all countries enjoy a good life is the Chinese mind to bear as a big developing country and is the aspiration of the Chinese people, and even is the goal of constant practice and struggle of foreign aid with Chinese characteristics. In the new era, China's foreign aid is trying to build a foreign aid management system to implement accurate foreign aid, polishing the gold-brand of international aid, so as to contribute China's efforts to building a community with a shared future for mankind and promoting global governance.

Sources: China Institute of African Studies, People.com.cn,un.org

●Cases

About the World

Sustainable bamboo building project

A report of the UN Environment Programme shows that building and construction accounts for 35 percent of global energy consumption, 38percentof the carbon dioxide emissions, so construction has become a main source of carbon emissions. Thus, green building is beneficial to save resources, protect the environment and reduce pollution, providing people with healthy, applicable and efficient use of space. Many countries have promoted the development of green buildings by setting policy standards and encouraging technological innovation.

Bamboo has high strength, high stiffness, light weight and good seismic performance, which is called “plant steel”. Why is bamboo widely used as a building material? On the one hand, bamboo has strong toughness and lightweight, and is easy to use, so it is a good natural building material. On the other hand, bamboo grows fast, so it can be used as a substitute for wood or other building materials. In particular, bamboo can substitute for cement and plastic when used in pipes, indoor and outdoor decoration materials, storage facilities, and earthquake-proof structure, etc. In addition, throughout the product life cycle, bamboo products keep low level and even zero level of carbon footprint, so using bamboo can ease the recession of forest resources. The International Organization for Bamboo Rattan (INBRA) held a number of architectural trainings in Nepal, India, Ethiopia, Ghana and other countries and regions, and built a large number of bamboo building models suitable for local environment. In Bhutan, the INBRA Building projects have shown that bamboo is by far the most desirable alternative to wood-framed houses.

Source: Sohu.com, International Organization for Bamboo Rattan (INBRA)

The first African architect won the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize 

Pritzker Architecture Prize, the architecture's highest honor, has announced its 2022 winner, Diébédo Francis Kéré, who is an architect, educator and social activist born in Burkina Faso, one of the world's least developed countries. He is the first African architect who won the award. He has made unremitting efforts to promote the sustainable development of the earth and its inhabitants. He is an architect, but also a dedicator. He has improved the living conditions and living experience of countless people in lands that are often forgotten by the world.

One of his most representative architectural works is the “Gando Primary School” that gives back to his hometown. In order to build the school with limited resources, and, at the same time, to ensure facilities of the building sufficient to deal with local high temperature and poor lighting conditions, he used local materials, the most common clay reinforced with cement, created the bricks that can gather heat to build the walls, and developed a set of expressive architectural language with outstanding performance and in accordance with local conditions, including the double roof, ventilation tower, indirect lighting, cross ventilation and shading rooms, etc. (instead of traditional windows, doors and colonnades).

The facility retains cool air inside while allowing heat to escape through brick ceilings and wide suspended elevated roofs, resulting in ventilation without the mechanical intervention of air conditioning. For the library project, he used a concrete roof. He blended traditional clay with steel meshes, and then cast the skeleton. The finished roof creates circular holes that not only dissipate heat, but also bring light into the interior. The construction of the project was financed entirely by his struggling international financing. During the project, he also played the role of educator and social activist, training skilled workers, spreading the construction concept, and letting the people of Gando build and use it by themselves. Under his guidance, Gando Primary School, from conception to completion, was built almost entirely by the local people, and everyone contributed their intelligent, labor and resources.

Source: tencent.com

About China

Satellite TV for 10,000 villages in Africa

In September, 2015, China proposed a satellite TV program for 10,000 villages in Africa, as a national aid program. This project was implemented in all 36 states and the Federal Special Administrative Region of Nigeria, the Africa's most populous country and the largest economy. For the villagers who regard agriculture as their foundation, it is like a seed drill of hope. It brings information, knowledge and entertainment to millions of households through digital television broadcasts, and also deepens the understanding and recognition between the governments and people of China and African countries.

Sources: Xinhua News Agency, guancha.cn

Padma Bridge, Bangladesh's dream bridge

Bangladesh, which has a population of 160 million, is one of the least developed countries in the world. With the low level of economic development, its national economy relies mainly on the backward agriculture, and there is no technology and funds to build a big bridge independently. Before China built the bridge for Bangladesh, the people on both sides of the bridge used to spend seven or eight hours to cross the river. It not only wasted time, and the commuting costs were not low. After the bridgeconnecting21 districts in south western Bangladesh opened, it takes people only 10 minutes to cross the river, which has an irreplaceable effect to improve local traffic environment. With smooth traffic flow, local logistics industry, labor movement, economic and trade, and other aspects will be improved, promoting the national development. Bangladesh is expected to take off the label of a least developed country, and help local people get rid of poverty and become better off.

Source: sina.com

●Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiated by the United Nations

On 1 January, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.