<b>Asian Mayors Join Forces To Tackle Urban Poverty.</b?

Mayors from 50 Asian cities
have been told that poverty could soon overwhelm Asia's cities and towns
unless the urban poor are given a greater role to play in the economy and
allowed to share in the benefits of urban development.

The urbanization of poverty is largely a result of Asia's rural poor
flocking to the cities in increasing numbers, in search of better paying
work. Rather than discovering prosperity, many are finding only poverty of
a different kind in a new environment, according to studies conducted by
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UN ESCAP).

The mayors, as well as local and national government officials, NGO's and
others, are among more than 150 participants taking part in the Fourth
Asian Mayors Forum and Regional Workshop on Good Governance for Poverty
Reduction and Social Development - Exchange of Tools, Techniques and Good
Practices, co-sponsored by UN ESCAP.

"I'm afraid that all too often in this region, urban policies and
regulations do not effectively support poverty reduction," Mr. Kim Hak-Su,
United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP,
said in a welcoming speech to delegates. He added that governments needed
to do more to eliminate "barriers that prevent the poor from participating
in the economy, and in benefiting from development."

According to UN ESCAP, cities face unprecedented challenges due to rapid
urbanization and economic globalization. The objective of the meeting is to
develop mechanisms to collect and analyze good practices in poverty
reduction, and to make the experiences available for replication and up
scaling.