A large number of government officials, civil society representatives, members of academia and the media have been invited to attend. Dr. Peñalosa will speak about a more socially inclusive and efficient urban vision that promises to improve the quality of life in Pakistani cities, and make them more competitive and environmentally responsible.

Dr. Peñalosa, a world-renowned urban strategist is an influential voice amongst those advocating new approaches to more inclusive urban development. During his tenure as mayor of Bogota, this city of 7 million inhabitants underwent tremendous positive changes including the development of the now world-famous Transmillenio bus rapid transit system. Dr. Peñalosa has since advised cities throughout the world, including Berkeley, Cape Town, Denver, Melbourne, Sao Paulo and Seattle.

Dr. Penalosa is accompanied by Mr. Oscar Diaz, who is a senior director at the Institute for Transport and Development Policy, an international NGO specialising in urban mobility issues and solutions.

Notes to editors

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

Shahzad Ahmad, Programme Officer, IUCN Islamabad Office
Tel: +92 51 2850250, Mobile: +92 333 5236060, shahzad.ahmad@isb.iucnp.org; Web: http://iucnp.org

About IUCN

IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges by supporting scientific research; managing field projects all over the world; and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN, international conventions and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.

The world's oldest and largest global environmental network, IUCN is a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists and experts in some 160 countries.  IUCN's work is supported by over 1,000 professional staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in the public, NGO and private sectors around the world. IUCN's headquarters are located in Gland, near Geneva, in Switzerland.

www.iucn.org

About the Clinton Climate Initiative

In August 2006, the William J. Clinton Foundation launched the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) to make a difference in the fight against climate change in practical, measurable and significant ways. In its first phase, CCI is serving as the exclusive implementing partner of the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, an association of large cities around the world that have pledged to accelerate their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CCI is assisting cities, including Karachi and Lahore, to develop and implement large-scale projects resulting in substantial reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

www.clintonfoundation.org