Nominate Bengaluru as the 4th Global Beacon City for 'Positive Cities' under UN HWUF

Positive Cities Listing for Bengaluru aka Bangalore, India, under the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum

Three Beacon cities were selected for this listing for their humane approach to animal population and management, especially street dogs, following ICAM's stringent standards at the UN Habitat World Urban Forum at Cairo in 2023 . They were Bangkok,Cape Town and Ilfov, Rumania

Our city Bangalore (now renamed Bengaluru) , Karnataka State, India , also known as India's Silicon Valley,  demonstrates foundational initiative and a clear alignment with humane management strategies as per the Positive Cities' Standards, and therefore should be nominated for this Positive Cities listing 

Criterion 1: Proactive Foundation (Past 5 Years)

The Rule: The city must have actively implemented humane dog and cat population management (D/CPM) instead of mass culling or removal.Bengaluru Context: Fully Eligible. Bangalore Municipal Authority, the The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) , now GBA (Greater Bangalore Authority)  has completely shifted away from historical eradication programs to a structured Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ARV) model.

Criterion 2: Proven Data Collection

The Rule: To pledge, a city needs a measurable understanding of its animal populations.Bengaluru Context: Highly Eligible. Bengaluru is a model city for animal data collection, having conducted its comprehensive BBMP Street Dog Census. The census used geo-tagging and drone tracking to estimate a declining baseline population of roughly 2.79 lakh stray dogs.

Criterion 3: Institutional Governance

The Rule: Clear accountability lines within the municipal authority rather than outsourcing entirely to third parties.Bengaluru Context: Eligible. The BBMP 9now GBA)  features a dedicated Animal Husbandry Department specifically tasked with coordinating stray animal issues.

Good work done so far , yes but a long path lies ahead for the municipality, citizens and animal lovers. This listing will motivate all stakeholders to do more.

Bangalore qualifies and should definitely be included in the Global  Positive Cities  list for sure!

Properly managing street animals explicitly supports UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) by eliminating zoonotic diseases like rabies, and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by building inclusive, safer, and cleaner municipal spaces, so by doing this , we are looking at a more well knit and impactful city framework.

We are Positive.

Nominate Bengaluru!