Prioritizing climate change adaptation and local level resilience in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

This paper describes the institutional and resource challenges and opportunities in getting different sectors in eThekwini Municipality (the local government responsible for planning and managing the city of Durban) to recognize and respond to their role in climate change adaptation. The Headline Climate Change Adaptation Strategy launched by the municipality in 2006 did not catalyze the development of sectoral plans or significantly influence the Integrated Development Plan, the key document through which the municipal government sets and implements development priorities. Possible causal factors for this include limited human and financial resources and more immediate and urgent development needs. To address the situation, the municipality's Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department encouraged and supported three pilot sectors to develop their own municipal adaptation plans. This more sectoral approach encouraged greater interaction among the sectors and provided each with a clearer understanding of their needs and roles from an adaptation perspective. It also highlighted how climate change adaptation could be used as a tool to address development priorities. This work will be extended through research into the cost-benefits of Durban being an "early adapter". Work has also begun on community-based adaptation (including support for reforestation projects that provide "green jobs") and on responses to slow onset disasters, food security and water constraints.

Toward a Sustainable and Resilient Future

“…Still, where local leadership is determined, skillful planning is possible, even without legislation. This has been the experience of Ethekwini Municipality (the local government responsible for the city of Durban, South Africa), which has developed a Municipal Climate Protection Programme with a strong and early focus on adaptation without nationallevel policy or legal frameworks to guide adaptation planning at the local level (Roberts, 2008(Roberts, , 2010.…”

A Blue Urban Agenda: Adapting to Climate Change in the Coastal Cities of Caribbean and Pacific Small Island Developing States

“…Creating a climate change and environmental focal point or office in a city can help coordinate climate action across government departments or agencies (Roberts, 2008(Roberts, , 2010Anguelovski and Carmin, 2011;Hunt and Watkiss, 2011; OECD, 2011;Brown et al, 2012). Yet, there may be downsides when this function is housed in the environmental line department since it is typically among the weakest parts of city government, with limited influence, as in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana.…”

From agenda‐setting to implementation: The role of multisectoral partnerships in addressing urban climate risks

“…The municipality received a mandate to develop a "Durban Climate Change Partnership" (DCCP) at the Durban Climate Change Summit held in May 2009. This was intended to bring together diverse stakeholders including public, private, and civil society actors in a structured, open and inclusive manner to tackle both adaptation and mitigation issues [Roberts, 2010]. The DCCP process has highlighted certain positive effects such as increased awareness and knowledge sharing of the city's climate change challenges across diverse communities, but it also shows a range of challenges such as lack of funding and limited political will that appear to have constrained the role of the MSP in the adaptation processes in the city [Roberts, 2010;Roberts and O'Donoghue, 2013].…”

“…This was intended to bring together diverse stakeholders including public, private, and civil society actors in a structured, open and inclusive manner to tackle both adaptation and mitigation issues [Roberts, 2010]. The DCCP process has highlighted certain positive effects such as increased awareness and knowledge sharing of the city's climate change challenges across diverse communities, but it also shows a range of challenges such as lack of funding and limited political will that appear to have constrained the role of the MSP in the adaptation processes in the city [Roberts, 2010;Roberts and O'Donoghue, 2013]. While the DCCP fits into the first-generation MSP category, there is evidence of the emergence of a more action-oriented partnership alongside the DCCP: the Durban Industry Climate Change Partnership (DICCP) was formed in June 2009 when the eThekwini Municipality signed a partnership declaration with local and national business leaders, with the intention of creating a subsequent "sustained partnership of the industrial and public sector in Durban to effectively contribute towards climate change mitigation and adaptation" [UNIDO, 2009].…”