Strengthening climate change adaptation capacity in Africa- case studies from six major African cities and policy implications

Filho, Walter Leal; Balogun, Abdul‐Lateef; Ayal, Desalegn Yayeh; Bethurem, E. Matthew; Murambadoro, M; Mambo, Julia; Taddese, Habitamu; Tefera, Gebrekidan Worku; Nagy, Gustavo J.; Fudjumdjum, Hubert; Mugabe, Paschal Arsein

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2018.05.004

Cited by 79 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Examples of such policies include educational and health investments to stimulate the demographic transition (KC & Lutz, ), incentives to establish economic activities in rural areas and to favor the growth of secondary cities (OECD, ; United Nations, ), and the strengthening of urban‐rural linkages (UN‐Habitat, ). Further studies focusing on a specific city and/or region would be better positioned to provide more concrete and context‐based adaptation strategies to reduce future exposure to extreme heat (Filho et al, ). Particular attention should be paid to strengthening the implementation of adaptation strategies at the urban scale, which is often poor due to weak governance (Pelling et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projections of Human Exposure to Dangerous Heat in African Cities Under Multiple Socioeconomic and Climate Scenarios

et al. 2019

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Human exposure to dangerous heat, driven by climatic and demographic changes, is increasing worldwide. Being located in hot regions and showing high rates of urban population growth, African cities appear particularly likely to face significantly increased exposure to dangerous heat in the coming decades. We combined projections of urban population under five socioeconomic scenarios—shared socioeconomic pathways—with projections of apparent temperature under three representative concentration pathways in order to explore future exposure to dangerous heat across 173 large African cities. Employing multiple shared socioeconomic pathway and representative concentration pathway combinations, we demonstrated that the aggregate exposure in African cities will increase by a multiple of 20–52, reaching 86–217 billion person‐days per year by the 2090s, depending on the scenario. The most exposed cities are located in Western and Central Africa, although several Eastern African cities showed an increase of more than 2,000 times the current level by the 2090s, due to the emergence of dangerous heat conditions combined with steady urban population growth. In most cases, we found future exposure to be predominantly driven by changes in population alone or by concurrent changes in climate and population, with the influence of changes in climate alone being minimal. We also demonstrated that shifting from a high to a low urban population growth pathway leads to a slightly greater reduction in aggregate exposure than shifting from a high to a low emissions pathway (51% vs. 48%). This emphasizes the critical role that socioeconomic development plays in shaping heat‐related health challenges in African cities.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projections of Human Exposure to Dangerous Heat in African Cities Under Multiple Socioeconomic and Climate Scenarios

et al. 2019

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“…These radically transformed local environments have a regional and global impact [71]. Although adaptation to urban climate change is a relatively new issue, significant progress has been made in recent years in policy, practice and research [72]. However, research is mainly concentrated on European cities (see [70,73]), while African cities or cities in sub-Saharan Africa have so far been scarcely in the spotlight (with the exception of some coastal cities, see e.g., [74]).…”

Section: Day-to-day Struggles and Emerging Challenges In Sub-saharan mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways for Sustainable and Inclusive Cities in Southern and Eastern Africa through Urban Green Infrastructure?

Titz

Chiotha²

2019

Sustainability

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Cities in sub-Saharan Africa are currently confronted with a multitude, and hitherto unexperienced, magnitude of transformative phenomena such as rising inequality, exclusion, poverty and increased residency in informal settlements. These stressors are posing challenges to cities in terms of housing, infrastructure and provision of basic services as well as climate change adaptation. Despite the high dynamics and novel characteristics of city transformation, this urban transition seems to take place rather ‘quietly’ and has, so far, obviously hardly been understood or appreciated by researchers and governments. Subsequently, the multifaceted and extremely challenging problems associated with the process of urbanisation cannot be adequately addressed. Green infrastructure (GI) is currently emerging as a concept for cost-effective urban sustainability and livelihood security. Preservation and provision of accessible urban green spaces is increasingly recognised as an essential part of the liveability of cities. Extensive literature review revealed that the systematic integration of GI concepts in urban planning is seen by an increasing number of researchers as an essential approach to tackle major current and future challenges. Based on the literature review, we suggest that broadening the concept of urban GI by linking it to governance and rights-based conceptualisations will have the potential to unlock more resourceful paths for sustainable, green, and inclusive urban development of cities in Southern and Eastern Africa.

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“…The fact that cities should adapt to climate change is no longer a matter of debate. In a recent publication by Filho et al (2018), the authors focused on strengthening climate change adaptation capacity in six African cities of Douala (Cameroon), Lagos City (Nigeria), Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Accra (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Mombasa (Kenya). A number of cities included in the case study are coastal cities like Cape Town.…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change adaptation and local government: Institutional complexities surrounding Cape Town’s Day Zero

Nhamo

Agyepong

2019

Jàmbá

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The challenges associated with climate change in local governments are growing daily. One such challenge is water security, an aspect that draws us to the subject matter of climate change adaptation. This article discusses findings about institutional complexities surrounding Day Zero, a concept associated with water taps running dry because of drought conditions as aggravated by climate change in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The thrust on institutional complexities is deliberate, as this affects how crisis situations like Day Zero were handled. The data were generated mainly from the actor–actant–network theory, events study as well as document and discourse analysis methods. The actor–actant–network theory is used widely to trace how actors (humans) and actants (non-human phenomena) interact in space and time through their networks, following narratives like Day Zero, and act on climate-related matters. The analysis applied elements of grounded theory, resulting in categories and themes emerging for discussion. The article found that narratives surrounding Day Zero were embedded in both political and administrative dilemmas and red tape. Despite these challenges, the article concludes that Day Zero remains one of the landmark learning points for climate change adaptation and water security in Cape Town, South Africa, and in other cities across the world. The article recommends that Day Zero experiences continue to be embraced positively and documented further to enhance local government climate adaptation for water security currently and into the future as well.

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Strengthening climate change adaptation capacity in Africa- case studies from six major African cities and policy implications

Cited by 79 publications

References 45 publications

Projections of Human Exposure to Dangerous Heat in African Cities Under Multiple Socioeconomic and Climate Scenarios

Projections of Human Exposure to Dangerous Heat in African Cities Under Multiple Socioeconomic and Climate Scenarios

Pathways for Sustainable and Inclusive Cities in Southern and Eastern Africa through Urban Green Infrastructure?

Climate change adaptation and local government: Institutional complexities surrounding Cape Town’s Day Zero

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