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Welcome to the first edition of ICLEI Africa’s

Local Climate Solutions for Africa Program

Newsletter!

LOCS July 2013

ICLEI in Action 3

Ecosystem Based

Adaptation

Sure Water project

CDKN partnership

Recent

Publications

3

Local governments

in action

4

“In the hotseat”:

municipal interviews

News in Brief 4

Resilient Africa 5-6

Resilient Cities conference 2013

Durban Adaptation

Charter

Urban-LEDS

Project News

7-8

Municipal capacity

strengthening

Local government

tools available

Partnerships with

SEA, WESSA

Upcoming events 9

LOCS Conference

“Penny for your

thoughts”

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Contents

ICLEI NEW OFFICE

Having grown rapidly in recent years, the ICLEI Africa Secretariat, which

also hosts ICLEI’s Global Cities Biodiversity Center, has relocated to larger

premises. Our building is an historic heritage building near the famous

Green Market Square in Cape Town’s central business district. Please note

our new street address:

Street address: 71 Burg Street, Cape Town, South Africa Postal address: PO Box 5319, Tygervalley, 7536, Cape Town South Africa

Welcome to the first edition of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability -

Africa’s Local Climate Solutions for Africa Program (LOCS) Newsletter!

The African continent is the world’s fastest urbanising region. It is also one of the

most vulnerable to the impacts of climatic change. The critical underpinning

issues of food, water and energy security will define the development agenda in

the coming years. While climate change threatens to undermine hard-won

development gains, responding to it effectively will create new opportunities for

job creation, sustainable service delivery and human development.

ICLEI Africa recognises that climate change and development are inseparably

connected in a unique way on the African continent. We are therefore proud to

announce a new, integrated and programmatic approach to our climate change

work; bringing together climate resilient and low carbon development for local

governments in Africa, launching at the LOCS Conference, October 2013, in Dar

es Salaam, Tanzania.

We welcome partners to come on board and support the program and local

governments to sign up to strengthen their capacity, mobilize and acceler-

ate action, and join a network and community of practice of committed

local governments across the continent.

Contact iclei-africa@iclei.org for more information

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In Action

ICLEI Africa and the city of Durban hold innovative workshop on Urban Ecosystem Based Adaptation Funded through the Innovation Fund of the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), the creative workshop engaged local governments and researchers in a process to develop a framework for smart decision-making criteria on urban ecosystem-based approaches to adapt to climate change on the African continent. The project links up with finding solutions to help local governments implement the Durban Adaptation Charter. Watch out for the full workshop report in September’s LOCS newsletter edition.

Making the climate-water link in Africa: announcing an exciting new project The European Commission funded project, ‘Sustainable Urban Resilient Water for Africa: Developing Local Climate Solutions’ (“SURe Water 4 Africa: Developing LoCS”), will be implemented by ICLEI Africa over a 5 year period in partnership with the Desert Research Foundation, Walvis Bay Municipality and Urban Councils of Zimbabwe. The project aims to address the challenge of efficient urban water management in the context of a changing climate in Africa and will engage local authorities in six southern African countries (Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). For more information contact iclei-africa@iclei.org

REN21 Global

Renewables Report

Future Proofing Cities

UNEP City-level

decoupling Report

Smart electricity planning

in South Africa

Recent Publications

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is the use of nature’s goods and services to help people adapt to the adverse effects

of climate change.

ICLEI to review CDKN subnational projects ICLEI and its regional offices are to work with the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), over the next year to “Capture and disseminate key lessons from the CDKNs experience on the successful factors and preconditions, drivers and barriers to sub-national climate compatible development for the benefit of developing country decision-makers”. ICLEI Africa will be involved in reviewing projects on the Afri-can continent. To kick-start the process, a two-day Learning Workshop organized by CDKN in cooperation with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability took place from 3-4 June in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the concept of Subnational Climate Compatible Development (CCD). The results of the program will be dis-seminated at the Resilient Cities 2014 Congress, alongside case studies for most of the program projects.

ICLEI in Action

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In Action

South African government

announces carbon tax for

2015

South Africa became the 4th

country in the world to

announce a carbon tax, due to

be phased in from 2015.

Observed Concentrations

of CO2 Cross 400 parts

per million Threshold

450ppm global average

believed to be the point at

which average temperatures

will inevitably rise above 2

degrees

Obama launches new

electricity initiative in Sub

-Saharan Africa

7bn USD investment

announced during President’s

African tour

2013 UN MDG Report

released

Good progress in some areas;

more effort needed in others,

especially environmental sus-

tainability & maternal deaths.

News in Brief

City of Durban, South Africa starts to develop its Climate Change Response Strategy All eyes will be on the city of Durban as it makes headway in developing its first integrated climate change response strategy. The municipality is putting strong emphasis on the stakeholder engagement process, releasing online surveys to collect the views of its citizens. To follow progress, visit here.

Dakar, capital of Senegal becomes ICLEI Member Dakar has a recent history of taking a leadership position on environmental sustainability, hosting the 6th annual Africities Summit in 2012, where the Africa Water and Sanitation Local Authorities Network (AWASLA) was launched. ICLEI is delighted to welcome the city, home to almost 3 million people, as a Member of ICLEI.

Monrovia, Liberia, shares experiences on urban food security The city Corporation of Monrovia, Liberia, shared its experiences of creating an enabling environment for increased urban food production during a dedicated session at the Global Resilient Cities Conference 2013. Weekly urban food markets of local farmers have been one of the results. To view the presentation given by the city click here, To view an article summarising the session click here.

In each LOCS newsletter, we put local government representatives or experts “in the hotseat” as they explain the

work that they are doing and lessons they have learnt in a quick-fire interview!

Click on the hotseat participant to view transcripts of their interviews, conducted during ICLEI’s Resilient Cities

Congress in May 2013.

Mr Mussa Natty, Munici-

pal Director, Kinondoni

Municipal Council, Dar

es Salaam, Tanzania

explains the challenges

facing his city and why

you should attend the

LOCS Conference 2013

hosted by Dar es

Salaam. View the

interview here.

Councillor Kgosientso

Ramokgopa, Executive

Mayor, City of Tshwane,

South Africa, explains

why his Municipality is

developing a green

economy strategy and

why this is crucial for the

city’s future success.

View the interview here.

In the HOTSEAT

Local Governments in Africa

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Strong African representation at the Global Resilient Cities Forum 2013

There was a strong presence from the African continent at the 4

th annual Resilient Cities Global Congress in

Bonn 30 May-01 June 2013, convened by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, with local govern-ment representatives taking part from countries such as Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa, took part in the finance and infrastructure plenaries; promoting the city’s’ comprehensive approach to the green economy. The Municipal Corporation of Monrovia, Liberia, presented on its approach to promoting urban food security, especially the creation of an urban food market for local farmers. The City of Durban provided much needed insight and leadership on the local government commitment to reduce the impacts of climate change– the Durban Adaptation Charter. In all their contributions, the local government representatives from our region demonstrated both the significant challenges they face in responding to climate change, but also their sterling efforts and understanding of the opportunities open to them to govern their jurisdictions more effectively and sustainably. A particular highlight was the Dar es Salaam Reality Check Workshop organised by GIZ. The workshop provided a chance to engage with a team of local practitioners who have experience of “getting their hands dirty” in attempting to meet service delivery aims while responding to the challenges of rapid urbanisation and a changing climate. A team of four representatives from the Tanzanian national government and Dar es Salaam, along with their local GIZ partners, engaged in a three hour debate with participants on the challenges facing the city.

In only ten years Dar es Salaam’s population has doubled from ~ 2.5 million to 4.2 million. This staggering growth has placed immense strain on the city and its ability to supply services to citizens in the face of severe development challenges. These include strained infrastructure, burgeoning informal areas, imminent and daily health risks from a lack of water and sanitation, an energy crisis, severe poverty, and potential food security risks. However, Dar es Salaam is “too big to fail”: providing 40% of the national GDP of Tanzania and contributing 80% to national government domestic revenues. At the same time the

world is asking that cities such as Dar es Salaam must become resilient to climate change. This is an unprecedented challenge in the history of humanity. How do you continue to plug holes to stop the ship from sinking, while simultaneous-ly, and with the same man pow-

er, install a new engine to steer the ship in a new and uncertain direction? This is why ICLEI is working with numerous partners, national governments and funders to rapidly put in place mechanisms to enable such cities to meet the development and climate challenge simultaneously: for they are two sides of the same coin. The Reality Check workshop for Dar es Salaam is likely to be continued at the LOCS Conference 2013, watch this space for more news!

“How do you continue to plug holes to stop the ship from

sinking, while simultaneously, and with the same man power, install a new engine to steer the ship in a

new and uncertain direction?”

Resilient Africa

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Mobilising visionary leadership and commitment for resilient cities and local governments

The Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) for Local Governments is a mechanism for Local Governments to demonstrate their commitment to responding to the effects of climate change and to promoting transformational urban development. Eleven new signatories signed up at the Resilient Cities Congress in May 2013, bringing the total signatories to 982 since its launch at the UNFCCC COP17 Durban Local Government Convention in 2011. ICLEI’s experience has shown that visionary local leaders and champions are game changers and the DAC commitment states to the world that local governments, particularly those from the Global South, are standing together to safe guard their citizens in an uncertain future. So this political commitment exists, but what does it mean to “walk the talk” and to respond to this growing sense of urgency? Implementing practical measures to adapt to climate change is a long-term process. Results from a global survey convened by ICLEI in collaboration with the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrate that many

local governments are still in the planning and preparation phases. This is partly why an Implementation Guidance Workshop was held in Durban from the 20 to 23 March 2013, hosted by eThekwini Municipality (City of Durban) under the leadership of Mayor Nxumalo. The workshop was funded by USAID through their ICMA-implemented CityLinks program, and organised by

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability –Africa. The workshop identified potential governance mechanisms, the need for support for the Implementation of the DAC and for appropriate mechanisms for documenting progress. ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin said during the opening plenary: “Our hope would be that this workshop would trigger the potential for further funding…serving to strengthen implementation of adaptation actions and foster the recruitment of new cities to the DAC.” The Secretariat will now be further developed, along with a programme of work to support local govern-ments to implement resilient activities.

Visit the website to see if you have, and if not please contact ICLEI or

utilise the website in order to sign-up. For further information on the

outcomes of the workshop please visit the Durban Adaptation Charter

website (www.durbanadaptationcharter.org)

HAVEN’T SIGNED THE CHARTER?

Resilient Africa

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The Urban Low Emission Development Strategies Project runs from The Urban Low Emission Development Strategies Project runs from The Urban Low Emission Development Strategies Project runs from

201220122012---2015 in South Africa, India, Indonesia and Brazil. In this series we share 2015 in South Africa, India, Indonesia and Brazil. In this series we share 2015 in South Africa, India, Indonesia and Brazil. In this series we share

news of this flagship project which assists 7 municipalities in South Africa to news of this flagship project which assists 7 municipalities in South Africa to news of this flagship project which assists 7 municipalities in South Africa to

develop in a clean, green & lowdevelop in a clean, green & lowdevelop in a clean, green & low---emission way. All 7 Municipalities will be emission way. All 7 Municipalities will be emission way. All 7 Municipalities will be

attending the LOCS Conference 2013 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.attending the LOCS Conference 2013 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.attending the LOCS Conference 2013 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Steve Tshwete Municipality climate change assessment underway

Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM) began its

low-emission journey with ICLEI Africa on 22nd

April

2013 through a “baseline assessment and

stakeholder workshop”. The workshop used a series

of tools in ICLEI’s GreenClimateCities methodology.

The workshop was attended by almost 30 STLM

political and departmental municipal representatives.

Widespread engagement and involvement across city

departments is of vital importance given the

cross-cutting nature of climate change, and to reduce

the risk of working in siloes.

To complete the baselining phase, ICLEI Africa will

work with STLM to i) establish a cross-departmental

climate change steering committee; ii) develop a

comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Inventory; and iii)

analyse the results of a municipal staff awareness

questionnaire in order to inform the development of a

clear strategy and action plan for STLMs commitment

to emission reductions.

View the full article on the ICLEI Africa website.

Project municipalities strengthen their capacity in week long training course

Low Emission Development

ICLEI Africa, through the Urban-LEDS project, recent-

ly supported seven municipalities in South Africa to

attend a week-long training event at the University of

Cape Town (UCT) to complement their skills,

knowledge and capacity.

The course, entitled “Energy and Sustainable Urban

Development” was organised by the Energy Research

Centre of UCT and Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA).

It is officially registered as a continued professional

development (CPD) course. Highly engaged

participants took part in; i) extensive discussions on

the impact of energy efficiency and renewable energy

on municipal revenues, ii) the relationship between

sustainability and economic growth; and iii) the

importance of partnerships and multi-level

governance.

Participant Siyabonga Khanyile, Director of

Special Projects at KwaDukuza Municipality

(KZN), commented: “It was great to share

with colleagues who have taken action

already and understand where we fit in. I’m

inspired. I see a chance. Now I have some

solutions.”

View the full article on the ICLEI Africa website.

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Local government tools available for use

Urban-LEDS project implementation is based on ICLEI’s GreenClimateCities methodology: a 3

phase, 9 step planning process to develop and implement responses to promote low carbon ur-

ban development. A number of tools from steps 1 and 2 are now available through the project for

use by local governments. These include:

Worksheets to help establish energy and climate change committees and to identify important stakeholders in the community to be involved;

Municipal baselining questionnaire to assess existing frameworks and activities for low-emission development;

Greenhouse Gas inventory development data collection guidance and spreadsheets; and

Municipal staff awareness questionnaire to benchmark staff awareness of low-emission devel-opment

To access these tools and to use them in your Municipality by partnering with ICLEI Africa, please contact urban-leds-southafrica@iclei.org

Follow us on Twitter @urban_leds

MoU signed with Sustainable Energy Africa

ICLEI Africa is delighted to announce the signing of a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NGO

Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA).

SEA will complement ICLEI Africa in providing tech-

nical support to municipalities in the strategy devel-

opment and implementation phases, and peer review

of project outputs to ensure compatibility and con-

sistency in South African Municipal support.

WESSA and ICLEI Africa partner through GroenSebenza

Two new staff Members have been welcomed into ICLEI

Africa to work on the Urban-LEDS project. Ryan Fisher will

be based in the ICLEI Africa Secretariat, and Mbali Mpanza

in project municipality KwaDukuza.

They were successful applicants to the GroenSebenza

Jobs Programme, which aims to create sustainable job op-

portunities for 800 unemployed graduates and school leav-

ers. The staff arrived through a partnership agreement with

the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa

(WESSA).

*These pages have been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official

opinion of the European Union.

Urban-LEDS project sends strong message

to the UNFCCC negotiators

ICLEI’s official side event at the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change

negotiations event in Bonn in June 2013 updated

negotiators on Urban-LEDS project progress.

For the full story see here.

From the global Urban-LEDS project

Brazilian President witnesses Urban-LEDS

launch in Brazil

8 Brazilian City Mayors signed the Urban-LEDS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), committing to Low Emission Urban Development in the presence of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and several Ministers of State. For the full story see here.

Low Emission Development

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The City of Dar es Salaam, together with ICLEI Africa, is hosting a world-class

Pan-African congress in October to identify and showcase innovative solutions and

opportunities to the challenges of rapid urbanization, and realistic responses to

climate change at the local government. level.

The Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2013 Congress (LOCS2013) will provide a unique opportunity for

business, development partners, research agencies, organisations and NGOs to engage directly with relevant

African local leaders and experts in the context of building urban climate resilience. The interlinked and cross-

sectoral congress themes will have a strong emphasis on local leadership, financing and accelerated action at the

local and sub-national level, underpinned by a special focus on integrated planning towards addressing climate

resilience in Africa.

Registration now open! To register or learn more about the themes and partners, please visit www.locs4africa.org or email the LOCS2013 Secretariat at

locs4africa@iclei.org

Selected thematic highlights:

Africa Transitioning: Embracing Urbanization, Responding to Change and Harnessing Opportunities

Topic Sessions: Responding to Change – Adapting to New and Emerging Challenges

Thematic Sessions : Integrated Urban Design for Resilience - Water, Energy and Food Security in the Urban System

Launch of the State of African Cities 2013 Report

Climate Smart Cities: Expert panel discussions on “Working towards an Inclusive Green Urban Economy“

Accelerating Access Sessions: Investing in a Climate of Urbanization

Local Leadership High Level Segment

Taking Action through Advocacy to Propel Climate Action in Africa - What Lies Ahead?

Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2013: Upcoming Conference

Join us in shifting the debate from risk to opportunities for Africa’s urbanization & climate change challenges

When: 30 October – 1 November 2013

Where: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Dar es Salaam is proud to host the upcoming Local Climate Solutions

for Africa Congress. We believe that the path towards sustainable

cities and a green economic future for our continent will require rap-

id and innovative local action. LOCS will provide the opportunity to

discuss and share our experiences, as we work together towards the

future we want. Dar es Salaam City Council is looking forward to

welcoming you at this momentous event!”

Dr. Didas Massaburi, Mayor of Dar es Salaam City Council, Tanzania.

Upcoming events

Other upcoming events

2013 International Biodivercities Conference:

Biodiversity in a changing climate

9-11 September 2013, Joondalup, Australia

World Mayors Summit on Climate Change

27-28th September, Nantes, France

1st Africa Food

Security Conference

20 - 21 August, 2013,

Nairobi, Kenya

3rd IWA Development Congress &

Exhibition

14-17 October 2013, Nairobi, Kenya

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Integration, integration, integration

Each newsletter, ICLEI Africa or a partner reflect on a key climate-development related issue. This edition, ICLEI staff member Steven Bland comments on the challenges of integrating climate change into municipal planning

CONTACT US:

ICLEI Africa

71 Burg Street

Cape Town

South Africa

8001

Phone: +27 21 202 0381

Email: iclei-afica@iclei.org

Web: www.iclei.org/africa twitter.com/ICLEIAfrica

facebook.com/africaiclei

If you want to contribute news, events & publications to this newsletter, or find out more

about our LOCS Program, please contact:

iclei-africa@iclei.org

Penny for your thoughts

The world is a complex place. So humans

have become very good at compartmental-

ising and putting things into boxes.

But our 20th century boxes are increasingly

becoming less helpful. From poverty to

inequality to financial crises to AIDS, we

are experiencing a set of “wicked

problems”. Not evil - but very difficult to

solve because of their complexity. Climate

change is the wickedest of all.

The first challenge with wicked problems is

that the way in which you frame the

problem determines the solution. At the

local level, the problem is not one of

“environmental protection” or “greening”.

The key question is this: how can local

governments help to meet local human

development and service delivery

objectives, given current climate variability

and without depleting the very resources

they rely on in the first place (especially

energy, water and food).

This framing of the challenge cuts to the

heart of the developmental mandate of

many local governments: providing

services, determining spatial form, ena-

bling social and economic development.

But what does an integrated climate

change approach involve? Perhaps one of

the most important forms of integration is

horizontal: across and through municipal

departments, plans and strategies. This is

where boxes are broken.

Cities across the globe are starting to

address this challenge. In South Africa, for

example, the City of Cape Town has

both political and executive management

climate change committees to drive

decision-making. Climate change is

integrated into every objective of the city

and province “One Cape” regional

development vision.

How are cities in places like Africa,

Indonesia, Brazil and around the world

trying to achieving this? Some top tips for

achieving integration from ICLEI’s global

experiences include:

Ensure that all relevant departments

are assigned climate change

responsibilities

Ensure that climate change topics/

issues covered align with existing high

priority areas

Ensure that climate change strategies

in sectoral plans are cross-referenced

Introduce screening processes to

check projects for their potential to

produce GHG emissions and increase

existing climate risks

If climate change were a one-dimensional

environmental problem in a box, it might

have been solved already. Instead, there

are still big economic, social and

environmental trade-offs that exist when

decisions have to be made, between short

-term and long-term priorities, between

mitigation and adaptation, between

competing goals and objectives. In order

to make these difficult decisions wisely, we

must recognise and attempt to deal with

climate change by not putting it in a box.

Do you have any thoughts or experiences

in dealing with climate change integration?

Write to us and we can publish case

studies online or feature them in

forth-coming newsletters.

Climate change is a developmental issue