PROJECT PROPOSAL
Concept 4:
COMESA wide green and climate resilient cities Initiative
CONTACT:
Dr Mclay Kanyangarara, Climate Change Advisor, COMESA Secretariat, Lusaka, Zambia
E-mail: , Phone: +260211 229 725/32, Mobile: +260963 674434
SECTION 1: SITUATION ANALYSIS
1. 1. Context
Urban development in Africa – the premise for action
Africa's urban population will double over the next two decades; there will be 100 million more urban dwellers in Africa’s largest 100 cities over the next 15 years. Africahas thehighestrate of urbanisation in the world withthe share of Africans living in urban areas projected to grow from 36% in 2010 to 50% by 2030. Already many cities are challenged in the provision of basic services and guaranteeing of law and order and desirable/aspirational livelihoods. In 1990, 30 million people in urban Africa were not served with water, in 2010 it was 20 million; in 1990 90 million people in urban Africa were without sanitation, in 2010 it was 180 million. Governments are clients for 30-40% of water supply, but they rarely pay on time, if ever. 200 million urban Africans have water connections and 400 million more will need new connections in the next 20 years. Additionally, sub-Saharan Africa has the world's most youthful population, 60% of which is unemployed[1]. Although there are notions that the intra-African Trade, such as within the COMESA common market lowers youth unemployment[2], the projected rates for most COMESA Member States are generally similar to those of sub-Saharan Africa.
Almost half of Africa’s future GDP growth to 2030 is forecast to come from its cities. The Oxford Economics Group forecasts a 6 million net increase in industry jobs, 4.5 million net increase in financial and business services jobs - bearing in mind an increase of 100 million more urban dwellers. Over half of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) into Africa is accounted for by just five cities[3]. Between 2003 - 2013, Africa had the world's highest FDI growth rate, but volumes were still low at only 2% of global FDI[4].
Governance of urban areas/cities varies from country to country within COMESA, as are the roles of mayors. They could be responsible forproviding basic environmental, planning, public health, roads and waste services, or may just performdelegated functions as stated by the council.Some are elected for a defined length of timewhilst others are appointed for indefinite periods.But generally,a city’s mayor is meant to bethe guarantor of services, the public good and citizens’ participation inlocal life.Africa’s mayors have a big task. Additionally,they have to deal with a great deal ofconstraints such aslimited ability to affect change, small budgets, urban violence and crime.
COMESA and the SDG Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
SDG Goal 11 specifically focuses on cities. They are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically. However, many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity while not straining land and resources. Common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing and declining infrastructure. The challenges cities face can be overcome in ways that allow them to continue to thrive and grow, while improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. The future we want includes cities of opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more. This specific SDG has ten specific targets for 2030, which are in the interest of all COMESA Member States. It is noted that at least half of all other SDGs[5] have direct linkages to SDG 11.
Climate risks to various sectors/services in cities
Table 1 provides a synthesis overview of key challenges pertaining to climate change and resilience building needs cities in the COMESA region. A more detailed analysis, including emerging opportunities for COMESA, is included in Annex 1. Climate risks are largely related to floods, inundation, droughts, sea level rise, heat waves, modification of rainfall patterns etc. At this point, an indicative analysis of the key challenges and opportunities are identified as per major sectors important for cities.
Table 1: Key issues pertaining to climate change and resilience building needs and low carbon development relevant for COMESA
Climate risks[6]: e.g. Floods, heat,variable climate / Challenges
Infrastructure (transport, energy, housing, other) / · Already a huge number of African city dwellers are not adequately (or not at all) serviced by housing and any other service infrastructure
· Old / current building plans and investments not climate proofed, incl. for critical infrastructure; location of buildings not screened for climate hazards
Health / · New distributions of diseases and vectors; major geographical shifts of occurrence
· Open flood areas are particularly prone to disease e.g. cholera, typhoid, malaria
· Secondary impacts on nutrition e.g. in drought years when food supply to cities may be hampered
Water supply / · Large number of Africans without safe water, most of these live in rural areas, but challenges in urban areas are considered to be huge, esp. in light of the expected influx/growth rates a huge number of people
· Municipalities are often challenged by debt due to unpaid water bills and rates
· Water supply infrastructure can be affected and damaged by floods
· Prolonged droughts lead to water scarcity
· Overall demand outstrips supply – a situation that likely is worsening in many countries in COMESA and especially concerning large cities
· There are already major social reactions and water conflicts emerging in the region
Food supply / · Cities in the COMESA region largely depend on food imports from rural areas or abroad
· Production and trade are hugely impacted by climate
· Seasonal non-availability of certain food stuff and nutrients can lead to malnutrition and hunger esp. amongst vulnerable and poor people
Energy supply / · A huge energy crises is unfolding in Africa and the COMESA region
· Existing grid has limited capacity to absorb intermittent energy production from renewable sources
· Existing cities main centres of emission of GHG
· Existing energy infrastructure did not factor into their design climate risks
· Most “green” energy solutions require long-term investments and are costly at investment stage
Waste management and sanitation / · Poor waste management already is a huge challenge for cities in COMESA, incl. pollution, health threats and increased GHG emissions
· Poor access to sanitation can pose additional health threats
· Poor waste management especially of hazardous waste can lead pollution, including ground water
Disasters / · Cities (and countries) are faced by an increasing demand on disaster risk preparedness and response capacity, which reallocates resources from more development oriented priorities to dealing with crises; such crises undermine more strategic long-term planning and management
Trade/industry / · Climate related impacts can significantly affect industry developments
· Trade is affected by climate change as, for example, food production may be more expensive under highly variable climatic conditions, or trade pathways may be disrupted by flood damage to roads/ railways
Existing COMESA work areas and programmes of interest
In line with the COMESA Vision[7] and Mission[8] and the in Chapter 3 of the COMESA Treaty set out Aims and Objectives of the economic community, COMESA has been implementing a number of key areas of work/ programmes, which are related to supporting green and resilient cities in the region.
These include priorities on:
a. Renewable energy
b. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) - urban agriculture and forests
c. Waste management and recycling, water
d. Management of emissions and urban air quality
e. Green economy investments and the newly emerging blue/ocean economy initiatives, which are addressed from and benefit cities
All of these priorities are related to city development and climate change in one way or another, and COMESA’s new Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) 2016-2020 (currently under development) identifies a set of Strategic Objectives, which address them. The MTSP must support COMESA Member States to effectively deliver on the new global climate pact, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The COMESA green and sustainable cities initiative is one programme under a larger project portfolio established during 2016. It is a response of COMESA to foster sustainable growth and development of Member States through harnessing the added value of the Common Market. While the current project is still under consultation and shifts in priorities may take place, it is a strong first entry point to advance and position COMESA to contribute to and advance the regional development and climate change agenda.
1.2. Partnership landscape: Ongoing initiatives
There are a number of relevant on-going initiatives in the realm of resilient/ green cities in the COMESA region, with whom partnerships will be built. In the preparatory phase of this proposal, contacts were made with all of these partners, and initial discussions for possible collaboration have taken place. These are reflected in the project design, below. The partnerships would fall under the newly emerging COMESA Climate Change Framework, which has a focus on building climate resilient / green cities within the region. A detailed overview of the ongoing initiatives is included in Annex 3. Table 2 provides and overview these and identifies possible collaborations – as well as clear entry points from COMESA’s green and climate resilient cities initiative.
Table 2: Overview of existing cities initiatives and synthesis of entry points for COMESA’s green and climate resilient cities initiative
Initiative / Focus100 Resilient Cities project
http://www.100resilientcities.org/
A summary of the Resilience framework is included in Annex 2. / · Global; currently one city in COMESA: Kigali. In May 2016 additional cities will be announced, including from the COMESA region.
· Focus is on shocks and underlying stresses that weaken the resilience of a city beyond CC
· Key support areas
1. Financial and logistical guidance for establishing an innovative new position in city government, a Chief Resilience Officer, who will lead the city’s resilience efforts;
2. Expert support for development of a robust resilience strategy;
3. Access to solutions, service providers, and partners from the private, public and NGO sectors who can help them develop and implement their resilience strategies; and
4. Membership of a global network of cities who can learn from and help each other.
C40Cities
http://www.c40.org/ / · Global; three cities in COMESA: Addis Ababa, Cairo, Nairobi.
· Focus on megacities.
· Climate change focus; supports cities to collaborate effectively, share knowledge and drive meaningful, measurable and sustainable action on climate change:
1. Convenes networks of cities providing a suite of services in support of their efforts, including: direct technical assistance;
2. Facilitation of peer-to-peer exchanges; and
3. Research, knowledge management & communications.
Cities Alliance
http://www.citiesalliance.org/ / · Global
· Focus on urban poverty reduction and the promotion of cities in sustainable development:
1. Developing and/or enhancing national policy frameworks to address urban development needs
2. Developing and implementing local inclusive strategies and plans
3. Strengthening the capacity of cities to provide improved services to the urban poor
4. Developing mechanisms to engage citizens in city or urban governance
· Four business lines (1) Catalytic Fund, (2) Communications and Advocacy, (3) Country Programmes, and (4) Joint Work Programmes
Covenant of Mayors
http://www.covenantofmayors.eu/index_en.html / · Integrated Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy was launched by the EC in 2015
· Three pillars - mitigation, adaptation, and secure, sustainable and affordable energy
· EU Covenant of Mayors in Africa is coordinated through the UN Habitat office in Nairobi.
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
http://www.iclei.org/ / · An international association of local governments and national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development.
· ICLEI works with local governments through international performance-based, results-oriented campaigns and programs.
· Provides technical consulting, training, and information services to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local government in the implementation of sustainable development at the local level.
United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG)
http://www.afriquelocale.org/en/about-us/uclg-africa; Global: http://www.uclg.org/ / · Umbrella organization of local government in Africa. Eleven (11) Local Authority Associations in COMESA countries are a member of UCLG.
· Every three years UCLG organises the Africities Summit, last in December 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa[9].
· Focus mostly on decentralisation and community-focused management and service delivery, however green and resilience building development straddle their work agenda.
Jose dos Santos Mayors awards
http://mgafrica.com/article/2016-03-02-africa-mayors / · The Awards acknowledge the leadership and contribution of Mayors of large, medium and small cities across Africa
· Aims to raise the profile of Africa’s Mayors by honouring those who have made an outstanding contribution to their communities and developed a vision for urban living.
Key gaps in the COMESA green and resilient cities context
Although there are some global and regional city specific projects and initiatives underway, it is clear that few support action in the COMESA region. A small number of large and medium-sized cities are indeed targeted and supported through the various organisations at this time.
Based on a first rapid analysis of already ongoing initiatives, the following key gaps can be identified:
2. Few cities or municipalities from the COMESA region are part of the various initiatives
3. Medium-sized and smaller municipalities – where population growth in the coming decades will be particularly visible, are targeted
4. Although there are some excellent strategic entry points by various organisations – these do not work to scale
5. The joined political will to support green and resilient cities development and a demand from technical support in this regard from COMESA Member States is mostly absent at this stage
6. COMESA Member States have not yet articulated a strategy on how to direct resilient / green city planning and investments
7. Very limited negotiating power in terms of city development pathways is currently available, addressing and incorporating resilient and green development/ economy thinking amongst local authority leadership