‘Doing more with less’ – enhancing resilience in eThekewini Municipality Coleen Vogel REVAMP Wits

What motivates resilience ? Some of the catalysts for action: A recent or looming crisis (e.g. storm surge) that galvanized action; An active effort on building of awareness (both political and public); The need to know what one is adapting or responding to with reference to climate change and climate variability and hence this will require undertaking detailed climate change impacts/vulnerability assessments; The need to design effective, flexible institutional mechanisms for developing adaptation strategies.

Types and examples of adaptation New infrastructure Resource management Retrofit Behavioural Institutional Sectoral Communication Financial Examples of activity Cost-benefit analysis, infrastructure performance and design. Assessment of natural resource availability, status and allocation. Scoping assessments to identify risks and reduce exposure to extreme events. Regulation, monitoring and reporting. Economic planning, sector restructuring, guidance and standards. Communicating risks to stakeholders, high-level advocacy and planning. Services to transfer risk, incentives and insurance.

ASSET-BASED ACTIONS –’CARBON CITIZENSHIP’ Institutions/Actors Household and neighbourhood Level Municipal or city level Local government provide or upgrade protective infrastructure and adjust official standards for building and land use. (In partnership with CBOS and NGOs) Local/city government support for household and neighbourhood action to improve dwellings and infrastructure. (Government agencies and households, CBOs and NGOs). City/municipal hazard mapping and vulnerability analysis as basis for indentifying adaptation strategy. Also land-use planning to avoid settlement in risky areas (e.g. floodplains). (Government agencies working with NGOs and CBOs). (Adapted from: Moser and Satterthwaite), 2009.

Existing resilience action 1) Climate Future 2006 Impacts outlined, initial vulnerabilities identified. 2) eThekwini integrated assessment tool for CC Crop yield and food subsistence assessment 207 interviews – 65% access to arable land Commercial food production (chickens vul)

Examples – building resilience 3) Advancing capacity to support adaptation Amaoti community (SLF framework used) Water and sanitation key vulnerabilities Perceptions and culture as important as technocratic issues Rainwater harvesting – way to heighten resilience

IDP - building resilience Quality living environments – essentially this plan is designed to ensure improved quality in basic housing and service delivery including water delivery. Stronger rain days and possible impacts on infrastructure and the asset management programme is noted. The replacement value of roads and storm water is estimated in the Table based on asset replacement value to be in the order of an estimated R 45 billion rand. Considerations of ‘assessment of enhancing’ rather than ‘replacing’ such infrastructure so that it can be made more resilient to periods of shorter but more intense rainfall, however, seems to be absent. Some positive outcomes include the itemization of various activities linked to the water sector including analysis of latest rainfall/run-off projections; Re-assessment of flood lines; possible amendment of Bylaws e.g. 5.2 (2) (iii) and flood lines; Develop master drainage plans for all river catchments; Protect and restore riparian vegetation and the relocating vulnerable populations informal settlements vulnerable to sea-level rise and flooding (although this may be easier to think about than actually undertake) (Tooley, 2010).

Some suggestions Focus efforts on risk-reduction approach (disaster risk, development planning, climate change - synergies); Sustained and flexible risk reduction – what is working well and why? Transversal risk assessment – DRR, Ag.; Health; Water; Storm water Governance and institutional architecture; Deliberative learning – creating ‘spaces’.

Technologies of Humility (Jasanoff) “What do we know about the risk and how do we know it? Who is likely to be hurt? How will losses be distributed? How can we reflect on our ‘collective’ experiences of vulnerability and loss.” (Jasanoff, 2010, 31).