Resilient cities congress report 2011 by Get Resilient

2nd World Congress on Cities and Adaptation to Climate Change

Congress Report Draft as of 22 September 2011

Bonn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Patrons: Joan Clos, Under Secretary General and Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat); Chair, Resilient Cities 2011 Steering Board Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Resilient Cities 2011: Congress Report The publication shall be cited as: “ICLEI, 2011, Resilient Cities 2011: Congress Report“ Authors: Alice Balbo, Adrien Labaeye, Richard Simpson Layout: Ugne Vaitiekunaite Editing: Shay Kelleher, Anke Stoffregen Print: Druckerei Franz Paffenholz GmbH, Bornheim, Germany

ICLEI World Secretariat ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability e.V. Kaiser-Friedrich Straße 7 53113 Bonn / Germany publications@iclei.org www.iclei.org All rights reserved © ICLEI e.V. 2011 The material of this publication is copyrighted. Requests to reproduce whole or parts of it must be in writing to ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, World Secretariat. ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability encourages the active dissemination of its work. Permissions to reproduce will normally be granted promptly without charge, when the reproduction is for non-commercial purposes The Resilient Cities congress series was launched in May 2010 by ICLEI to establish the first global forum on climate adaptation and resilience at the local level. Based on the congress proceedings, this publication summarizes key issues affecting cities, local governments and stakeholders around the world. More information on the Resilient Cities congress series is available at www.iclei.org/resilient-cities

The report in brief Resilient Cities 2011 summary and key themes Cities are taking action worldwide. 6 key themes were discussed at Resilient Cities2011: 1. Resilience. Resilience building needs to integrate into urban development: technical definitions of goals and targets, assessments, infrastructure and investment planning, as well as stakeholder consultation and participation. At the city level an integrated framework has to account for many dimensions including water, energy, food security, greenhouse gas reductions, ecosystem protection, and urban poverty. Pages 6-7 2. Assessments. To withstand stress a community and its citizens need to understand where, why and how they are vulnerable and to what. Ongoing risk assessments, including the knowledge of citizens and cost-benefit analyses of action options, need to inform local decision making. New data and knowledge need to be integrated as they become available. Pages 7-8 3. Planning. Planning must take place in a way that it accounts for future urban development and the changing climate. It calls for making use of smarter infrastructure, investment and land-use planning, among others. Specific adaptation plans need to be mainstreamed into ongoing planning,

infrastructure development and budgeting processes, and not be standalone processes. Page 8 4. Implementation. Many city activities already contribute to resilience, but more and focused action on adaptation and resilience building is needed. Those existing already need to be reviewed to ensure they are not counterproductive. Page 9 5. Finance. Funding and investment from all actors and levels need to be mobilized to build effective resilience. Local governments have a key role in setting priorities and strategies. The international adaptation finance effort should focus on building the local capacity to formulate, implement and fund local resilience strategies. They need to be catalytic but simple. Pages 9-11 6. Governance. Greater horizontal and vertical coordination of efforts is needed to provide an enabling framework. All, sub-national, national and international, levels can support better urban development by aligning administrative and financial resources. Page 11

Resilient Cities congress make up •

4 Reality Check Workshops: In-depth case study of the challenges faced and measures taken by a city attempting to adapt to climate change (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Lagos State, Nigeria; Semarang, Indonesia; London, UK). Pages 12-16

•

8 Cities in Focus sessions in which a number of different cities’ strategies were explored along a particular theme.

•

26 theme sessions in 8 parallel sittings, based on the 7 themes above.

•

2 Young Researcher Forum sessions

•

3 plenary sessions: Opening, summary and outlook and “Responsive finance for adaptation”.

•

3 Strategy Dialogues on urgent issues for resilience: “Water, energy and food security in the urban system”; “Adapt or Insure?”; “Ecosystem services for urban resilience”.

29 posters in 2 sessions: A chance for contributors without a presentation slot to showcase their work in the exhibition area. Two-days Mayors Adaptation Forum Page 17

•

Resilient Cities 2011 at a glance

nder the patronage of Joan Clos, Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, and Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP, over 215 panelists and speakers, including representatives of 55 local governments, came together over a three day period. They exchanged ideas and experiences, as well as good practice techniques and achievements on local resilience and adaptation strategies.

“Resilient Cities is the global platform for learning, cooperation and networking on all aspects of urban resilience and adaptation to climate change; where local impacts meet a world of solutions.” Konrad Otto-Zimmermann, ICLEI Secretary General and Congress Chair

Cities, their local governments, public institutions, researchers, NGOs, businesses amongst others took stock and continued their dialogue on sustainable and resilient urban development.

“Local officials and leaders often learn best from one another and this congress is a golden opportunity.” Joan Clos, Under Secretary General and Executive Director, UN-HABITAT

Over 535 participants were registered from a diversity of backgrounds: • • • • • • •

31 per cent from local governments; 30 per cent from universities / research institutions; 16 per cent from international organizations; 9 per cent from companies; 7 per cent from NGOs; 4 per cent from national governments; 3 per cent Independent participants and representatives of Public Authorities.

Through plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, workshops and theme sessions, the adaptation and disaster risk reduction communities progress was showcased and their experiences exchanged.

Congress background Disasters in 2010 For the first time since records began, natural catastrophes in 2010, such as floods, storms, earthquakes etc, caused more damage than man-made disasters, such as war, man-made fires, aviation, rail or shipping disasters etc.. •

In 2010 natural catastrophes and man-made disasters claimed nearly 304,000 victims and caused US$218 billion in economic losses.

•

The greatest natural catastrophes were caused by earthquakes, but more and more were related to climatic events like flooding.

•

At the same time international climate change negotiations have barely moved forward. At the current rate global warming will exceed the 2 degrees Celsius threshold – the tipping point scientists say to avoid catastrophic climate change.

•

As cities grow they concentrate more and more people and assets, and are exposed to greater loss and damage.

From 2010 to 2011: What happened? Since the launch of the Resilient Cities congress series in May 2010 the debate surrounding the interaction between climate adaptation and risk reduction strategies, as well as the broader issue of resilience, has intensified. •

More attention is being paid to the local level of government. City experiences are receiving greater attention and being shared more widely.

•

The joint MIT-ICLEI climate adaptation survey distributed to all ICLEI communities in April 2011 shows that a great number of cities and local governments can report progress. 44 per cent reported progress in advancing on, 39 percent in the preparatory stage of, and 17 per cent in the initial phase of action on, adaptation planning.

•

Declarations of intent such as the UNISDR Making Cities Resilient Campaign or The Mexico City Pact have progressed. They now incorporate a reporting phase with tools for example the carbonn Cities Climate Registry.

•

Questions of financing have risen on the agenda. ICLEI explored the inversion of international finance, based upon the mandate given at Resilient Cities 2010, by organizing Mayors showing commitment to make their cities resilient a Think Tank on Financing the at Resilient Cities 2010 Resilient City in February 2011. Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011 It prepared the white paper Financing the Resilient City and the wider finance theme. 5

Key thematic issues

he 2011 congress builds on key thematic challenges identified at Resilient Cities 2010. The focus of the conference was widened to include more issues related to resilience.

Water, energy and food security, the role of renewables and ecosystem services, as well as vulnerable communities and urban poor were considered crucial elements to be featured as part of resilience building. A specific and expanded finance theme and focus on multi-level governance were featured in Resilient Cities 2011 next to the other key themes of assessment, planning and implementation.

“Preparing for the financial consequences of climate change is vital. We need to close the gap between economic and insured losses.” Michel Liès, Chairman Global Partnerships, Swiss Re

Opening plenary of Resilient Cities 2011 Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011

“Resilience is the capacity and ability of a community to withstand stress, survive, adapt, bounce back from a crisis or disaster and rapidly move on. Resilience needs to be understood as the societal benefit of collective efforts to build collective capacity and the ability to withstand stress.” ICLEI, 2011

Addressing issues and looking for answers Urban resilience Resilience is more than successful adaptation to climate change. The concept of resilience, as a development approach, is more able to address the complexity and the interlinkages of challenges confronting local governments in cities of both developed and developing countries. In order to host 3 billion additional urban dwellers, the urban capacity will need to double within 40 years in a world where risks are increasingly complex and interconnected. Urban systems and communities need to be able to withstand stress and survive, adapt, bounce back from a crisis or disaster and rapidly move on.

• The broader concept of resilience needs to include key issues such as water, energy, food security, urban poverty and ecosystems. •

Cities must be in the spotlight of resilience building, as these multiple issues come together in a context of high complexity, density and diversity. Urban systems interact and are inter-dependent. They need to withstand stress in mutually supportive ways.

•

Urban resilience building has to take advantage of co-benefits, complementarity and realize synergies in the broader context of sustainable development.

•

Urban resilience needs to work its way through the urban development agenda in order to systematically reduce risks.

In short, resilience building needs to be integrated into urban development: technical definitions of goals and targets, assessments, infrastructure and investment planning, as well as stakeholder consultation and participation among others. At the city level an integrated framework accounts for water, energy, food security, greenhouse gas reductions, ecosystem protection, urban poverty etc.

“The level of resilience of our cities and towns is dependent on the quality and performance of the overall urban system, not solely on the climate change adaptation of single infrastructure elements.” ICLEI, 2011, Financing the Resilient City: A demand driven approach to development, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, ICLEI Global Report Assessments Urban systems are complex. To withstand stress, a community and its citizens need to understand where and why they are vulnerable and to what. Vulnerabilities and associated risks usually depend upon specific geographic, sectorial, systemic and social contexts. If, for example, transportation corridors, power supply and telecommunication infrastructures are on flood plains or in storm surge inundation zones, protected or not, a catastrophic failure of the system is possible. Disadvantaged, marginalized or developing communities are often those most affected. •

A deep understanding of risks that include sound climate projections is needed to inform long term development plans.

•

High-risk areas need to be identified and priorities set, while cost-benefit analyses are important tools to develop cost-effective solutions.

•

Future scenarios need to be accounted for and road-maps created that build upon science based timing for resilience investments, as well as local knowledge and experiences, especially amongst those most vulnerable.

•

Assessments need to be ongoing as new data become available.

Jeb Brugmann defines resilience as a performance approach for urban development Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011

In short, to withstand stress a community and its citizens need to understand where, why and how they are vulnerable and to what. Ongoing risk assessments, including the knowledge of citizens and cost-benefit analyses of action options, need to inform local decision making. New data and knowledge need to be integrated as they become available. Planning city development If potential future conditions are not accounted for, new infrastructures or plans being designed now may become redundant in a few decades. Action options that were initially dismissed for being too expensive could, with a long-term perspective, turn out to be the more viable option. The urban fabric and pace of change greatly varies among cities. Planning challenges include haphazard and informal settlements which put a strain on existing services and infrastructure. Another are household and other wastes which end up in water drains; water is not only contaminated but cannot run-off.

“Communities need to be involved in the planning process. We have to look at what are the benefits for the people.” Didas Massaburi, Mayor of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Resilience requires smarter infrastructure, investment and land-use planning for example through building codes and land-use zoning at the appropriate level. •

Specific adaptation plans possibly required for the initial awareness raising and priority setting phases, need to be mainstreamed into ongoing planning, infrastructure development and budgeting.

•

Various city plans need to synergize and fit into an integrated long-term strategy.

In short, planning must take place in a way that it accounts for future urban development and the changing climate. Resilience building makes use of smarter infrastructure, investment and land-use planning, among others. Specific adaptation plans need to be mainstreamed into ongoing planning, infrastructure development and budgeting processes, and not be stand-alone processes.

Michel Liès, Chairman Global Partnerships, Swiss Re Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011

Action and implementation Projects and programs to adapt to climate change are already being implemented by cities across the world. Actions are being taken to improve the ability and capacity of cities to adapt to a variety of risks, particularly those related to climate like flooding. Many actions are not new and are already being implemented as part of a proper planning process. Yet it needs to be ensured that such actions reduce risks and not create greater risks elsewhere, for example by increasing energy demand. Good planning practice, assessments, the mainstreaming of climate change and risk reduction into urban development, all contribute to building resilience. Many local governments have showcased a variety of programs and projects. •

Actions for example can include flood and water catchment management, extension of green areas or improvement of water and waste management. However such actions should not be prepared in isolation.

•

Risks are being communicated and awareness raised within the local government and the public to mobilize support. Resilience building actions need to be lead by local governments and include people, businesses and institutions.

•

Actions need to be aligned with climate scenarios. The urgency of climate change at the same time can support awareness-raising, help leverage required funding and provide the needed political support for project and program implementation.

•

A long-term perspective is needed, where crisis response actions should be prepared in advance to avoid reactionary measures, which can cause unnecessary loss.

In short, while more and focused action on adaptation and resilience building is needed, many ongoing city activities do already contribute to resilience. However, these also need to be reviewed to ensure they are not counterproductive.

“Up to 80 percent of the expected USD$80-100 billion per year in climate change adaptation costs are to be borne by urban areas.” World Bank, 2010

Finance 80 per cent of the estimated global adaptation costs of USD 80-100 billion per year will need to be spent in urban areas alone. To date international climate finance is failing to provide sufficient funds. One cannot rely on these to provide the needed amount. It will always only constitute a minute fraction of the overall money to be spent on urban development over the next decades. Experts suggest it might contribute to 1/1000 of the capital to be spent on urban development over the next decade. For example, India is likely to invest USD 300 billion in urban infrastructure over the next 20 years. This means, capital spent on urban development needs to be spent in such a way that it takes long-term resilience into account.

“Far too often we talk about investment, but not enough about the capacities. Finance needs to be catalytic.” Kadmiel Wekwete, Director, Local Development Division, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

“We have got to be more imaginative in our environmental financing. The name of the game now is how to bring different finance streams together so the whole ends up in more [than scattered actions].” Andrew Steer, Special Envoy for Climate Change, The World Bank

•

The finance momentum to build urban resilience, also against climate change, lies with urban development.

•

Financing local climate action and resilience building requires creative development of new financing mechanisms and tapping into local, regional and national resources.

•

Available funds need to be more easily accessible for local governments. Awareness of the availability of funds and how they can be used needs to be increased.

•

Available and new international climate financing, especially for adaptation, need to be catalytic in nature. They need to build local capacity to identify, plan, leverage and implement the right actions.

•

Most local governments rely mainly on national and sub-national sources of funding for adaptation.

•

There are opportunities to create innovative financing mechanisms in resilience projects. Private investment needs to be attracted locally into adaptation and other risk reduction projects by creating revenue generating opportunities but in a way that they generate benefits without burdening public finance.

•

Urban infrastructure and development investments at project level need to fit into an integrated framework that increases the resilience of the area.

•

This means capacity needs to be built, links to development planning strengthened, innovative financing mechanisms introduced, and better legislative and institutional arrangements established.

Generating interest in adaptation among business is a major challenge for many local governments. From Preliminary results, MIT-ICLEI survey, 2011

“Increasing disaster risk reduction and resilience is an investment.” Helena Molin Valdes, Acting Director, International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction

In short, financial decisions and investments need to take resilience into account. Funding and investment from all actors and levels need to be mobilized to build effective resilience. Local governments have a key role in setting priorities and strategies. The international adaptation finance effort should focus on building the local capacity to formulate, implement and fund local resilience strategies. They need to be catalytic but simple. UN-HABITAT, ICLEI, and The World Bank discussing finance for local resilience Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011

Governance There still appears to be a governance coordination gap between the local, sub-national, national and international level. Better enabling framework conditions and multi-level governance are needed to increase their effectiveness. •

New and improved institutional mechanisms are needed if resilience is to be successfully promoted.

•

More attention from national and international level in supporting local adaptation is required.

•

Local government capacity has to engage with the private sector, collaborate with academic and research institutions and harness community knowledge and resources.

•

Local governments and local stakeholders need to engage in the international climate negotiations and global sustainability discussions while furthering discussions at national level.

•

International cooperation with and exchange among cities are important as many for local governments need to take up new and unknown challenges.

In short, greater horizontal and vertical coordination of efforts is needed to provide an enabling framework for local action. All, sub-national, national and international, levels can support better urban development by aligning administrative and financial resources with the local level.

“The architecture that is available now is not working. Why? Because it is not designed to help the cities; it is designed to work with the national governments.” Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City and Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change

Reality Check Workshops Reality Check – Adaptation on the ground Planning adaptation to climate impacts requires a deep understanding of the complexity of urban systems. With the Reality Check Workshops at Resilient Cities, ICLEI continued the positive experience of the previous year, providing a platform for in depth reviews. The four workshops – on Lagos, Semarang, London, Ho Chi Minh – featured four different sets of conditions, approaches and stages of progress. All offered important lessons on the similar but different challenges. This flagship workshop series provided the city delegations the opportunity to present their adaptation work. The local government representatives could discuss their approach and experience with Resilient Cities’ inter-disciplinary expert-participants. In small group discussions, comments and recommendations were formulated.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Setting the scene Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is an emerging mega-city. The urban agglomeration has experienced continued population growth reaching 7 million inhabitants in 2010. It is also a hub of economic activity. The mega-city contributes around 22 per cent to the country’s GDP and 40 per cent to its exports. Growth has resulted in an intense but relatively controlled urban development. However, HCMC is a city at risk, the most serious of which is coastal flooding due to its location on the Thi Vai River. With climate change Water settlements in Ho Chi Minh City sea levels will rise and the intensity Photo: © Ulrike Schinkel 2011 of rainfalls and storm surges will increase. Thus risk of flooding and erosion will rapidly increase. Further problems include vector borne diseases and higher temperatures. Adapting to the climate challenge The adaptation strategy is at a preliminary stage and is part of the “Action Plan for climate change of HCMC”. This Action Plan is addressing both mitigation and adaptation. One important component is the assessment of the local pattern of climate change. This helps in identifying vulnerabilities and informing the development of a methodology for the adaptation planning. Challenging status quo, exploring new solutions Research has suggested that planned urban development in HCMC is currently aggravating flood vulnerabilities and potentially causing more harm than the impacts of local climate change. While in most developing countries informal settlement patterns are a major factor for vulnerability, this is less an issue in HCMC. The circumstances have complex roots that make the city both unique and particularly vulnerable. In part it is explained by the history and dynamics of its development. The workshop’s discussion suggested that the municipal boundaries tend to direct infrastructure development towards the sea, away from the

jurisdiction of neighboring municipalities. Also large infrastructure investments, supported by international funders and decided at the national level, have concentrated development in the southern part of the city – an especially risk-prone area. Solutions are not straightforward. Drainage works are already underway to limit the impact of regular flooding. The recent creation of a steering committee was commended by participants as it allows the city to coordinate climate action across departments. Going further, participants suggested greater integration of flood prevention and other natural hazard risk assessments in the masterplan. However redefining the 10-year master plan is a complex process that involves numerous actors and requires a final approval by the central government. Awareness of the challenge, based on sound climate data downscaled to the local level and vulnerability assessments, is an important step towards change.

Lagos, Nigeria Setting the scene Lagos is the economic center of Nigeria. The city contributes roughly 25 per cent to the country’s GDP. Lagos’ urban population grows at an annual growth rate of 6 to 8 per cent ballooning to 18 million people in 2010. Lagos is the country’s gate to the sea accounting for 80 per cent of national seaport activity. These developments are placing huge pressure on the provision of urban services including water, energy, sewage, waste, transport and housing. The city also suffers from corruption and poverty, an unfortunate common occurrence in the region. Situated on a lagoon and estuary, Lagos is prone to coastal erosion, tidal and river flooding, as well as storm surges. All of which are very likely to worsen according to local climate change projections. Higher temperatures and more intense heat wave episodes might also put vulnerable populations at higher risk.

Lagos State representatives discussing solutions Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011

Towards an adaptation strategy and coping with immediate risks Addressing climate change has been identified among Lagos State’s leaders as a political priority. Faced with incredible development challenges, climate change uncertainties are adding to the complexity of the development challenge in Lagos. The full picture on the influence of climate change has still to be fully analyzed to better understand local impacts and vulnerabilities. This is the first step towards a proper, step-by-step adaptation strategy. Such a strategy will have to ensure that basic services are provided to the local population particularly to the urban poor. To date, action has predominantly concentrated on individual projects but the need for integration is becoming more obvious. The drainage infrastructure suffered from blockages due to a general lack of maintenance aggravated by dumping of waste and informal settlements. Several drains have been cleaned up and structurally improved. A vast program to improve waste management from collection to disposal had positive impacts on water and air quality, drainage, and general urban cleanliness. At Bar Beach, coastal erosion is being addressed with a sea wall to protect the valuable investments of Eko City

estate development. Furthermore, awareness and education campaigns on climate change have been run in Lagos’ schools. Resilience. A key to Lagos development? The State Governor has shown political will to address climate change. A strong climate leadership could be a considerable opportunity for the State of Lagos to build resilience and develop sustainably. Some participants in the workshop suggested that switching to resilience as an overall policy could result in greater local value for the city and its population. It presents an opportunity to better integrate the various dimensions into urban development. Assessments can help to identify areas for improvement that have catalytic and multiplying effects. For example a proper When issues overlap: drainage and waste waste management system allows for Photo: © Lagos State 2011 cleaner streets and drains, creates jobs, improves air quality improvements, and reduces epidemic risks, etc. In addition to this, promoting local resilience and identifying projects could help leverage funds. Participants acknowledged the great challenge ahead.

London, United Kingdom Setting the scene London is the largest city in the European Union with 7.8 million residents. It is one of the world’s financial and global centers and the core of the United Kingdom’s government and economy. However, London’s built environment faces serious climate challenges. Londoners can expect more heat waves, aggravated by the urban heat island effect, which can increase urban temperatures by up to 10°Celsius compared to surrounding areas. Other concerns include drier summers with worsening water stress. At the same time wetter winters and a rise in extreme rainfalls events are projected. Localized flooding risks as well as higher tidal surges will increase. As London is the economic engine of the UK and deeply woven into the world economy, negative effects can have serious repercussions well beyond the city’s boundaries.

The Thames Barrier in action

The density of people and assets within a relatively small geographic area exacerbates this risk. A one-in-a-200 years flooding event could put 680,000 properties at risk. The onset of climate change amplifies the likelihood of such an event occurring. 15 per cent of London lies in the flood plain of the Thames and smaller rivers. This flood risk is not just home to a substantial amount of London residents, it is also the location of key infrastructures including 441 schools, 75 underground stations

and 10 hospitals. Pushing adaptation further The final London Adaptation Strategy is about to be released. It is the outcome of an intense ten-year process under mayoral leadership with wide public and stakeholder consultation. Congress participants praised the process and plan, as it was seen as a widely successful process. The plan provides ample opportunity to learn from. The adaptation strategy is based on established local climate projections. It allows for a deep understanding and detailed mapping of risks and vulnerabilities. The strategy shows a robust way to protect valuable assets and lives. The London Thames Estuary 2100 (TE2100) project was set up by the Environment Agency to develop a flood risk management plan. The aim is to prepare London and the Thames estuary to deal with tidal flood risk for the 21st century. Drain London is another effort to map the risks related to surface water flooding by improving the knowledge of the surface water drainage system and to identify areas at greatest risk of flooding.

Alex Nickson outlines the elements of the London Adaptation Strategy to be released

All such plans compliment the London Climate Change Partnership which brings together relevant public, private and relevant third-party organizations that have a role in getting London ready for the impacts of climate change. The Partnership enables the identification of local needs and solutions.

Photo: ÂŠ ICLEI e.V. 2011

Semarang, Indonesia Setting the scene Semarang is the capital city of the Java Province in Indonesia with 1.5 million people. Settlements occupy 33 per cent of the municipal area while agriculture and aquaculture together make up over 50 per cent. A significant part of the densely urbanized area lies below 1 meters above sea level where subsidence can reach up to 8-9 cm a year. The city is vulnerable to storm surges, coastal erosion, and tidal inundations, the effects of which can be exacerbated by sea level rise. Local climate projections foresee an increase in temperatures and less frequent but more intense rainfall. This will lead to more frequent droughts, floods and landslides.

Coastal erosion in Semarang Photo: ÂŠ City of Semarang 2011

Awareness of climate change impacts and specific local vulnerabilities to climate change The vulnerability assessment based on locally downscaled climate data allowed the city of Semarang to become acutely aware of the various impacts climate change can cause. This information can be applied to sub-district level and various sector assessments. Particularly vulnerable groups include the elderly, single parents and the poor. To address these challenges, the local government has benefited from its participation in the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network and its methodology. Adaptation planning resulted in a re-evaluation of the funding required for the drainage master plan which went from 14 billion rupiah (â&#x201A;Ź1.1 million) to 22 billion rupiah (â&#x201A;Ź1.8m). Two major planning initiatives have been put forward, the River Banger Pond Retention and the Jatibarang Reservoir and Dam, which will help to reduce and control flooding. A dike has also been proposed to prevent tidal flooding and seawater intrusion in the northern part of the city. The finance challenge One small group session triggered a discussion on finance. The major problem faced by the city is the time taken by donors to assess and approve funding applications by which time the data can be out-of-date. In addition, in Indonesia it is not clear how city adaptation plans can qualify for the national Climate Change Trust Fund. Suggestions included an idea to identify what Semarang can do by using its own resources (financial, human, and other) at an early stage. Secondly, additional actions need to be priced in two phases: first, without taking into account climate change projections, then, including them; the difference being the additional financial burden generated by climate changeâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s adverse effects.

4 Lessons from the Reality Check While facing similar climate challenges, the four cities of the Reality Check Workshops are all confronted by a unique set of local conditions. Four lessons can be highlighted: 1. Certain planning policies can increase vulnerabilities. Rigid decision-making processes involving the national level and long time planning periods can easily outdate a plan. Adverse climate impacts and other risks need to be integrated into urban development and be sufficiently flexible to account for new data and knowledge. 2. The provision of basic urban services underlines the importance of how urban systems interact. Here synergies between mitigation and adaptation actions can be considered and inform options for key urban investments.

3. A deep understanding of local risks and vulnerabilities is as important as continuous mayoral support and leadership, and public awareness. This ensures that knowledge turns into committed and consorted action over a longer period. 4. An assessment of the cost of adaptation strategies is important in order to identify the financial needs over a long-term period. Immediate costs and expenses can mitigate risk and prevent greater loss and damage later.

Mayors Adaptation Forum

ver 30 city leaders shared experiences, knowledge, and challenges with Andrew Steer, World Bank, Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC, Joan Clos, UN-Habitat, Michel Liès, Swiss Re at Resilient Cities 2011. •

Mayors renewed their political commitment to the Global Cities Covenant on Climate, also known as the Mexico City Pact. Six new signatories were added. The covenant was encouraged by key global leaders.

•

Mayors conducted several consultation sessions with key partners to elaborate a strategy towards COP 17 in Durban and decided to raise the profile of adaptation locally.

•

Local governments will share their progress in terms of concrete action taken through the carbonn Cities Climate Registry which disclosed its first report on the Conference of Signatories (CoS) of the Mexico City Pact.

“I encourage Mayors to ‘climatize’ their urban development policies.” Christiana Figueres, Executive Director, UNFCCC

The 2011 Bonn Declaration of Mayors

ver 30 Mayors have agreed on the 2011 Bonn Declaration of Mayors – a blueprint for climate adaptation in cities worldwide. The main elements of which are: •

Adaptation to climate change should shift from a singular, special climate focused model towards a more integrated approach dealing with the overall risks of development conditions with a priority on vulnerable populations.

•

International finance should focus on building capacity locally, promoting a bottom-up driven approach in the design of strategies for sustainable and resilient urban development.

•

Jürgen Nimptsch, Mayor of Bonn inspired the congress participants in suggesting a conjugation for the new verb “to climatize“ Photo: © ICLEI e.V. 2011

Mayors from Africa expressed their determination to raise the profile of local adaptation on the continent at the forthcoming climate negotiations in Durban. For example with a pre-COP meeting among Mayors and scientists in South Africa.

“Cities need to be in the spotlight as water, energy, and food security nexus come together here.”” Dr. Helge Wendenburg, Director-General, Water, Waste Management and Soil Protection, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany

“We need to bring the climate and conservation agenda closer.” Julia Marton-Lefevre, Director-General, IUCN

“We are still at the very beginning but for the first movers [resilient cities] will be a tremendous market for the future!” Prof Jürgen Kropp, Head of North-South Research Group, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

“The COP in Durban – on the continent that will be the most affected by climate impacts – is the opportunity to raise momentum on adaptation.” Mthobeli Kolisa, South African Local Governments Associations, Executive Director for Infrastructure Services

Looking ahead Common challenges, unique circumstances Cities face similar challenges – floods, droughts, coastal erosion, landslides – but each urban area has its own unique set of local circumstances – pace and scale of growth, geo-environmental conditions, maturity of urban structures, socio-economic conditions, capacities, institutional frameworks, governance, etc.. A global strategy aimed at scaling up bottom up approaches needs to respond to this context and provide a clear mechanism which addresses specific local conditions

Urban resilience for sustainable urban development On the path towards urban sustainability, current and future risks have to be accounted for in the trajectory of local development. If future conditions are not accounted for, infrastructure provisions or plans that are designed now can become redundant in a few decades. More effective data collection and analysis is required to inform the local decisionmaking processes. Costs and savings can fundamentally change over long time periods. Taking a long-term perspective can prevent that seemingly unviable options are dismissed. Building urban resilience is also necessary to alleviate urban poverty, as it is the urban poor who are typically living in the most vulnerable conditions. Spanning over economic, social and environmental dimensions, urban resilience contributes to sustainable urban development.

Moving the international discussion forward In December 2011 the next UNFCCC Conference of Parties will be held in Durban, South Africa. Cities will need to have their voices heard. This would further improve their access to and integration into the international decision-making processes in order to have their concerns and priorities addressed.

Remaining questions, pending challenges While there has been marked progress in some areas, many questions are not fully addressed. For example: • • • • • • •

How to integrate mitigation into adaptation? How to manage uncertainties? How to identify the most relevant tools necessary? How to better combine integrate local science, policy and practice? How to best include the poor into resilience building? How to finance the necessary actions? How to get the private sector to contribute to resilience building?

References and further readings •

ICLEI, 2007, Resilient Communities and Cities Initiative.

•

ICLEI, 2011, Briefing Sheet, Towards urban resilience

•

ICLEI, 2011, Financing the Resilient City: A demand driven approach to development, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, ICLEI Global Report.

•

UN-HABITAT, 2011, Global Report on Human Settlements 2011 - Cities and Climate Change

•

UCCRN, 2011, First UCCRN Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3)

Congress endorsing partners

Join us in Bonn in May 2012! The Resilient Cities 2012 congress, the global forum on urban resilience and adaptation to climate change, will once again be organized preceeding and during the UNFCCC June Talks (14-25 May 2012). Mark your calendar:

World Bank

Resilient Cities 2011 congress secretariat ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability World Secretariat Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 7, 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: +49-(0)228 / 976 299-28 Fax: +49-(0)228 / 976 299-01 www.iclei.org/bonn2011

Congress supporting partners

Congress silver sponsor

Congress media partners

Photos: © fotolia.com (13), © ICLEI e.V. 2011 (12), KOZ (10), © GSI (5), © R. Naal (2), © Presseamt Bundesstadt Bonn (1), © C. Lin (1), © U. Schinkel (1), © UK Environment Agency (1)

Resilient Cities 2012 12 - 15 May 2012 Bonn, Germany