Climate Adaptation 2014 Working towards a 'climate smart' African city. Some adaptive reflections... (886)
Durban, South Africa is well known internationally as an "early adapter" and is one of the few cities worldwide to have led its climate protection work with an adaptation rather than a mitigation focus. This strong prioritization of climate change adaptation as part of the city's broader developmental vision has led to Durban being featured as one of the four case study cities profiled in the urban chapter of the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. This presentation will examine the work undertaken in the last decade during the development of Durban's Municipal Climate Protection Programme and will provide a frank behind-the-scenes look at some of the key challenges and learnings that have emerged in advancing community and ecosystem focused climate change adaptation in an African urban context.