Centre on African Public Spaces’ Post

Earlier this year, in partnership with the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority, we brought together leaders from across Rwanda and international experts for the first UrbanShift Multilevel Governance Dialogue in Kigali! This event spotlighted innovative, nature-based solutions to address urban challenges like flooding and biodiversity loss and explored alignments between city and national strategies for a more resilient future 🌿🌍 Read more about the outcomes that emerged from this Dialogue, and the next steps 👇 Meembo Changula Karishma Asarpota Saheel Ahmed

Africa is on track for the fastest urban growth in the world. By 2050, Rwanda's population is expected to double to 25 million. How can we build cities that thrive sustainably? Despite climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution threatening our planet, urbanization does not have to come at the expense of human and ecosystem health. By embracing a system of regeneration and coexistence, we can create urban spaces that support both human and ecosystem health. #abundantfutures

🌍 World Habitat Day: Rethinking Habitability in Kenya As we mark #WorldHabitatDay, it’s crucial to reflect on how climate change is transforming the way we live. In #Kenya, where 80% of the land is arid or semi-arid, communities are facing escalating challenges due to floods, droughts, and locust invasions. This raises an important question: What can the concept of ‘habitability’ teach us about building resilient habitats? 📊 Our recent paper for the HABITABLE ECMN project, based on research conducted in Baringo, Makueni, and Eastleigh, dives into how communities perceive their environments amidst climate crises. Funded by a four-year European Commission initiative, the study explores how specific climate events impact decision-making and the very notion of what makes an area livable. 🔍 The findings call for rethinking habitability as more than just physical survival; it’s about how systems support life and livelihoods. The paper also highlights how tipping points in climate events trigger critical decisions for individuals and groups, emphasising the political and social dimensions of habitability. 🌱 By examining habitability as both a shared resource and a dynamic concern, this paper urges us to move away from rigid definitions. Instead, it suggests linking habitability to the everyday practices, solidarities, and resistances that shape the lives of Kenyan communities and displaced persons. 📖 Read the full paper to learn how habitability can be reimagined to create more resilient futures for all. https://lnkd.in/dQTjutqi #WorldHabitatDay #RethinkingHabitability #Kenya #ClimateChange #HABITABLEProject

The problem with the urbanization in Africa is forced evictions of native the people, and without just compensation! These initiatives may be great if they are carried out in collaborative efforts with the local Populations, instead of political leaders some of whom have proven to be corrupt . #Africanurbanforum #AfricanUnion

At the inaugural #AfricaUrbanForum AfricanUnion Member States committed to advancing urbanization as a core driver of the continent’s transformation. The Forum's final declaration underscores the role of urban planning, infrastructure development, and inclusive urban policies in addressing Africa’s challenges. The declaration emphasizes the irreversible nature of urbanization and its potential for driving economic growth and sustainable development in Africa. It also recognizes the role of UN-Habitat in supporting African nations with policy recommendations, capacity-building initiatives, and innovative solutions to foster resilient and sustainable urban development. Key areas of collaboration with UN-Habitat include: • Strengthening national urban forums and the development of integrated, inclusive national urban policies that align with UN-Habitat’s global initiatives such as the #NewUrbanAgenda. • Promoting climate resilience in African cities through the Africa Urban Resilience Programme, backed by UN-Habitat’s flagship Building Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor (BCRUP) initiative. • Supporting the operationalization of the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) initiative, which focuses on urban climate resilience and was initiated during #COP27. The African Urban Forum provided a platform for discussions on a wide range of urban issues to promote sustainable urbanization and enhance the quality of life for African citizens. Congratulations to everyone involved for a successful event. https://lnkd.in/dWdxf47x

🌍🌿 Today, on International Day for Biological Diversity 2024, we celebrate the incredible diversity of life that sustains our communities, cities and planet. This year's theme, "Be part of the plan," resonates deeply with our ongoing work assessing vulnerability in cities and urban poor communities in Bolivia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Laos, Madagascar, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Tunisia under the UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor programme. Our multi-layered assessment dives into the interconnected challenges of #urbanization, #climatechange, and #biodiversityloss. By examining how people, infrastructure, and ecosystems are affected by these intertwined and cascading threats, we aim to uncover critical insights and drive meaningful locally led adaptation action. Through the support of AECID and the 2030 Agenda Sub-Fund of the UNPDF, we've just launched a 'Training of Trainers' capacity building programme for local leaders and practitioners that aims to strengthen knowledge and understanding on the role of biodiversity in building systemic resilience of cities, including for the most vulnerable communities. The demand-driven sessions equip participants with the technical know-how, skills and tools to assess vulnerabilities related to biodiversity and design targeted interventions that promote healthy biological diversity, mitigate the adverse impacts of urbanization and climate change, and leverage invaluable ecosystem services. On this special day, let's reaffirm our commitment to protecting and enhancing biodiversity. Together, we can build cities that are not only resilient and sustainable but also thrive in harmony with nature. 🌱🏙️ #InternationalDayforBiologicalDiversity #UrbanResilience #ClimateAction #SustainableCities #Bepartoftheplan Cerin K. Rafael Tuts Filiep Decorte Ben A. Lucia Gasser Hidalgo Jessica Tinkler Jessica Jones-Langley Marie Hartmann Bernhard Barth Martine D. Sebastian Mortimer Gonzalo Lacurcia Abraira Janeil Johnston Ana Beatriz Monteiro Aida Robbana (Ph.D) Mariem Rekik Adriana Plata Roi Chiti Deema Abu Thiab, MSc, LEED® GA AGENCIA ESPAÑOLA DE COOPERACION INTERNACIONAL PARA EL DESARROLLO - AECID

Freetown City Council and Climate Resilience for All Co-Host Africa’s First Urban Heat Summit The Freetown City Council and Climate Resilience for All (CRA), are co-hosting the first ever African Urban #HeatSummit on 6 February 2025. The landmark event will bring together African mayors from #Kanifing, #Monrovia, #Conakry, #Accra, #Ouagadougou and #Abidjan among others, local council leaders from across Sierra Leone, multilateral organizations and key stakeholders to address the escalating threat of extreme heat and its significant impact on urban areas. Championed by Mayor of Freetown, Her Worship Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE and #Kathy Baughman McLeod, Chief Executive Officer of Climate Resilience for All, the theme of the Summit will be “Building Resilient African Cities: Tackling Urban Heat Through Innovation, Education and Action.” The Summit aims to foster regional collaboration, explore sustainable solutions and highlight opportunities to enhance urban climate resilience through actionable strategies and partnerships. Freetown is the first country in Africa to have appointed a Chief Heat Officer with a focus on developing strategies to mitigate #urban heat, enhance public awareness, and implement #innovative solutions to build Freetown's climate resilience. During the summit, Freetown will unveil its inaugural heat action plan, an initiative aimed at tackling the city's extreme heat challenges through specific actions, policies, and partnerships. The Summit will include a high-level roundtable with African mayors, statements, panel discussions and breakout sessions with relevant MDAs, #multilateral organisations, and other key participants. #TransformFreetown #TransformingLives #UrbanHeatAction

🌱 Today is the International Day for the Conservation of #Mangrove Ecosystems and it’s key to remember the pivotal role communities play in restoration initiatives for climate change resilience. In Senegal, Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (APACs) – managed informally by communities themselves for generations – play an crucial role in conserving vital mangrove ecosystems. That’s why locally-led institutions are vital for the Natur’ELLES project. 📰 Read all about Ousmane SAMBOU's takeaways from a recent workshop in Dakar, Senegal, and the opportunities and challenges that #NatureBasedSolutions and #greeninfrastructure stakeholders are facing, plus the benefits of NbS for #climateadaptation and #womensleadership. 🔎 Click here for the article: https://lnkd.in/d8xsGP8s More on the Natur'ELLES project: 🌿Led by Société de coopération pour le développement international (SOCODEVI), funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada and in partnership with International Institute for Sustainable Development, IUCN, Ostrom Climate Solutions Inc. and other local institutions, Natur’ELLES will work with government and communities to deliver mangrove reforestation in sites along the Casamance and Sine Saloum deltas. ⚧️While celebrating all the benefits mangroves deliver, Natur’ELLES will also promote the inclusion and empowerment of women and young girls and their vulnerable communities. 📸 by MLD LEMIND Jr of Toubacouta, in the Sine-Saloum delta

The focus of this year’s #WorldEnvironmentDay is land restoration, drought and desertification, all encapsulated in the theme “Ecosystem Restoration”. To mark the occasion, Dr Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, Group Division Manager, Climate and Green Growth Department at African Development Bank Group reflects on the urgent need for ecosystem restoration in Africa and the planet: “Climate change has emerged as a pressing challenge for ecosystem restoration in Africa, with far-reaching consequences for its ecological, economic, and social systems, including jeopardising achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals … on climate change, poverty eradication, food security, water and biodiversity conservation. The Earth is in danger, and if we do not take immediate and decisive action, the effects will be dire. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 calls for an urgent, rapid and collective action to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.” Dorsouma’s blog also reflects on the Bank’s projects on ecosystem restoration in Africa, such as the Green Morocco Plan, the Programme for the Preservation of Congo Basin Ecosystems, the Lake Chad Basin Sustainable Development Programme, the Congo Basin Forest Fund and the Great Green Wall Initiative in the Sahel, among others. Read the blog: https://bit.ly/4aIW4Lq Watch the video: https://bit.ly/45gWMhR Learn some fun facts about terrestrial ecosystems: https://bit.ly/3x4SNbv Join #GenerationRestoration! Find out how you can contribute to ecosystem restoration: https://lnkd.in/gUEwre3

#DYK that two-thirds of African cities are at extreme risk of #climatechange impacts such as flash floods, water scarcity, landslides & droughts? #SUNCASA is a new 3-year project with World Resources Institute that will use solutions found in nature to address #climatechange impacts in sub-Saharan Africa, while promoting #GenderEquality, #SocialInclusion & #BiodiversityProtection. Jointly delivered with WRI, the #SUNCASA project will implement #naturebasedsolutions to restore critical river watersheds and enhance the resilience of 2.2 million people in flood-prone areas in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa). Learn more: https://bit.ly/pr-suncasa Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada | City of Johannesburg | GenderCC Southern Africa - Women for Climate Justice | Zutari | Water for the Future Jukskei River Rehabilitation | South African Cities Network | Johannesburg Inner City Partnership | Alexandra Water Warriors Npc | ARCOS Network |