The City of Mbombela Climate Change Response Strategy and Implementation Plan Internal Draft Strategy Prepared for City of Mbombela June 2017 City of Mbombela Climate Change Response Internal Draft Strategy Page i Executive Summary The Mbombela Local Municipality (now the amalgamated City of Mbombela (COM)) in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, has developed a policy, strategy and implementation plan to respond to the pressures and threats of climate change. The policy, strategy and implementation plan will enable and guide the metropolitan’s transition to a green economy and mitigate and manage the effects of climate change in the future. The COM Council approved the Climate change response policy on 18 July 2016 and gives effect to the strategy and implementation plan. The COM recognises the importance of climate change response and its role in the future sustainable social and economic development of the municipal area. The COM acknowledges the multi-faceted threats and opportunities that climate change poses to its economy, vulnerable communities and unique ecosystems. As such, the COM provides a commitment in its Vision to ensure the metropolitan’s resilience to climate change in the future, as per its municipal mandate. The climate change vision for the COM is: “A municipality resilient to climate change, committed to sustainable development and greening solutions and principles to drive future economic and community development in both the rural and urban sectors of the City of Mbombela.” This Vision outlines the COM’s commitment to resilience, sustainable development and greening. : It is critical that these commitments contribute to the COM economy and its future growth, while simultaneously uplifting the community. This will be applied and achieved in both the urban and rural context. In order to achieve the climate change vision set out in this policy, and inform the strategy and implementation plan, the following broad objectives will need to be met: Objective 1: Meet regulatory requirements and voluntary commitments made as a signatory to relevant charters, declarations and protocols Objective 2: Integration into municipal IDP process and sector plans Objective 3: Transition toward a more resilient and low-carbon local economy and community Objective 4: Implementation of innovative financing mechanisms Objective 5: Training and capacity building of relevant COM staff Objective 6: Co-operative governance and partnerships Objective 7: Knowledge generation, sharing and transparency The South African national government’s approach to climate change is provided in the National Climate change response policy (NCCRP) White Paper. The policy reflects that municipalities play a crucial role in building climate change resilience through: Planning human settlements and urban development The provision of municipal infrastructure and services Water and energy demand management Local disaster response. Consequently, climate change considerations and constraints will need to be integrated into municipal development planning tools such as Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and municipal service delivery programmes. The COM Climate change response policy, Strategy and Implementation Plan is not intended to be in conflict with national and provincial climate change related policies and strategies, but instead is meant JORP/BRAV/STEW/KILI 480102_CoM_Climate_Change_Strategy_Draft_20170911 June 2017 City of Mbombela Climate Change Response Internal Draft Strategy Page ii to be complementary and adaptive to a changing policy context and provide the appropriate local response that is in line with COM mandates for integration into the IDP. The development of COM’s Vision 2030 strategy presents a great opportunity for integrating climate change into strategic municipal planning. High level findings from the Rapid Vulnerability Assessment suggest the following: There are three main climate vulnerable groups in COM; they include the sick, elderly and children; The rural livelihoods sector is, across all sectors and zones the most vulnerable to climate change impacts in COM; Commercial farmers, as well as formal, established urban zones are the least vulnerable to climate change, largely due to access to resources linked to adaptive capacity; Existing water supply, stormwater, road and rural infrastructure has varying degrees of vulnerability to climate impacts, however the status of outdated infrastructure in the COM makes areas far less resilient; Many areas, particularly in the surrounds of Nsikazi corridor and Matsulu and the conservation zone are moderately to highly vulnerable to flooding events, due to their locality in floodlines and poor access to emergency response resources; Ecosystems are moderately to highly vulnerable across all sectors and zones; and The Nelspruit urban zone and immediate surrounds are most resilient and least vulnerable to climate impacts. The table below provides a quick reference summary of the priority climate change response actions for the COM. Actions are grouped into 12 different sectors and form the basis for the implementation plan. Sector Action Response Action Ref No. 1.1 Building climate change resilience into long term strategic planning 1.2 Ensure IDP integration of the Climate Change Policy 1.5 Offer climate change guidance to other municipal departments 1.9 Identify, capacitate and communicate to potential climate adaptation related funding 2.1 Update COM spatial data on land use constraints to include climate change related vulnerabilities 2.2 Update SDF to include climate change considerations in spatial planning 2.8 Consider climate change impacts, risks and vulnerable areas in land use decision making 2.10 Incorporate climate change considerations into the development and update of various COM land use and human settlement planning documents 3.1 Integrate and mainstream climate change considerations into LED strategy development 3.3 Improve resource allocation for climate change adaptation and adaptive capacity and mitigation measures 3.4 Develop and include mechanisms for climate change adaptation in the LED Strategy 4.1 Include climate change considerations into water sector related strategies and planning 4.4 Implement loss/leakage reduction strategies though water conservation projects JORP/BRAV/STEW/KILI 480102_CoM_Climate_Change_Strategy_Draft_20170911 June 2017 City of Mbombela Climate Change Response Internal Draft Strategy Page iii Stormwater, roads 5.2 Consider and incorporate climate change considerations into Storm Water and rail Master Planning 5.3 Consider and include eco-mobility to be in integrated transport planning 6.1 Include climate change considerations into energy and electrical infrastructure and master planning 6.4 Annual energy and GHG reporting 6.5 Develop and implement energy efficiency plans for municipal owned buildings 6.8 Investigate, develop and implement municipal by-laws that promote renewable energies and energy efficiency 7.1 Undertake vulnerability assessment as per the Disaster Management Amendment Act 2015 7.2 Update the COM Disaster Management Plan to meet the requirements of the Disaster Management Amendment Act 2015 Health and social 8.7 Engage with traditional leaders and capacitate them on climate change services actions issues and their role in adaptation Parks and 9.1 Update COM open space plan to include all key ecological infrastructure Conservation for conservation and management Waste 10.2 Update the Integrated Waste Management Plan to promote the green Management waste economy 11.1 Incorporate the impacts of climate change in the COM Rural Development strategy 11.3 Encourage research and include findings into support agricultural extension services to small-scale and large commercial farmers 12.2 Promote and encourage sustainable energy and water use and management practices 12.3 Facilitate forestry partnerships and research to be undertaken in COM Four implementation clusters have been developed that related to the overall policy objectives. These clusters are made up of 10 projects, which are based on the priority response actions that have been identified for the COM. The projects are aimed to be financially feasible, resource efficient and undertaken in the short term. The intention is for this strategy to be revisited and updated every five years to align with the IDP process. The 10 projects identified for this strategy are as follows: Mainstreaming climate change into the Vision 2030 Building a responsive and resilient COM IDP COM Greenhouse Gas and Energy Assessment COM Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment COM Disaster Management Plan update Climate Change and EIA Decision support tool COM LED Strategy update COM Water conservation project COM Buildings retrofit and upgrade COM Climate Change Forum JORP/BRAV/STEW/KILI 480102_CoM_Climate_Change_Strategy_Draft_20170911 June 2017 City of Mbombela Climate Change Response Internal Draft Strategy Page iv Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... i Disclaimer ................................................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. viii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................