Paper short abstract:

Through the lens of transnational governance, this paper examines how different discourses of nature-based solutions (NBS) translate to the ground in climate-related initiatives in Madagascar and Malawi, by whom, and with what potential consequences for urban nature and society.

Paper long abstract:

Globally, in academia as well as policy circles, nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly promoted as ways to address the interlinked climate and biodiversity crisis toward greener and more resilient cities. The concept conjures lofty promises, as NBS are seen to provide simultaneously economic, social, and environmental benefits. It remains underexplored to what extent and effect the global discourse influences how climate futures in urban Africa are being imagined and planned for.

Various transnational actors (multilateral entities, donors, NGOs, city networks) promote NBS in urban Africa. Recent research suggests that they predominantly frame urban nature as a solution to address flood related risks and that integrated benefits including job creation, biodiversity and water quality are strongly emphasized. This paper interrogates how these discourses translate into practice.

To that end, the trajectories of transnational actor-driven NBS projects in Morondava (Madagascar), Zomba and Lilongwe (Malawi) are compared. Semi-structured interviews with executing entities, funders, national and local governments as well as community representatives involved in the design and implementation of these projects are undertaken. The results of analysis elicit factors and dynamics influencing the realisation of NBS in the case studies: Who is included/excluded from agenda setting, what frames/meaning of urban nature come to be deployed, with what implications for the kinds of NBS realised and for who is benefitting from these initiatives. This allows to critically reflect on current trends of how urban nature is integrated into imagining and planning for climate futures in Africa through the lens of transnational urban climate governance.

Paper short abstract:

The paper presents goals and first results of the CHIDA project for debate. It aims to identify innovative pathways of NbS-related, socially inclusive urban development to tackle major ecological and social challenges and to enable urban residents to guide their own resilience-building processes.

Paper long abstract:

Cities in sub-Saharan Africa are currently undergoing extraordinarily dynamic processes of change and are thus confronted with a multitude of contradicting phenomena which undermine efforts to build urban resilience and sustainability. Climate-induced uncertainties and other environmental, social or economic pressures and risks are significantly accumulating, with often cascading negative impacts on everyday urban lifeworlds, especially of the urban poor. City administrations and others involved in urban planning and management are also affected, as they increasingly lack the resources and capacities to adequately fulfil their tasks. Against this background, the paper will introduce the trans- and interdisciplinary research project CHIDA (Challenges for Inclusive Urban Development in Africa: Designing Nature-Based Solutions and Enhancing Citizenship to Mitigate Hazards and Livelihood Risks) in order to critically discuss approaches, goals and first findings. CHIDA builds on a Nature-based Solutions (NbS) approach and addresses the potentials of and interrelationships between NbS (particularly urban Green Infrastructure), citizenship, and livelihood security, to mitigate hazards and livelihood risks in four cities in Malawi and South Africa. The project aims to reveal inequalities in access to and use of urban natural resources, spaces and ecosystems and to unpack the different risks faced by the urban poor and marginalized. It examines the potentials of NbS in mitigating threats and seeks to develop tools to tackle simultaneous pressures and cascading impacts. The project sees the active involvement of citizens in the design and implementation of NbS as key to mobilizing ecosystem services and shaping their own resilience-building processes.

Paper short abstract:

This paper refers to “new” urban approaches (Just Urban Transition). It claims that this concept might only be a just and efficient tool for future-oriented and sustainable urban planning when it stronger considers social dimensions and their spatial unfolding.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, the political concept of ‘just transition’ (JT) has shaped the alignment towards a more balanced perspective on sustainability transition by equally acknowledging the three pillars – ecology, economy and society. Almost used as a buzzword, this concept found its way into urban policy planning in the context of the Global South. Regarding climate change adaptation, research in African contexts often focuses on peripheral areas. However, urban spaces have tended to be neglected both in research and in policy-making processes. Against the high urbanization rates, population growth and the rampant pace of climate change (CC), relocation of these spatial prioritization appears to be indispensable. In this paper, we refer to “new” urban approaches such as “Just Urban Transition” and will critically discuss: Firstly, how does CC affect urban spaces in Southern Africa? What societal challenges do emerge in the various contexts in Southern Africa and what potential does JUT offer to these challenges? Do these approaches sufficiently consider social dimensions? We claim that this concept might only be a just and efficient tool for future-oriented and sustainable urban planning when it stronger considers social dimensions (i.a. gender, mental well-being, intersectionality) and their different spatial unfolding. As part of the interdisciplinary BMBF-funded project NISANSA (nisansa.org), which complements CC research with regional and social sciences perspectives, we will refer to contrasting empirical examples from Namibia, Malawi and South Africa. We demonstrate that integrating the social dimension into CC and urban future planning is pivotal and requires more attention in research.

Paper short abstract:

This paper argues that bottom-up, inclusive planning by inhabitants of informal settlements may be more effective than top-down planning for flood adaptation in the context of a changing climate in the West African Sahel. It focuses specifically on the cases of Dakar, N'Djamena and Niamey.

Paper long abstract:

The West African Sahel faces high urbanization rates, hovering on average at three percent annually. Most of this urbanization is poorly regulated and results in the proliferation of informal settlements often prone to floods. Ultimately a question of urban planning, these floods will be compounded by climate change in both frequency and intensity. Outside efforts led by national governments or NGOs have been of little use in improving adaptation, leaving communities to struggle on their own. This paper explores this disconnect and how inhabitants of informal settlements adapt to climate-exacerbated urban floods in three Sahelian cities: Dakar, N’Djamena, and Niamey. Reviewing existing literature, it is suggested that bottom-up, inclusive urban planning led by local leaders and community-level organizations could be well-suited to addressing urban flood adaptation in these cities. It is further argued that empowering inhabitants of informal settlements in the Sahel to make decisions affecting their spatial configurations could be promising not only in terms of improving climate resiliency, but that it could have knock-on effects in economic and financial resilience, as well as improved health outcomes.

Paper short abstract:

Climate resilient infrastructure is heralded globally as the most critical need of cities, particularly African cities. In this paper, we aim to understand how this process is enacted within Ghana’s decentralised model and the future implications thereof.

Paper long abstract:

Resilient infrastructure is heralded globally as the most critical need of cities, particularly African cities since urbanization and climate change remain a daunting challenge to many city authorities. In the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana’s most urbanized region, perennial flooding has become a ‘monster’ of the city because resilient infrastructure is inadequate in the context of adverse consequences of climate. As a consequence, private-sector players, international donors, development agencies, national and supranational institutions (such as the World Bank, China Development Bank and United Nations) which can finance major infrastructure investments (e.g., drainage, roads, railways, dam, etc.) have capitalized on this situation to connect with political decision-makers and local actors to implement resilient urban infrastructure development (UID). In this paper, we aim to understand how this process is enacted within Ghana’s decentralised model since existing research rarely pays attention to how multiple actors at different scales come together to transform the urban space and everyday life in cities. Using the Greater Accra Climate Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project as a case study, this paper argues that UID is a co-production process involving a network of actors seeking to redeem ‘the vulnerable city’ from the grip of urbanization, climate change and the limited resilient infrastructural troubles.

Paper short abstract:

Extreme heat events are disrupting urban livelihood activities through reduced productivity, loss of goods, restricted mobility and poorer health, resulting in reduced incomes. Low-income urban residents are particularly vulnerable, resulting in rising inequalities in African cities.

Paper long abstract:

Cities across sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly experiencing extreme weather events, which disproportionately affect the urban poor. Focussing on severe heat, this paper discusses the impact working in high temperatures is having on livelihoods in low-income urban communities in Ghana. Temperature data recorded in people’s homes and workplaces are linked to qualitative interview data collected in eight neighbourhoods within the cities of Accra and Tamale between 2018 and 2022. The data reveal the high indoor temperatures experienced and how extreme heat events are impacting vulnerable populations through disrupting their livelihood activities. Reduced productivity, loss of goods, restricted mobility and poorer health are resulting in reduced incomes. Although numerous coping strategies are adopted, including working extended hours, seeking cooler spaces and moving around at cooler times of the day, the impact on livelihoods can still be severe. Urban residents’ ability to adopt coping strategies and/or afford to reduce the temperatures they experience in their working spaces varies, hence marginalisation and inequality are likely to increase in the future.

Paper short abstract:

This study explores the spatio-temporal trends of land surface temperature, land use land cover and their economic and health risks in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana. The results show urbanization is trading greens for heated surfaces, impacting communities’ health risks.

Paper long abstract:

The unsustainable expansion of cities is generating urban heat islands (UHIs) by exchanging (trading) vegetation cover (green) for built impervious surfaces which is associated with heat-related health risks, globally. This phenomenon is exacerbated by climate change and anthropogenic activities like urban population growth, particularly in African cities. This study explores the spatio-temporal trends of land surface temperature (LST), land use land cover (LULC) and their economic and health risks in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) of Ghana, from 1991 to 2021. We extracted LST/LULC information from Landsat datasets to perform change analysis, alongside an online survey across 56 communities on how LST relates to economic and human health risks perceptions of residents. The results show urbanization of GAMA is trading greens for heated surfaces, impacting communities’ health risks. While the built environment grew (8.6%), the vegetation cover declined (2.5%) and the mean LST rose (0.8⁰C) in 25 years. A 30⁰C LST corresponds to the point of inflexion of exchanging green vegetative cover for heated built surfaces. The forest community of Kisseman, the populous community of Dansoman and the harbour city of Tema corresponded to the first, fourth and fifth LST quintiles, changing at -0.05⁰C, 0.06⁰C and 0.164⁰C per year. The common health risks include discomfort from heavy sweating, headaches, dehydration, thirst and skin rashes. These results call for climate action and green spatial planning through urban forestry and environmentalism in GAMA. For urban resilience and sustainable cities, we advocate green-cooling multi-purpose housing, roads, and industrial infrastructure.