The Congress aims to tackle issues related to climate change - arguably the biggest threat to cities in the 21^st Century. It enables exchange, networking and debate between its participants on solutions to climate change adaptation for cities and local governments. While cities are severely affected by the impacts of climate change, it is vital that local governments take a global proactive approach against it, and make the right decisions regarding adaptation and mitigation. 

Lucinda Fairhurst, ICLEI Africa’s program co-ordinator for adaptation to climate change, presented on a project entitled Sub-Saharan African Cities: A Five-City Network to Pioneer Climate Adaptation through Participatory Research and Local Action, one of the adaptation projects currently being undertaken by ICLEI Africa. ICLEI also had its first ever Global Adaptation Managers’ Meeting, where Lucinda Fairhurst was voted to co-coordinate ICLEI’s global south adaptation efforts, and more specifically to represent the global south. 

The Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) team hosted a session entitled Linking Biodiversity to Climate Change and Adaptation, which gave examples of biodiversity management in Jerusalem and Durban, as well as a presentation by Mark Schauer (Head of the Central Office of TEEB) on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). 

To see the full Resilient Cities press release, click here. 
For further information visit the Resilient Cities website here.