Climate Risk Assessment Workshop in Walvis Bay, Namibia

2010/09/13

ICLEI – Africa’s Climate Adaptation team carried out the Five City Adaptation in Africa project’s first Consultative Participatory Action Research Workshop Series 1: Risk Assessment (PAR WS1) in Walvis Bay, Namibia. The workshop was hosted by Walvis Bay Municipality from 27 – 30 July 2010. This particular workshop is the first workshop of a total of three consultative participatory workshops, to be convened in each of the project cities (Walvis Bay, Namibia; Cape Town, South Africa; Maputo, Mozambique; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Port Louis in Mauritius). The event was very successful in identifying a number of risks and threats associated with climatic changes that are already impacting upon the day-to-day businesses and functioning occurring in the Walvis Bay area.

1. The National Climate Change Policy development for Namibia, Walvis  Bay, 26 July 2010

ICLEI Africa’s visit to Walvis Bay, as part of the ICLEI Africa Five City Adaptation in Africa project’ commenced with the attendance of a participatory workshop on climate change? facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Namibia Africa Adaptation Programme (NAM-AAP) and Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism for the development of a National Climate Change Policy. This workshop was one of a series of consultative workshops to solicit public inputs for incorporation into the above-mentioned draft policy. Here, ICLEI Africa played a consultative and active role towards ensuring the inclusion of local governments in the national Climate Change Policy.

2. Consultative Participatory Action Research Workshop Series

The three day stakeholder Participatory Action Research Workshop Series 1: Risk Assessment (PAR WS1) was hosted and facilitated by David Uushona: Solid Waste and Environmental Manager, Walvis Bay Municipality, in partnership with UN-Habitat and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa. In attendance were representatives of the local communities, decision makers, research organisations and other private sector representatives.
The PAR WS1 is the second project-related workshop, forming part of the 5 City Adaptation in Africa Project, to be convened in Walvis Bay. The first workshop was carried out during a Stakeholder Analysis Visit which occurred at the end of 2009, whereby ICLEI’s Adaptation project was introduced to the Walvis Bay municipal council, municipal officials, environmental and planning researchers and other external key stakeholders.

The aim of the PAR WS1 was to engage with key stakeholders in order to gain a better understanding and to enable the identification of the risks and impacts associated with climate change that are currently affecting day-to-day business. In this case, day-to-day activities refer to basic services, infrastructure and living conditions impacting upon the Walvis Bay human population.

The workshop was very successful, covered extensive ground and achieved the following:

1. Project Updates

• An overview of the project (aims, objectives, deliverables and timeframes) was presented
• Current project status and profiling were presented

2. Literature Review

• Presented findings from literature reviews undertaken pertaining to sea level rise at a global and local level that have been ongoing since the initiation of this project

3. Outcomes

• Key stakeholder engagement identified current risks and impacts associated with climate change at the local level, through participatory action research
• Establishment of the Walvis Bay Environment & Climate Change Committee, defining its roles in the Walvis Bay Municipality decision-making processes

To read more about the key sectoral risks and impacts identified by the Walvis Bay stakeholders, click here »

The fourth day of the workshop programme on 30 July was dedicated to interacting with the Topnaar Community. The Topnaar community is an historical community residing along the lower parts of the Kuiseb River, south of Walvis Bay. The Topnaar’s are directly dependent upon their environment for their survival. Changes in local climate are noted to be affecting their quality of life and ability to sustain in an increasingly harsh and changing environment.
The aims of this workshop were: to re-introduce the Five City Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project to the Topnaar community members, to build capacity around climate change and its associated risks and impacts, and to identify the risks and impacts that are currently affecting the livelihoods of the Topnaar community.

To read more about the key risks and impacts identified by the Topnaar community, click here »

Upon completion of the community workshop, each representative of the Topnaar community received a climate change and risk assessment training certificate.