ZDDT Gweru manages waste wisely
2012/11/23
Recently, Gweru, a member city of ICLEI - Local Government for Sustainability - Africa, has promoted the nongovernmental and charity organization Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (ZDDT) to undertake initiatives for constructing proper waste management innovations benefiting the community. More»

World Toilet Day
2012/11/17
Last year, the World Toilet Day campaign reached 1 billion people, says World Toilet Organization (WTO) founder Jack Sim aka “Mr. Toilet”. For this year’s campaign, WTO is partnering with the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). More»

SA approves $5.4 billion in renewable energy
2012/011/08
South Africa, one of the most coal-dependent countries in the world, has taken another major step toward a clean energy future. More»

Large cleanup in Kanifing, Gambia
2012/10/24
As part of Gambia’s national ‘Operation Clean the Nation’ the Gambia National Transport Control Association (GNTCA), along with the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) undertook a large cleanup exercise from 20 – 21 October, 2012. More»

DBSA approves loan of nearly 1$ billion to SA solar projects
2012/10/25
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has approved loan facilities worth R9,668.50 billion (US$980 million) earmarked for 13 solar projects in South Africa. Combined, the projects have a total capacity of 762.6MW. More»

Sustain Our Africa starts today!
2012/10/24
Today sees the start of the Sustain Our Africa Summit being held at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Follow the event here»

African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2012/10/23
Today sees the launch of the African Development Forum, a multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa's development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More»

New Chair, Mayor Park of Seoul spearheads leveraging energy and emissions saving in cities globally
2012/10/21
In his first global action as the new Chair of World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC), Mayor Park Won Soon of Seoul announced the 2012 Seoul Declaration of Local Governments on Energy and Climate Mitigation, aiming to ensure significant energy and emissions savings. More»

Newsflash! Mayor Nxumalo from Durban elected as an ICLEI Vice President
2012/10/18
Mayor James Nxumalo of eThekwini Municipality (Durban) was elected as one of three new ICLEI Vice Presidents, in one of a number of high level elections for executive positions in ICLEI's new global governance system. More»

The importance of Green Mechanisms
2012/10/16
Mr Bakary Kante - Director, Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (DELC), charged with carrying out the functions of United Nations Environmental Programme - said during the launch of the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook Report at the on-going COP 11 in Hyderabad, India, “We cannot stop the growth of cities but we can make the cities more environmentally friendly for our survival and the action is now.” More»

ICLEI and the CBD sign MoU
2012/10/15
The Cities for Life Summit, which launched on 15 October, 2012, was marked by a momentous occasion: the signing of an MoU between ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. More»

Global Handwashing Day
2012/10/15
Global Handwashing Day was originally created for children and schools, but can be celebrated by anyone promoting handwashing with soap. Each year, over 200 million people are involved in celebrations in over 100 countries around the world. More»

Commemorating Efforts Towards Disaster Risk Reduction: 13 October 2012
2012/09/28
Tomorrow is the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) and is a day to celebrate how people and communities are reducing their risk to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of disaster risk reduction. More»

Capacity development workshop in Addis Ababa
2012/10/11
Capacity development is needed on all levels and for different sectors in order to make disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) an integral part of sustainable urban development. More»

COP11 kicks off in India
2012/10/08
Representatives from over 170 countries today begandeliberations in Hyderabad, India, on the way forward to protect the planet’s biodiversity. More»

Joburg GDS 2040 Strategy
2012/10/05
The City of Johannesburg, a long-term ICLEI member, has developed an innovative Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) for the next three decades, as a shared vision for the city's future, with clear and measurable outcomes. More»

"Countries take Durban text very seriously"
2012/10/03
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres has said at the Carbon Forum North America in Washington that talks in at the COP17 in Durban, South Africa, last year were still being taken “very seriously”. More»

World Habitat Day 2012
2012/10/01
The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. This year, World Habitat is on 1 October 2012. More»

Amuwo-Odofin greens its streets
2012/09/28
The local government of Amuwo-Odofin, in Lagos State, Nigeria, has planted over 5000 trees as part of its city beautification and emission control project. More»

African Green Revolution Forum launches in Arusha, Tanzania
2012/09/26

From 26-28 September 2012 the African Green Revolution Forum, held in ICLEI Africa member City Arusha, Tanzania, will focus on “Scaling up investments and innovation for sustainable agricultural growth and food security” and saw former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the president of Tanzania chair a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) event. More»

Dar es Salaam boosts education for Sustainability
2012/09/19
The Mikocheni Post Primary Vocational School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is educating citizens on sustainable urban food production and how to make a living in sustainability. More»

International Coastal Cleanup Day
2012/09/17
For the past 20 years the International Coastal Cleanup Day has been celebrated on the third Saturday of September. More»

Green Building Council South Africa 2012 Convention
2012/09/10
The official Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Convention and Exhibition will take place from the 23rd – 25th October 2012. More»

ICLEI – Africa attends the Namibia National Mayors Forum 2012
2012/09/07
From 4-6 September, 2012, Namibian Honourable Mayors, Councillors and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from around the country convened at the Namibia National Mayors Forum in Windhoek. More»

New study identifies political leadership as no. 1 issue in managing disaster risk
2012/09/04
The new study, "Making Cities Resilient Report 2012",  identifies political leadership as more important than a city’s wealth when it comes to protecting the lives and economic assets of cities and towns from disasters. More»

AfDB approves green project funding
2012/08/30
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa has approved its first grant of $825,000 to finance the concept phase of the Green Tech Financial Facility. More»

Ekurhuleni drives energy efficiency
2012/08/30
The municipality has been employing new technology and replacing inefficient systems to improve power efficiency, thereby saving about 1.25 Megawatts (MW) through the replacement of street lights in various areas. More»

Mozambique wins international award
2012/08/27
The flood-prone coastal city of Beira in Mozambique was named as the winner of the first International RISK Award. More»

How ecosystem based solutions are bearing fruit in Xai Xai, Mozambique
2012/08/22
Recently headlines have focused on the worst drought in decades in Africa and elsewhere. In response, the international prices of maize and soybeans have risen past 2007-08 peaks, when they fuelled food riots in more than 30 countries. More»

City of Cape Town focuses on improved energy efficiency
2012/08/08
The City has been focusing on how it can save energy in its operations in order to reduce its environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and avoid excessive electricity costs – especially in light of Eskom’s tariff increases and South Africa’s electricity supply shortages. More»

Special feature: Key insights on Integrating Urban Sustainability into Municipal Development Planning Tools
03/08/2012
The journey towards urban sustainable development and service delivery will require a  paradigm shift away from business as usual. More»

Mass issuing of land title documents in Lagos State
2012/07/25
In a targeted effort this month, the State of Lagos has issued a thousand registered sub-lease title documents to home owners in Lagos, in a bid to reduce the large number of properties still lacking registered titles. More»

Helping out on Mandela Day
2012/07/17
The City of Cape Town's Environment and Resource Management Department celebrated Mandela Day this year by painting Gege's crèche, planting trees in a nearby play park and providing some necessary toys, books and equipment. More»

FutureCityLeaders Initiative
2012/07/17
ICLEI’s FutureCityLeaders Initiative connects determined young municipal leaders worldwide via the interactive ConnectingLeaders Platform to drive sustainability in their Councils aiming for global sustainability. More»

New head of AU appointed
2012/07/16
On 16 July the African Union (AU) that Dlamini Zuma, one of South Africa's longest serving cabinet ministers, managed to garner the required 60% of votes and was named the new Chairperson of the AUC, the powerful executive arm of the AU. More»

5 City Adaptation Network
2012/07/12
Last week saw the closing of ICLEI Africa’s three year Climate Change Adaptation project entitled: ‘Sub-Saharan African Cities: A Five City Network to Pioneer Climate Adaptation through participatory Research and Local Action’, funded jointly by DFID and IDRC through the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) Program. More»

Maputo Adapting Sanitation Systems to Climate Change
2012/07/11
On 10 July a team of consultants and researchers carried out a consultative participatory workshop with key stakeholders representing researchers from climate and disaster risk focus areas. More»

Learning through REEEP projects
2012/07/04
ICLEI Africa, together with ICLEI South Asia, attended the REEEP Project meetings in Johannesburg from 3-4 July 2012. More»

ICLEI's evaluation of Rio+20 outcomes
2012/06/25
The Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20-22 June 2012. ICLEI has been involved in the Rio+20 process in three ways. More»

Windhoek given 'thumbs up'
2012/06/25
The City of Windhoek received the thumbs-up for protecting water supplies and halting environmental degradation, in a new report on transformative action at local level in creating a sustainable 21st century. More»

Road to sustainability is through cities, says Ban
Ki-moon
2012/06/21
UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon applauded a crowd of Mayors and local government representatives for advancing sustainability in their towns and cities at the Rio+20 Global Town Hall on 21 June, 2012. More»

Rio+20 Opening plenary address
2012/06/20
ICLEI President David Cadman presented to the opening plenary of the Rio+20 on behalf of the “Local Government Major Group” and co-organising partners UCLG and NRG4SD, on 20 June 2012. Read his address here.

Message from ICLEI World Congress to Rio+20
2012/06/20
Every three years, ICLEI members and partners gather at an ICLEI World Congress to showcase their actions over the period and discuss strategies for the following years. This is their message to the Rio+20 More»

Rio Pavilion Cities Day: 22 June 2012, Athlete’s Park, Rio+20
The Rio Conventions Pavilion is an outreach platform that explores trade-offs, synergies and alignment between the three Rio conventions and also water-related development goals. More»

First Meeting of ICLEI Africa's REXCOM
2012/06/14
ICLEI Africa's Regional Executive Committee (REXCOM) successfully held its first meeting, on 14 June, against the backdrop of the opening of the ICLEI World Congress. More»

Africa’s Fast-Growing Ecological Footprint
2012/06/15
This benchmark study of the health of Africa’s ecosystems and resource trends reports a decline of nearly 50 per cent in Africa’s biodiversity in the last four decades. More»

ICLEI World Congress 2012
Today the ICLEI World Congress 2012 kicks off in Belo Horizonte, Brazil! More»

Xai-Xai, Mozambique, joins ICLEI's global network
2012/06/13
The Mozambican city of Xai-Xai, capital of Gaza Province, became the latest African city to join ICLEI's global association of Local Governments. We would like to welcome this important and fast-growing city of bustling markets and beautiful beaches, and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.

Lucrative Service Delivery in Durban
2012/06/08
e’Thekwini Metro in Durban, the location of last year's important UNFCCC/COP17 summit, is a municipality that is tackling service delivery by being creative and cost-effective. More»

Today is World Oceans Day!
2012/06/08
On 8 June communities around the globe will celebrate World Oceans Day as an opportunity to learn more about our ocean and take action to help conserve it. More»

World Environment Day
2012/06/05
World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm conference on the Human Environment. More»

The Future Cities Conference
2012/05/30
Africa is the continent which is going through the most rapid urbanisation in the world. More»

Summit for Sustainability in Africa
2012/06/26
Landmark two-day Summit for Sustainability in Africa creates new roadmap for green economies with ten African nations voicing support for value of natural capital in national accounting. More»

Africa Day 2012
2012/05/25
Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), presently recognized as the African Union (AU). More»

Cape Town SDF approved
2012/05/22
The Provincial Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning for the Western Cape, Anton Bredell, has approved the Cape Town Spatial Development Framework (Cape Town SDF). More»

22 May International Day of Biological Diversity
2012/05/22
Marine Biodiversity is the theme for this year's International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB). More»

Building Disaster Resilient Cities webinars
2012/05/18
The UNISDR, together with the CIB, is hosting a series of webinars on "Building Disaster Resilient Cities" ahead of the Rio+20. More»

Resilient Cities 2012 wraps up
2012/05/15
As the third Resilient Cities congress unfolded in Bonn over the past three days, it became clear that cities have huge challenges to deal with. More»

Living Planet Report launched from space
2012/05/15
The 2012 edition of the Living Planet Report was launched on May 15th from the International Space Station by ESA astronaut André Kuipers from his European Space Agency mission. More»

Launch of “community protocol”
2012/05/15
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, together with international partners have launched a pilot version of the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions. More»

Climate Negotiations in Bonn Newsletter
2012/05/14
ECO's 14 May newsletter on the proceedings in Bonn. More»

WISA 2012 “Waterfootprints”
6 - 10 May 2012
The Water Institute for Southern Africa held the biennial conference and exhibition at the Cape Town International Conference Centre. More»

ICLEI members score in water report
2012/05/7
South Africa's drinking water is among the best in the world, and the country remains among a few in the world where water can still be consumed from the tap, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa has said. More»

World’s first EcoMobility Festival to showcase a new urban lifestyle
2012/05/02
The City of Suwon and ICLEI, together with UN-HABITAT officially signed a partnership today to host the world’s first EcoMobility Festival to take place in Suwon, Korea in 2013. More»

Connect the Dots day
05/05/2012
An innovative approach to highlighting the plight of our planet was launched on 5 May and aptly named ‘Connect the Dots’. More»

New Climate Change Centre launched
2012/04/19
On 18 April 2012 Southern African countries agreed to launch a centre that links climate change studies across the region. More»

UN launches new initiative to assess urban risk
2012/04/18
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has launched a new initiative to support cities around the world to manage risk following the worst year on record for economic losses from disasters. More»

Cape Town wins in Climate Change Leadership Awards
2012/04/02

The city of Cape Town, ICLEI Africa's host City, was the winner of the new Local Municipalities category for its long term sustainability strategy, a string of active initiatives, and setting a good example to other municipalities. More»

Mexico City Pact gets new signatory and award nomination
2012/04/02
The Global Cities Covenant on Climate – the Mexico City Pact gains a new momentum in 2012 by being nominated for the Prince of Asturias Award in the category of International Cooperation. More»

Earth Hour a record success
2012/04/01
As a record Earth Hour wraps up across the world, the I Will If You Will campaign has been adopted by hundreds of thousands of people from all corners of the globe, turning their symbolic lights off action into an ongoing commitment to a sustainable planet. More»

World Water Day
2012/03/22
Today is International World Water Day which is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. More»

Territorial approach to Climate Change workshop and training
2012/03/14
UNEP and partners held an awareness raising and knowledge sharing workshop to address climate change at the Territorial level in the Southern Africa Region, from 13-14 March in Midrand, South Africa. More»

URBAN-LEDS
2012/03/09
UN-Habitat and the European Commission (EC) have signed an agreement to begin a new project that encourages cities to lower their emissions as they grow. More»

Local Governments at COP17 report
2012/03/08
This report provides brief summaries of a variety of activities undertaken by ICLEI, local governments and key partners at COP17/CMP7 towards driving the urban climate agenda. More»

Increased global water access
2012/03/06
Five years ahead of its 2015 international target, the UN has said the international target of halving the number of people who do not have access to safe water has been reached. More»

National Water Week
2012/03/05
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Ms Edna Molewa is calling on all South Africans to join the Department in celebrating National Water Week by making a positive contribution toward efforts to conserve and protect the country`s water resources. More»

Water and Sanitation Network meeting
2012/03/01
Eleven national associations of local government gathered on 27 February 2012 at the SALGA (South African Association of Local Governments) offices in Tshwane, SouthAfrica for the opening day of the second Focal Point Network meeting. More»

South African launch of the ICLEI Local Renewables initiative
2012/03/01
Last week saw the municipality of Ekurhuleni drive south-south cooperation through the South African launch of the ICLEI Local Renewables initiative. More»

Chris Hani District Municipality - Climate Change Summit 2012
2012/02/29
The Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM), in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, conducted its first ever Climate Change Summit this week from 27-29 February 2012. More»

A move towards clean energy
2012/02/29
South Africa's plan to build nuclear plants is not a quick fix solution to the country's energy crisis but rather a step closer to cleaner energy, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters has said. More»

ICLEI welcomes Addis Ababa
2012/02/24
ICLEI Africa is proud to announce that Ethiopia’s Capital City Addis Ababa has become its newest member! The city, which is also a state, is where the African Union (AU) is based and also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Call for ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ in Africa by 2030
2012/02/22
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Adnan Amin, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), urged all stakeholders across Africa to make commitments, as part of the Action Agenda, on how to achieve sustainable energy for all by 2030. More»

Energy dept shares lessons from COP17
2012/02/20
The Department of Energy recently highlighted some of the lessons it learnt during COP17/CMP7 that was held in South Africa, Durban last year in December. More»

Cape Town setting an example
2012/2/18
Cape Town has always been at the forefront of local biodiversity management, and by participating in the second phase in the LAB Pioneer Biodiversity and Climate Change, and LAB Pioneer Biodiversity and CEPA (Communication, Education and Public Awareness), projects they continue to set the example for local governments around the world. More»

Ekurhuleni Launch - Local Renewables: South - South cooperation
2012/02/17
On 29 February, the local launch and first Stakeholder Committee meeting for the ‘Local Renewables: South-South cooperation between cities in India, Indonesia and South Africa’ will be held in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), Gauteng, South Africa. More»

A morning at Abalimi Bezekhaya
2012/03/02
Abalimi Bezekhaya, a city of Cape Town initiative, is a Civil Society Organization (CSO) working to improve sustainable food production and nature conservation in organic micro-farms amongst the poor in Cape Town. More»

World Wetlands Day, 2 Feb
2012/02/02
Today marks the signing of the Convention on Wetlands (2 February) called the Ramsar Convention. It was first signed in the Iranian City of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea back in 1971. More»

Megacity Lagos joins ICLEI!

2012/01/20

Lagos State, economic hub of Nigeria and Africa's largest metropolitan area, became the newest member of ICLEI in Africa on Friday 20 January.

Building on the success of the West African pre-COP17 Congress that was co-hosted by Lagos State and ICLEI Africa, as well as Lagos State's active participation in the recent Durban Local Government Convention, ICLEI is pleased to officially welcome Lagos to the global network of local governments committed to sustainable development. More»

World Bank Study: Examining Integrated Urban Water Management
2012/01/26
A three month study was initiated in December 2011 to examine the potential of developing Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) strategies. More»

Proposed 21 year waste plan in Dar es Salaam
31/01/2012
The Dar es Salaam City Council in Tanzania has proposed to implement a 21-year Solid Waste Management Program in response to several studies. More»

COP17 a 'success' says UCT panel
01/30/2012
On 24 January Cape Town-based UCT hosted an event with experts called ‘What happened at COP17? Hear the inside story’ to analyse the results the Durban Convention achieved. More»

REEEP supported RE project launched internationally in India
2011/12/14
A workshop to officially launch the project ‘Local Renewables: South-South cooperation between cities in India, Indonesia and South Africa’ was organized in Coimbatore on December 12. More»

HEAT Plus tool launched at Rio Conventions Pavilion in Durban
2011/12/14
The HEAT + (Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool) software – a tool to help cities manage energy and emissions - was recently launched at the Rio Conventions Pavilion at the UNFCCC Cop 17 in Durban, South Africa. More»

COP17 deal reached in Durban
2011/12/12
Governments, including 38 industrialised countries, have agreed to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol from January 2013. More»

Cities from across the world make historic commitment to climate adaptation action
2011/12/05
History was made as 114 mayors and other elected local leaders representing over 950 local governments from around the world, came together in the signing of the Durban Adaptation Charter. More»

COP17 and Durban LG Convention Gallery

To view our COP17 and Durban LG Convention gallery click here.

Qatar wins COP18 bid
2011/11/29

South Korea lost out on the bid to host the 2012 Conference of the Parties in favour of Qatar. The event is scheduled to take place from 26 November to 7 December 2012. For more updates check out the Local Government Roadmap site.

Intense COP17 talks ahead
2011/12/02
The first week of the annual UN climate change summit is usually a relatively sedate affair and COP17 in Durban has certainly not been an exception. More»

Pre COP Workshop in Bojanala a success
2011/11/24

On 24 November 2011 a capacity building workshop entitled ‘The Road Towards COP 17 and Beyond, Mitigation and Adaptation in Local Government’,  was held in Bojanala Platinum District Municipality. More»

Climate Smart Cape Town wins best stand
2011/11/28

It was announced tonight that the Climate Smart Cape Town Coalition Pavilion won best outdoor and best overall stand at the Climate Change Response Expo. More»

World Toilet Day
2011/11/19
World Toilet Day (WTD) is a global initiative created by the World Toilet Organisation and is celebrated on 19 November each year. More»

UN urges Rwanda to speed up green conversion

2011/11/17
Rwanda must build on its efforts to transition to a green economy, according a United Nations report released on the country’s post-conflict environmental situation. More»

Durban initiative to clean up carbon footprint
2011/04/11

With over 25,000 delegates expected to arrive in Durban for the COP17/CMP7 Convention this month, the local municipality has plans to reduce the expected carbon footprint. More»

Durban readies itself for start of COP17
2011/11/27
With less than a day to go to the launch of the eagerly anticipated COP17, conference secretary Christiana Figueres said she was “impressed’’ by the “highly detailed’’ planning of the event. More» 

Durban ready to manage COP17 traffic
2011/17/11
Transport authorities are confident that there will be no unnecessary traffic delays or problems during the upcoming UNFCCC COP17/CMP7. More»

SSWM Toolbox turns one
2011/03/11
The Sustainable Sanitation, Water Management Toolbox (SSWM) celebrates its first birthday and treats herself to a user survey! More»

Zuma: A positive outcome from COP17/CMP7 'crucial' for Africa
2011/31/10
President Jacob Zuma says a positive outcome from the upcoming COP 17 is especially important for Africa as it is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. More»

Cape Town awarded World Design Capital 2014
2011/26/10
Cape Town has been named World Design Capital for the year 2014, beating  short-listed cities, Dublin and Bilbao. More»

ICLEI Africa brings local element to national and regional planning of DRR in SADC
2011/18/10
SADC’s annual disaster risk reduction and preparedness consultative workshop took place in Seychelles last week, 10-14 October 2011 on Mahé Island. More»

Towards a Low Carbon City: Focus on Durban

This interesting and relevant publication from the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) arrived on our desk recently and we would gladly recommend it to all who are interested in low carbon development! We are impressed with and proud of the actions being taken by the city of Durban, one of ICLEI’s leading members in Africa.

Voting period has ended: ICLEI celebrates new Charter!
2011/27/10

With the voting period now finally over, a new Charter has been approved by the ICLEI Council. More»

FAO Food for the Cities multi-disciplinary initiative position paper
2011/19/10

ICLEI is pleased to announce a newly launched publication by the FAO, entitled “ Food, Agriculture and Cities - Challenges of food and nutrition security, agriculture and ecosystem management in an urbanizing world". For more on this innovative publication see . More»

The Highlights Report is now available for the West African Mayoral Climate Change Congress

The final report of the highlights of the very successful African Mayoral Climate Change Declaration – West African pre-COP17 Congress has now been released. Containing a breakdown of the main speakers, statements, events and outcomes, this report also concludes with a list of the Congress recommendations.

It is available for download here, as well as from the main page for the Congress.

Global Hand Washing Day

2011/15/10
Global Hand Washing Day, initiated in 2008, is held annually on 15 October, and is recognised and promoted globally by a wide range of stakeholders, including local governments. More»

International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13 October 2011

13/10/2011

As part of the build up for The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) held on 13 October, the city of Cape Town hosted Making Cities Resilient - Cape Town is Ready! on 12 October. The aim was to heighten awareness and participation amongst citizens and governments to get involved in building more disaster resilient communities and nations. More»

ICLEI Africa and UCLGA sign MoU for strengthened local action in Africa towards COP17/CMP7 and beyond

The closing plenary of the ‘African Mayoral Climate Change Declaration – West African pre-COP17/CMP7 Congress’ held in Lagos, Nigeria saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A).  

More»

The African Mayoral Climate Change Declaration – West African pre-COP17 Congress officially began on 21 September 2011 in Lagos, Nigeria.

The event, co-hosted by Lagos State Government and ICLEI Africa, saw over 600 participants, including Mayors and other local government representatives from across West Africa meeting to sign the "African Mayors Climate Change Declaration".

Nearly a hundred Local Government representatives - led by his Excellency the Governor of Lagos -  signed the declaration, and the event received extensive coverage in the local and national media.

More»

World Water Week in Stockholm: Saving our water
2011/09/06
World Water Week 2011 opened on 22 August in Stockholm, Sweden with a record attendance of 2,600 delegates and offered a platform for experts to gather and discuss this year’s theme: Water in an Urbanising World. More»

Namibia National Mayor’s Forum Annual General Meeting

2011/08/24

More than 120 Mayors and Chief Executive Officers from across Namibia participated in this year’s Namibian African Mayors Climate Change Declaration Conference (AMCCD) as build up to the Namibia National Mayors Forum/ Annual General Meeting. More»

Climate Smart Cape Town Campaign

2011/09/02

The beginning of September saw the official launch of the Cape Town Climate Change Coalition’s "Climate Smart Cape Town Campaign". The focus of the campaign was to help residents of Cape Town learn about climate change and how they can take action, as well as to learn about the actions already being taken by the City of Cape Town and other leading public and private sector organisations to mitigate and adapt to climate change. More

Walvis Bay wins ICLEI's climate change adaptation competition
2011/08/24

Walvis Bay Municipality in Namibia was declared winner of the inaugural ICLEI Africa Five City Network Project competition, entitled "Save Your City: Adapt to Climate Change". More»

ICLEI Africa’s Adaptation to Climate Change team continue to build on the momentum of its “Five City Network Project” in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

2011/08/17

The Consultative Participatory Action Research Workshop on the topics of ‘climate risk prioritisation and adaptation options identification’ is the second workshop undertaken within Temeke Municipality as part of ICLEI Africa’s Five City Network project, which seeks to pioneer climate action through participatory research and local action. More»

The ICLEI Africa Climate Change Adaptation team: driving community participation in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
2011/08/12
The ICLEI – Africa climate change adaptation team is currently in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, breaking new ground and pushing frontiers with a wide range of key stakeholders towards local climate action. Read more about their community workshop, held as part of the information gathering process for the “Five City Adaptation Network project" here»

Mauritius Consultation Conference: the African Mayors Climate Change Declaration 2011

2011/07/26-27

ICLEI Africa’s Climate Change Adaptation team recently held the African Mayors Climate Change Declaration - Mauritius Consultation Conference, which took place in Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius from 26 - 27 July. The event is one of a number of consultation conferences that will be held in key cities in Africa, including Walvis Bay, Namibia, Lagos, Nigeria; and Durban, South Africa. More»

A landfill with a difference in eThekwini Municipality

2011/07/25

ICLEI member eThekwini Municipality, in South Africa's Mpumalanga Province, contains a number of landfill sites, the smallest of which now functions as a green lung for the area. More»

Sanitation Millennium Development Goals addressed at AfricaSan 3

19-21 July 2011

AfricaSan 3, the Third African Conference on Hygiene and Sanitation was held at the Serena Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda from 19-21 July 2011. The event was hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). The overarching goal of AfricaSan 3 was to ensure that Africa gets on track to meet the Sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015. More»

Sustainable and resilient sanitation service chains in Maputo

2011/07/11-15

As part of ICLEI Africa's Sub-Saharan Cities: A five City Network to Pioneer Climate Adaptation through Participation Research and Local Action project, a series of meetings between ICLEI Africa and municipal authorities was held in one of the participating cities: Maputo, Mozambique. More»

The City of Cape Town Launches the Green Goal Legacy Report:
A Report on the Host City’s Award-Winning Environmental Programme of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

2011/07/12

The Mayor of the City of Cape Town, and the Premier of the Western Cape Province yesterday (11 July) launched the 2010 FIFA World Cup™: Green Goal Legacy Report. Cape Town, a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Host City, succeeded in reducing the environmental impact of the international event through the implementation of the Green Goal programme. More »

ICLEI Africa welcomes Port Louis, Mauritius

2011/07/06

A very warm welcome to ICLEI Africa's newest member local government: the Municipal Council of Port Louis, Mauritius! Port Louis is now one of three ICLEI Africa members within the island nation of Mauritius.

We are proud to have Port Louis as one of 5 key cities taking part in ICLEI Africa's adaptation project, Sub-Saharan Cities: A five City Network to Pioneer Climate Adaptation through Participation Research and Local Action. As part of this project we are delighted to announce the African Mayors Climate Change Declaration - Mauritius Consultation Conference, which will take place in Port-Louis from 26 - 27 July 2011, encouraging Mauritian local leaders to pledge their support for the Declaration in anticipation of the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 17 (UNFCCC COP17) this December.

ICLEI Africa Membership Profiling

ICLEI Africa is pleased to announce Membership Profiling, our latest service to ICLEI members in Africa. Your member profile is your opportunity to showcase your municipality's innovative sustainability strategies, and we encourage all members to share their stories. More»

Minister of SA’s Department of Environmental Affairs announces Blue Drop and Green Drop 2011 results

2011/07/01

On Thursday 30th June 2011, The Minister of South Africa’s Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, Minister Edna Molewa, announced the results of the 2011 Green Drop Assessment during the 3rd Municipal Water Quality Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, highlighting that ‘South Africa’s Drinking water quality has shown continued improvement in the last 3 years’, however she added the need for continued improvement in respect to wastewater management. More»

ICLEI Africa Signs Memorandum of Understanding with the International Centre for Water Management Services (cewas)
2011/05/18
The role of local governments and key stakeholders at the local level at the cutting edge of the sustainable management of sanitation and water has been further strengthened by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between cewas: the International Centre for Water Management Services and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa. The MOU was signed during the inauguration ceremony of cewas in Willisau, Switzerland on 18 May 2011. Read more »

Project ISIS – a world first from Cape Town
2011/05/20
The City of Cape Town has developed a new exclusively developed integrated property data management system, a world first and a remarkable achievement for the city. The Integrated Spatial Information System (ISIS) promises to speed up service delivery by better capturing and managing property data. Read more »

For more information please visit the City of Cape Town website »

Resilient Cities

Funding for Adaptation has to be bottom-up

Resilient Cities 2011 took place in Bonn, Germany, this weekend as the second World Congress on Cities and Adaptation to Climate Change. Hosted by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the event acts as an international platform for local adaptation to climate change. This year’s Resilient Cities Congress saw the launch of a White Paper on 'Financing the Resilient City'. The paper identifies shortfalls in global funding structures for adaptation and outlines various ways to overcome them.

Discussions during the Mayors Adaptation Forum focused on bottom-up financing for urban adaptation and global climate reporting from local governments with a specific focus on adaptation actions.

For more information:

• Visit the Resilient Cities website
• Download the official press release: "Funding for adaptation has to be bottom-up"
• Download the Bonn Declaration of Mayors 2011

Europe Day 2011 – strategic partnerships for dialogue and action
11/05/2011
The Strategic Partnership that exists between South Africa and the European Union (EU) was reinforced during Europe Day 2011, which ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability attended and participated in, at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria (South Africa) on Wednesday 11 May 2011. Read more »

Reconstitution of the Africa Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction
2011/03/29-31

Over 70 high-level delegates attended a workshop focused on disaster risk reduction in Nairobi, Kenya this March. The event saw the reconstitution of the African Working Group for Disaster Risk Reduction (AWGDRR) as well as the launch of the World Disaster Reduction Campaign on “Making Cities Resilient: My City is getting ready” in Africa. Read more »

ICLEI Africa Director leads Megacities session at the World Economic Forum on Africa meetings

2011/05/05

The 21st World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on Africa kicked off in Cape Town on 4 May 2011, with about 900 high level delegates, including heads of states, business leaders, politicians, academics and representatives of NGO’s gathering for the important three-day event. Read more »

Impumelelo Award winners tour Germany to witness climate change initiatives

2011/04/12
Five of the Impumelelo 2010 Sustainability Award-Winners were recently selected by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung to travel to Germany to study German implementation of the Kyoto Protocol from state to federal level. The week-long study tour focused on environmental and climate change initiatives within the rural and urban areas of Germany. More »

eThekwini Water and Sanitation – A leader in Water and Sanitation
2011/04/04

During the World Water Day Event held in Zaragoza, Spain on 22 March 2011 eThekwini’s Water and Sanitation Department was awarded with the ‘Water for Life’, Best Practices Award in the Best Participatory, Communication, Awareness- raising and Education Practices category.

eThekwini’s Water and Sanitation Department submitted their application alongside 35 applicants from around the world, taking first prize for the submission of their project! Read more »

World Water Day: water and cities

2011/03/22
The Water and Cities Debate took place as part of the afternoon sessions of World Water Day 2011. Energy was still running high as over 100 participants joined together to listen and engage with the panelists of the Debate. Read more »

World Water Day

Read more on the day's proceedings here»

Read about the closing of World Water Day 2011 here»

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability takes part in World Water Day 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa
2011/03/20

Margaret Pageler, Executive Committee member of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Barbara Anton of ICLEI European Secretariat along with Tarryn Quayle and colleagues from ICLEI-Africa attended World Water Day 2011, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, in South Africa, from 20–22 March.

World Water Day 2011 took on the theme of Water and Urbanisation. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most rapidly urbanising regions in the world, making this a timely and relevant theme. Read more

African Mayors at Climate Congress Urge Nations to Make Equitable Global Deal at UNFCCC in Durban
2011/03/03

A declaration by African local governments calling on nations to deliver an equitable and comprehensive global deal at the United Nations climate talks to be held in Durban later this year, came out of the Local Climate Solutions 2011 Congress this morning (3 March 2011). Read more

Click to download the Final Declaration in English and French.

Click to download the Congress Highlights and Key Outcomes.

ACCESSanitation 2nd National Cities Workshop
Accelerating City to City Exchange for Sustainable Sanitation
2011/03/16
ICLEI Africa’s Water and Sanitation workstream attended the 2nd National Cities workshops (as part of a North-South and South-South exchange of knowledge and best practice on sustainable sanitation) in order to present examples of city sanitation plans and sustainable sanitation case studies from within Sub-Saharan Africa to the workshop participants. Read more »

Mayors want rapid and radical change

2011/02/28

The Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011 Congress kicked off this morning with high-level speakers discussing the need for more accelerated and radical action to deal with climate change issues on the African continent.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability coordinated this congress in partnership with the City of Cape Town, the main objectives being to provide real solutions for African cities using useful tools, technical workshops and international experts showcasing best practice examples. Dignitaries at the opening plenary included the Mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato; Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda; Mayor of Saint-Louis, Cheikh Mamadou Abiboulaye Dieye; Mayor of Durban, Obed Mlaba and the Ambassador of the European Union, Roeland van de Geer. More 

Earth Hour 2011

The world's largest movement against climate change

In order to make a statement against our contribution to climate change, lights will be switched off around the globe to celebrate Earth Hour at 8:30pm on Saturday 26 March 2011. 

ICLEI supports Earth Hour, and we encourage our members to take part and consider extending this sentiment beyond Earth Hour and into their daily lives.

Find our more about Earth Hour here »

Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011 kicks off

2011/02/27

The Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011 (LoCS 2011) Congress, aimed at enhancing the capacity of African local authorities in respect of climate change issues, kicked off this evening at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa. Read more here

ICLEI at COP16: Cancún, Mexico

10 December

While nations are still struggling to find a common ground on global climate actions, cities and local governments continue to strengthen their global alliance where Durban, an ICLEI member and host city of the UN climate conference in 2011 in South Africa, signs the Mexico City Pact. Read more »

Download the address by Durban Deputy Mayor, Loganathan Naidoo.

9 December 2010

Cancun, Mexico: UN refers to cities as key governmental stakeholders supporting global climate action

In a special city-focused side event held as part of the high-level segment at COP16 at the event's official venue, the crucial role of local governments in fighting climate change was officially recognised  for the first time. Mexico City's Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said that the reference to local governments as governmental stakeholders finally gives recognition to cities as key actors in the fight to tackle climate change. See more here »

Logie Naidoo, Deputy Mayor of Durban, spoke at the UN-HABITAT side event, Cities and Climate Change: Enhancing mitigation and adaptation action. The event highlighted the variety of approaches and tools that the United Nations system is using to support cities to act on mitigation and adaptation. For more on this event click here

29 November 2010

Monday 29 November marked the opening of the UNFCCC COP16 in Cancún, Mexico, which will run until 10 December 2010, with the aim of continued negotiations on long-term cooperation (AWG-LCA) and a subsequent, post-2012 commitment period to the Kyoto-Protocol (AWG-KP).

Daily reports on the event will be available as it progresses. See more here »

Africa's population shifting to cities, says new UN-HABITAT report
26/11/10

Over the next four decades, the number of Africans living in cities is set to triple, UN-HABITAT says in its new report The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequalities and Urban Land Markets. By 2050, three out of every five Africans will live in a city.  More »

ICLEI and LAB at the CBD COP10

The adoption by the Parties of the Plan of Action for Sub-national Governments, Cities and other Local Authorities and Biodiversity (2011 – 2020) at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) in Nagoya, Japan last month, marked perhaps the most important milestone so far for local government biodiversity advocacy at the highest level. More »

ICLEI’s Future of Cities Congress wraps up in Incheon, Korea
2010/10/07
An eco-efficiency challenge, messages to the G20, COP10 CBD, COP16 UNFCCC and a new ICLEI Strategy were unveiled at the Future of Cities closing on 7 October 2010 in Incheon, Korea.

ICLEI celebrated its 20th anniversary, having grown over the past two decades to become the world's leading local government association highlighting cities as crucial players in finding local solutions to the global climate challenge.  At the world congress in Incheon many Members have contributed stories about being part of the ICLEI network.

The Future of Cities Congress allowed ICLEI to further make its voice heard by preparing key messages on the role of cities and local government in taking action and delivering solutions to tackle climate change, preserve biodiversity and achieve sustainability. See more»

Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Climate Adaptation and Participatory Action Research in Accra, Ghana

2010/10/05

Members of the ICLEI Africa Climate Adaptation team recently participated in the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) knowledge exchange training workshop on Participatory Action Research (PAR) held in Accra, Ghana from 20-25 September 2010. Read more here »

Local Initiatives in the Promotion of the Attainment of the Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals

2010/10/04

In October 2010, ICLEI Africa’s Water and Sanitation team joined representatives from the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) on the first of fifteen missions to countries around the continent involved in the Local Initiatives in the Promotion of the Attainment of the Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals project. Read more »

International TEEB Launch in Africa
2010/09/13

The African leg of the international launch of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) D2 Report for Local and Regional Policymakers, coordinated by ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa, took place last week from 8-10 September 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event was hosted by the South African Ministry for Water and Environmental Affairs, UNEP- TEEB, South African National Parks (SANParks), the South African National Institute for Biodiversity (SANBI) and the City of Cape Town. More »

ICLEI Congress: “Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011”

2010/09/13
ICLEI Africa is pleased to share with you the first announcement of our upcoming Congress: Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011, to be held in Cape Town, 27 February - 3 March 2011. This milestone ICLEI Congress provides an ideal platform for local and sub-national authorities and their stakeholders to focus on local action, both on climate adaptation and resilience on the one side as well as on energy and mitigation - within a specific African urban context.

Ahead of the UNFCCC COP17 taking place in South Africa, it will also serve as an excellent preparatory platform for Africa’s local and sub-national authorities and their partners to review any UNFCCC COP16 outcomes emerging from Mexico (Dec ember 2010) and to prepare for participation and representivity in the South African-hosted COP17 meetings and associated events at the end of 2011.

For more, please see the Congress Announcement in English and French.

Walvis Bay official awarded National Environmental Award

2010/09/10

David Uushona’s, Environment and Solid Waste Manager for the Walvis Bay Municipality in Namibia, dedication to sustainable development issues, has elevated the Municipality of Walvis Bay as a forerunner of Namibian environmental issues. Mr Uushona was honoured with a Namibian Coastodian Award at the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) gala dinner on 30 July 2010 in Swakopmund, Namibia. More »

1st Working Session towards attaining Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals in 14 African National Associations of Local Government

2010/09/10

The United Cities and Local Governments for Africa (UCLGA) in partnership with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa convened the inaugural UCLGA Focal Point Network (FPN) working session for the project ‘Local Initiatives in the promotion of the attainment of the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal’s. The working session aimed to contribute to the project’s outcomes, to facilitate networking among participants and to explore potential interactions with key partners to the benefit of their countries. It was hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) at the DBSA Vulindlela Academy in Midrand, Johannesburg, from 16-19 August 2010. More»

The International Launch of the The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) D2: Report for Local and Regional Policy Makers:

2010/07/30

The ICLEI Africa Local Action for Biodiversity team has been contracted by UNEP in partnership with the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to coordinate the Cape Town leg of TEEB D2 Report launch.

The launch will form part of an international launch to be held in four cities simultaneously, Ghent (Belgium), New Delhi (India), Curitiba (Brazil) and in Cape Town (South Africa). More »

Article 6 workshop heading to Africa

2010/07/16

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has just approved funding for a Regional Workshop for Africa on Article 6 of the Convention. More »

Water Champion Cities’ first Workshop

2010/09/15

The City of Incheon hosted the Champion Cities’ Workshop entitled “Cities and Water: Championing Innovation and Sustainability” held during 11 – 12 August 2010. This was the first stakeholder consultation meeting for the 6th World Water Forum for Water Champion Cities that have signed the Istanbul Water Consensus. The meeting took place within the framework of the World City Water Forum Infra-Workshop 2010. ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability was represented by Ms Margret Pageler, Ms Lebogang Nhleko and the immediate ICLEI Vice President Mayor Stephen Kabuye, who were part of the discussion panel. More »

Spain wins 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010/07/12

South Africa bids farewell today to the world’s most watched sporting event and to the excitement that has enveloped the country for the last 8 weeks, the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM. Sunday 11 July saw the closing ceremony, which featured an appearance by Nelson Mandela, as well as performances by Shakira and various South African performers. The final soccer match of the tournament, where Brazil and the Netherlands battled for the golden FIFA World Cup trophy, was the first between two uncrowned teams since 1978. Spain won the final game 1-0. More»

Green Week Report Back

2010/06/23

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability took part in a very successful European Commission’s Green Week Conference from 1 – 4 June 2010, in Brussels, Belgium.

The focus of Green Week was biodiversity, and ICLEI’s exhibition stand showcased ICLEI’s global biodiversity programme, Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB). The stand drew much interest amongst delegates and ICLEI staff had many interesting and enjoyable meetings with new contacts, stakeholders, partners, supporters and friends. More»

South African Green Economy Summit formulates draft statement of conclusion

2010/06/18

South Africa’s Green Economy Summit, which took place from 18 to 20 May 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa (SA), has formulated a draft statement of conclusion focusing on the development of a job intensive green economy in SA and a resolution to cooperation on cross cutting issues. This statement also acknowledges the role of Local Governments in the green economy as ideally placed to implement green economy interventions.

Convened under the overarching theme, "Towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon and pro-employment growth path”, the summit intended to, amongst other things, engage various stakeholders on the development of a green economy plan. See more »

UNFCCC Climate Change Bonn Talks, June 2010

2010/06/18

The June 2010 Bonn Climate Change Talks, took place between May 31 and June 11, 2010 as a precursor to the UNFCCC COP16 conference to be held in Mexico in December 2010.

Addressing the media on the final day of the Bonn session, outgoing UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, stated that progress made during the two weeks opens the way for Cancún, Mexico to deliver the full package of operational measures that will allow developing countries to take faster, stronger action across all areas of climate change (www.unfccc.int).

The week prior to the Bonn talks, Mr De Boer spoke emphatically about the role of cities in international climate adaptation at the final plenary of the Resilient Cities Congress 2010 (coordinated by ICLEI) and said “Ultimately, it is cities that will directly face and directly deal with climate change impacts". More »

“Feel it, it is here!” –  Opening of the 1^st Soccer World Cup in Africa

2010/06/10

All eyes are on the countdown clock as South Africa prepares for the opening ceremony and kick-off of the first FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup^TM on African soil, on Friday 11 June. “Feel it, it is here!” is the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s official marketing campaign slogan for the event, and South Africans are certainly feeling it. Although the World Cup^TM kicks off on Friday 11 June, with the opening ceremony at 2pm and the first game at 4pm (GMT+2), South Africans are already celebrating the start of the international games. More»

City of Cape Town launches MyCiti bus loop and Airport Shuttle services

2010/06/08

The new City of Cape Town bus services in central Cape Town, active for the duration of the Soccer World Cup^TM, is set to transform transport in the inner city and provide a taste of the permanent inner-city service to be set up as the first phase of the new permanent MyCiTi service.

The new Cape Town airport shuttle service will run between the Civic Centre on Hertzog Boulevard in central Cape Town, and Cape Town International Airport. It will be a permanent service, continuing after the World Cup.

The new MyCiti bus loop service operating in central Cape Town offers a new form of transport for the inner city, which will move Capetonians safely between areas of work, study and recreation.

The service is brand new, having started on Saturday 30 May, and is hoping for substantial local support. For details on routes, times and costs, see Cape Town Tourism’s press release here »

6th European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conference - Dunkerque (France) 2010

19-21/05/2010

The largest European event dedicated to local sustainable development will convene key actors to deliver a political message to Europe and the World on climate and the wider sustainability agenda. Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in this major conference. We invite you to register before 30 April. More »

www.dunkerque2010.org

Greening the FIFA 2010 World Cup^TM

ICLEI Member cities from South Africa are pursuing "Green Goals" as host cities to the 2010 Soccer World Cup^TM. A successful World Cup^TM is as much about the lasting legacy left, and the long term environmental impact made, as is it about the fans, glitz and glam of the actual event. Click here to find out more.

Local Biodiversity Management Workshops in South Africa

2010/04/06

The months of February and March have seen Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) facilitating workshops in three South African provinces: Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Gauteng, in an effort to raise biodiversity awareness and build local government capacity. Read more » 

Official launch of the Sustainable Urban Energy Planning Handbook

2010/03/30

UN-Habitat, in partnership with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability –Africa, have launched a sustainable energy planning handbook for local governments in the developing world.

The energy handbook, titled ‘Sustainable Urban Energy Planning: A handbook for cities and towns in developing countries’ is available to download from the UN Habitat and ICLEI websites. More »

Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) at the UN-HABITAT 5^th World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2010/03/22-26

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability’s Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Programme team launched LABNetwork, the new LAB entry level initiative for cities and local governments at the UN Habitat’s 5^th World Urban Forum (WUF) in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in March this year.

The inaugural meeting of the LAB Advisory Committee, a momentous occasion for the LAB Programme, also took place at the WUF.

At the LAB Networking Session, Urban Nature: Local Solutions to Global Challenges, LAB shared the stage with our esteemed United Nations and other partners to discuss various biodiversity tools and project options available to local governments. This panel event, chaired by the Secretary General of ICLEI, positioned LAB as an enabling platform for local governments and partner organisations.

Download the full WUF report here

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and UCLGA sign a partnership agreement: working with local governments towards Millenium Development Goals

2010/03/12

The potential role of local governments in contributing towards the achievement of the Water and Sanitation Millenium Development Goals (MDG) was strengthened by a partnership agreement signed today by two organizations working with local governments towards sustainability in Africa.

United Cities and Local Governments in Africa (UCLGA) and ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa signed a partnership agreement and launched their latest European Commission (EC) Funded project "Local Initiatives in Promotion of the Attainment of Water and Sanitation Millenium Development Goals". To read more, download the article in English or French.

SA to host Basic meeting in April 2010

2010/01/28

The Basic-group of countries – Brazil, SA, India and China – attended a meeting in Delhi, during the weekend of 22 January to establish the way forward on working together toward the next stages of the international climate change process. The Basic group meetings come after the production of the ‘Copenhagen Accord’, a non-binding deal stemming from the UNFCCC COP15 which took place in Copenhagen in December 2009. More »

New Mitigation Tool for Local Governments

2010/01/19

ICLEI Africa, in partnership with various role-players, have completed developing, and are in the process of distributing, a new climate mitigation guidebook aimed at local governments. The mitigation guidebook, Sustainable Urban Energy Planning: A Handbook for Cities and Towns in Developing Countries, has been developed in cooperation with UN-HABITAT and UNEP and gives a comprehensive overview of Sustainable Urban Energy planning and implementation in developing countries at the local government level. You can download the guidebook from the ICLEI Africa Climate Change Page.

This tool is also available on the UN-HABITAT website.

Conference of the Parties 15 in Copenhagen

2009/12/22

The 18th of December marked the end of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark. This historic event was attended by over 100 heads of state and national representatives. ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - facilitated a delegation of more than 1100 local government representatives from across the globe through the Local Government Climate Roadmap process. ICLEI was also host to the Local Government Climate Lounge, which was situated in the heart of the Bella Centre, where the climate talks were being held. For outcomes of the COP15, see the UNFCCC and COP15 websites.

For more information, visit the websites for the Local Government Climate Roadmap and Local Government Climate Lounge, or download the Climate Lounge report and the Climate Roadmap report.

Project Final Report available here.

From Copenhagen to Cancun to South Africa publication available here.

See outgoing UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer's speech given at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Bonn on 3 May 2010, here.

Go to this page for news from our offices.

Local Biodiversity Management workshops in South Africa

2009/02/08

Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) is implementing workshops in 3 South African provinces, Western Cape, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, which aim to build local government capacity and raise biodiversity awareness. 2010, being the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB), presents an unprecedented opportunity for local governments across the world to take local action for biodiversity and these workshops will aid local governments to derive maximum benefit from the IYB. The Local Biodiversity Management workshops are being implemented by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - for the national South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), with financial support from DEA, as well as the Kingdom of Norway (Norad).

The dates for the workshops are:

Western Cape: 24-26 February

Mpumalanga: 8-10 March

Gauteng: 23-25 March

Five City Adaptation Network Update

2009/02/05

The Five City Adaptation Network project, an Africa-based regional climate change adaptation initiative managed by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, was launched during October and November last year. The project has been enthusiastically received by the participating cities, which include Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Cape Town (South Africa), Walvis Bay (Namibia), Maputo (Mozambique) and Port Louis (Mauritius). More »

Archbishop Desmond Tutu urges the world’s leaders to make a stand

2009/12/07

In an address to the international community, Archbishop Desmond Tutu urges decision-makers to take a stand on climate change: “The final measure of a generation’s courage is the memory of what they have done. We must live in memory as the generation that pulled humanity back from the brink of catastrophic climate change…Now it is time to listen to our consciences. There is a clear moral imperative to tackle the cause of global warming.” View the Archbishop's address here.

South Africa commits to carbon emissions reductions targets

2009/12/07

According to a press release from the South African National Government, over the next 10 years South Africa has committed to reduce emissions by 34% from ‘business as usual,’ the level they would reach under ordinary circumstances. By 2025 this figure will peak at 42%, effectively levelling off and thereafter begining to decline. For more from the National Government, see the latest press release.

Kuyasa wins again

2009/11/16

The Kuyasa Clean Development Mechanism project, a joint partnership between the City of Cape Town, the National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the South African Export Development Fund, has recently received its second award of 2009. The first award, the Energy Project Award, was awarded as part of the South African National Energy Association Energy Awards 2009 held earlier this year. The second award, the Kamoso Award, is dedicated to National, Provincial, Local Government and Public Bodies that have excelled in implementing the Expanded Public Works Programme, a South African National Government programme aimed at providing poverty and income relief, through temporary work, for the unemployed to carry out socially useful activities. More »

International flair in the ICLEI Africa Office

2009/11/17

ICLEI Africa has been fortunate to host a number of international interns from countries worldwide over the last few months, which has added an international flair to the Africa Office. Alice Lépissier, from France, was the first intern to join the Energy and Climate Change team and worked on Energy and Climate Change governance. The Secretariat currently hosts Tatjana Nolde from Germany; Luzia Brun from Switzerland and Andreas Eriksson from France who are working on various projects in ICLEI Africa and contributing important knowledge and ideas from their different environmental and developmental backgrounds. Recently the office said goodbye to Saara-Kaiser Törmälä from Finland, who added valuable input into the Local Action for Biodiversity Initiative.

Since February this year, ICLEI Africa is also host to two Southern African interns, Claire Martens and Farayi Madwiza from South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively. The ICLEI Africa Office benefits from the unique and fresh environmental perspectives of all the interns, both local and international and welcomes the important role they play in their contribution to both the projects and also the team as a whole. 

Launch of the 5 City African Adaptation Network

2009/10/26

Representatives from the ICLEI Africa office recently visited Walvis Bay, Namibia, to launch the 5 City African Adaptation Network. The aim of the visit was to assess the current vulnerability of the city and surrounding communities to climate change impacts. Workshops were also held with a number of stakeholders in Walvis Bay in order to give an overview of the predicted threats of climate change in Namibia and to share knowledge and understanding about the projected impact of sea-level rise and other climatic variables. More »

WMCCC: another member from Africa!

2009/10/06

The World Mayors Council on Climate Change is an alliance of committed local government leaders advocating an enhanced recognition and involvement of mayors in multilateral efforts addressing climate change and related issues of global sustainability. In September the Council received another member – from Kenya. Mayor Saleh Maalim Alio, from the City Council of Mandera, has recently joined. Since then, 19 more Mayors from all over the world have joined. You too can join the Council. Visit the website. 

New logo for the International Year of Biodiversity Unveiled

2009/09/16

The logo and the messaging for the celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity were unveiled on 8 September 2009 in Strömstad, Sweden, on the occasion of the high-level European Union meeting “Visions for Biodiversity Beyond 2010 - People, Ecosystem Services, and the Climate Crisis”. All parties and CBD partners have been encouraged to use the logo in all their planned celebrations for the year. For more, see the press release

The ICLEI World Congress, 14 – 18 June 2009: African Local Leaders gather in Edmonton, Canada, to discuss urban environmental sustainability

2009/06/30

From 14 to 18 June 2009, 600 participants from 57 countries gathered in the City of Edmonton in Western Canada for the triennial World Congress of 'ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability', a global network of 1100 cities working for sustainable development. The programme touched upon many areas of urban environmental sustainability, from Climate & Energy to Biodiversity, and from Resilience & Adaptation to Water. More »

Urban Nature Forum: Summary of Proceedings

2009/06/18

Friday June 12th marked the beginning of Urban Nature Forum 2009, a side event to the ICLEI World Congress 2009. The event was held in collaboration with ICLEI’s Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Initiative and IUCN’s Countdown 2010 programme. More »

Cape Winelands District Municipality – first African municipality to join new phase of LAB - 18 May, 2009

2009/05/22

 Cape Winelands District Municipality became the first African municipality, and also the first district municipality to join the second phase of the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) programme. The agreement was officially signed by Executive Mayor Clarence Johnson at the ICLEI Africa offices in Cape Town on Monday 18 May. More » 

DEAT provides funding for LAB Local Government Biodiversity Management Guidebook
2009/04/28

On Monday 20th of April, the South African National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and the ICLEI Africa Secretariat finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding a significant contribution from DEAT towards the publication of the much anticipated LAB Local Government Biodiversity Management Guidebook. More »

Brussels Capital-Region: First to join new phase of LAB

2009/03/23

The Brussels Capital-Region is amongst a variety of cities keen to join the next phase of Local Action for Biodiversity. The Brussels Capital-Region recently formally became a participant in the new phase of LAB by signing the Agreement with ICLEI Africa last week at an official signing ceremony in the Belgian capital city.  More »

Upcoming Publication: the LAB Guidebook

2009/06/18

ICLEI’s LAB Guidebook, produced in close association with IUCN and the CBD Secretariat, is a highly anticipated upcoming publication which, for the first time ever, will provide practitioners with comprehensive guidelines on the multiple aspects of biodiversity management in the challenging local government context. For more information see the LAB website.

Cape Town mourns sustainable development champion and dedicated Council staff member
2009/02/06
A senior employee of the City of Cape Town (South Africa) was tragically killed in an accident on February 03, 2009. Mr Craig Haskins was training for an upcoming major cycling event and was knocked down by a motorist. Craig was a valuable asset to the City’s Environmental Resource Management and Strategic Development Information departments over the past nine years. More »

Participate at the 5th World Water Forum
2009/01/22

ICLEI Africa members are encouraged to attend the 5th World Water Forum, to be held in Istanbul (Turkey) from 16 - 22 March 2009. African local governments have a key role to play in water management issues. More »

ICLEI welcomes Mumbai as 1000th Member

2008/11/10

Mumbai, the financial capital of India, joins metropolises such as Johannesburg, Sao Paolo, Seoul and Los Angeles, as well as smaller communities, as the 1000th Member of ICLEI. The organisation has doubled in size since 2007. More »

South African Local Authorities once again awarded international Blue Flag status for their beaches

2008/11/07

ICLEI member cities, Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Metro (including Port Elizabeth) between them have 10 of the 19 beaches that were officially awarded Blue Flag status for the 2008/9 season. The Blue Flag is an international award, working towards sustainable development at beaches and marinas. More »

Poznań Local Government Climate Sessions

2008/10/29

Taking place from 9 to 11 December 2008, this event will convene local government leaders and facilitate the dialogue about the position and role of local governments in the new UN global climate agreement with national and supranational partners. More »

Mayor of Cape Town wins the 2008 World Mayor Award

2008/10/14

The City of Cape Town’s Executive Mayor, Helen Zille, has been selected as the world’s number one mayor from a list of 820 mayors around the world. Cape Town is currently an ICLEI Member and host city for the ICLEI Africa Secretariat. More »

World Habitat Day 2008

2008/10/06

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October each year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. More »

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality establishes Environmental Management Framework

2008/09/23

The Environmental Management Framework (EMF) of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is the first to be produced for an entire Service Delivery Region in South Africa. More »

ICLEI invites local governments to the next phase of 'Local Action for Biodiversity' Initiative

2008/09/16

Since 2006, 21 local governments from fifteen countries pioneered the urban biodiversity project ‘Local Action for Biodiversity’ (LAB) by ICLEI. Phase 1 participants are now inviting peers to grow their ranks. More »

ICLEI World Congress 2009 – 2nd Announcement

2008/09/12

Join mayors, councillors and senior officials of local governments in Edmonton, Canada to discuss future strategies of local sustainability. Attend the 5-day ICLEI World Congress 2009: Connecting Leaders - Advancing Local Action for Sustainability, from 14 - 18 June 2009. View the second announcement here [PDF], or visit the ICLEI World Congress website at www.iclei.org/worldcongress.

Next milestone: 1000 Members worldwide

2008/09/08

ICLEI’s membership has grown from 450 to 900 Members in 66 countries of the world since the last ICLEI World Congress in 2006, held in Cape Town, South Africa. Membership continues to grow worldwide, with a recent number of 902 Members (21 August 2008). ICLEI Secretary General Konrad Otto-Zimmermann is confident to reach 1000 Members in the organization before year-end. “This milestone will show that urban leaders, when connected to one another, can engage to make positive change happen” says Otto-Zimmermann. Membership info »

“Cities & Biodiversity Case Series” extended

2008/09/05

A further eight case studies from cities and towns participating in the Local Action for Biodiversity project have been completed. They show how cities and towns take action in managing their biodiversity and its threats. More »

New support materials on local Integrated Water Resources Management

2008/09/01

A set of guidance materials have been launched entitled ‘Local Government and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)’. The materials are specifically tailored for local governments in the SADC region. More »