UN-HABITAT this week announced a new drive to raise awareness in African cities about climate change problems so that proper mitigation and adaptation plans can be put in place. A pilot programme for local authorities will start in five cities – Mombasa (Kenya), Kigali (Rwanda), St Louis (Senegal), Walvis Bay (Namibia), and Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). The agency said there was a lack of awareness at both the national and local level on the need to collaborate and to identify ways of coping with climate change impacts and disasters caused by extreme weather. There was a need to set up a new climate network to help share information and provide guidance. The aim is to strengthen the capacities of local governments in Africa on mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change. The expected accomplishments of the project are:
- To strengthen and expand existing climate change networks in five selected countries in Africa, by introducing the local government dimension
- To build capacity of local governments in Africa on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- To improve policy dialogue and links between national and local climate change policies and programmes. At the world climate neogitations in Copenhagen, meanwhile, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom, warned of a global increase in extreme weather disasters. |
