Category: Cities and climate change

Peer-to-peer learning and networking – in the focus of municipal development cooperation

Posted on by erik

The OECD report “Reshaping Decentralised Development Co-operation in Germany” was presented at the “6th OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs” in Brussels on 20 April 2023. It assesses decentralised development cooperation (DDC) policies, strategies, programmes and financing in Germany, as well as the challenges they face, and provides concrete recommendations on how to increase the effectiveness and impact of DDC policies and programmes.

It is the result of an 18-month policy dialogue with more than 100 stakeholders from all levels of government in Germany. The OECD conducted two surveys: one with the federal states and one with the municipalities. The OECD survey of the federal states, conducted between November 2021 and January 2022, was targeted to the development cooperation focal points in the 16 German federal states. The survey was answered by the departments responsible for development cooperation in the state ministries of 14 of the 16 federal states, as well as by representatives of the Federal Government (BMZ) and the implementing organisations. A similar survey was extended to the German municipalities and addressed to the respective persons responsible for development cooperation on the ground. This second survey was conducted between April and June 2022.

Since the 1950s, the DDC has become increasingly important within German development cooperation. Compared to other members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, German municipalities and regions provide by far the highest Official Development Assistance (ODA) in absolute terms, totalling approximately €1538 million in 2020 followed by Spain with €369 million. Most federal states and municipalities focus their development cooperation on technical cooperation, advisory services and peer-to-peer learning as well as networking, especially in the policy areas of education, environment and health.

Results at the municipal level

At the municipal level, building and promoting networks and peer-to-peer learning are the two most used types of technical assistance for municipal DDC activities. About 75% of municipalities responding to the OECD survey engaged in building and promoting networks in 2018, 2020, or both. Peer-to-peer learning is the second most important type of technical assistance for municipalities’ DDC projects. About two-thirds of municipalities used collegial advice in their DDC programs. Roundtables and platforms that bring together actors from different sectors are tools used by municipalities that can improve communication and knowledge sharing, especially during crises and emergencies.

In this context, the cooperation of the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) of Engagement Global and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) was explicitly mentioned: “There are several forms of collaboration between Engagement Global and GIZ when it comes to international development co-operation. This encompasses SKEW projects with GIZ offices in certain partner countries such as in the Maghreb region, Ukraine and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as projects such as the Connective Cities programme that promotes the global exchange of municipal expertise and supports learning and peer-to-peer exchange between German and international urban practitioners geared toward the needs of municipalities.”

Technology and know-how transfer plays a similarly important role as peer-to-peer learning: around 60% of municipalities used it as part of their DDC activities in 2018 and/or 2020. Other relevant types of technical assistance that are important for municipalities’ DDC activities include, in particular, vocational training, advisory services, organisational development and change management.

Other important policy areas for German municipalities are governance and democracy. Nearly 30 % have been active in the areas of local governance, democracy and decentralisation in the last five years. Around 27 % have focused on social inclusion in their development cooperation activities in both 2018 and 2020. Other relevant areas of municipalities participating in the survey include urban development (20%), health, especially since the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic (22% active municipalities under SDC), and economic development, water, gender and culture. In general, it is important to find a common understanding of the objective of an DDC project in order to avoid a mismatch in priorities.

Criticism and recommendations

However, the report also sees weaknesses in the German DDC system: most of the states would coordinate their policies with the federal government through the federal-state programme. However, there is hardly any policy coordination between the states and the municipalities. This could lead to scattered small projects, unused synergy potential in the partner countries and duplication of work. In addition, the DDC still has room for improvement, especially at the country level.

Furthermore, there is no uniform definition of decentralised development cooperation and insufficient data for impact monitoring. Appropriate evidence of impact could increase the overall attractiveness of DDC. Another point of criticism was the bureaucratic hurdles associated with financial support, which is often limited to one financial year.

The resulting policy recommendations are therefore in brief:

  • Strengthening cooperation between federal states and municipalities on DDC.
  • Strengthen DDC at the state level by promoting more direct cooperation with local and regional governments in partner countries.
  • Clarify the definition and boundaries of DDC in Germany to promote action and strengthen existing DDC guidelines.
  • Enhance policy dialogue on the results and mutual benefits of cross-border DDC projects for federal states, municipalities and implementing organisations.
  • Establish a more flexible framework to expand co-financing of DDC projects and address the challenge of one-year funding agreements.
  • Simplify the bureaucratic and application procedures for funding programmes and strengthen the capacity of staff to manage development assistance at the municipal level.
  • Develop a harmonised approach to monitoring and evaluating DDC results in all countries and municipalities.

Despite all the criticism in detail, however, the effectiveness of DDC is not called into question; on the contrary, its potential for implementing the 2030 Agenda is highlighted and further expansion is recommended.

To the study: OECD: Reshaping Decentralised Development Co-operation in Germany

The learning process on flood management for risk-informed urban development has begun

Posted on by erik

The Connective Cities learning process on “Flood Management for Risk-Informed Urban Development” has taken off with great success. From 18 to 20 April 2023 practitioners from 16 cities and municipalities gathered in Windhoek, Namibia, for a kick-off event aimed at enhancing their understanding of flood management and promoting resilient urban development.

Jointly organized by Connective Cities the Global Initiative for Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM), the German Association of Cities (DST), and Engagement Global, this event marked the beginning of an intensive exchange of expertise. Let’s delve into the highlights of this initiative.

Promoting resilient urban development

The opening remarks were given by Ms. Judith Middleton from the GIZ project “Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development” who represented GIZ’s country director Dr. Thomas Kirsch. The host city of Windhoek, represented by the Deputy Mayor of Windhoek Municipality, honourable Ms. Magdalena Lombard indicated that mainstreaming disaster risk management (DRM) means understanding and acting on disaster risks as part of decision-making processes across sectors to protect development progress, reduce losses and support growth. Ms. Hellen Likando from the Directorate Disaster Risk Management at the Office of the Prime Minister highlighted that the government of Namibia is geared towards building resilience towards disasters in line with the global Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). She further encouraged participants to use the event to learn, tap into best practices, and to develop innovative ideas that can provide long-term flood risk management solutions to their respective cities for risk-informed urban development initiatives.

Water Sensitive Urban Planning in times of Climate Change

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Heavy rain and storm water events such as those in the Ahr Valley in Germany in 2021, or in Pakistan, Australia and South Africa in 2022, cause streams to swell to raging torrents, flood roads, destroy houses and bridges and lead to loss of life as well as damage worth billions. They occur suddenly and can only be predicted in the short term. According to a study supported by the World Bank, flood risk already affects 1.81 billion people, more than 20% of the global population, most of them in poor and middle income countries.

In consequence, local governments and municipal leaders, planners and service providers look for more integrated and inclusive solutions to avoid human, environmental and financial losses related to flood.

This Peer Learning Note (PLN) documents the practices and discussions shared between cities and partners during the Connective Cities Dialogue Event “The Role of Rain and Storm Water Management in Water Sensitive Urban Planning”, which took place from December 6-8, 2022 in Cologne, Germany.

Action for Cool Cities- Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort

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As a second milestone of the learning process ‘Action for Cool Cities – Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort’, Connective Cities organised the ideation and prototyping workshop that was held in Amman – Jordan on the 7th-9th March 2023. Participating municipalities engaged in peer learning and technical advisory to ideate and envision prototypes for solutions to optimise municipal practices and projects related to mainstreaming climate consideration in municipal urban planning. The following thematic fields were under focus:

1. Designing climate-responsive outdoor public spaces and promoting engagement of citizens

2. Steering Structure: Interdepartmental Communication framework/platform in municipalities

3. Optimizing existing building and urban design regulations by introducing key performance indicators and improving in-house capacity to drive change

4. The role of municipality as a regulator and implementer: budget analysis and strategies for cost recovery of climate action measures

Water sensitive urban planning – how can heavy rain and storm water be better managed?

Posted on by erik

Heavy rain and storm water events such as those in the Ahr valley in Germany in 2021 or in Pakistan, Australia or South Africa in 2022 cause streams to swell to raging torrents. They flood roads, destroy houses and bridges and important infrastructure. Yet not only do they cause damage worth billions – they also lead to loss of life. They occur suddenly, and can only be predicted at short notice. Due to climate change, these events will continue to increase in frequency and severity worldwide.

41 experts from 16 cities and eight countries accepted the joint invitation of Connective Cities with Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln (StEB Köln) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to this dialogue event in December 2022.

Twelve practical examples from five countries formed the starting point for an intensive peer consultation on which approaches can be used to minimise the risks of heavy rain and storm water events for people and municipal infrastructure. Existing projects were enriched and new project ideas emerged.

Water-sensitive urban planning – How can heavy rain and storm water be better managed?

Posted on by erik

Heavy rain and storm water events, such as those in Germany’s Ahr Valley in 2021 or in Pakistan, Australia and South Africa in 2022, cause streams to swell into raging torrents. They flood roads, destroy houses and bridges, as well as important infrastructure. Yet not only do they cause damage worth billions – they also lead to loss of life. They occur suddenly, and can only be predicted at short notice. Due to climate change, these events will continue to increase in frequency and severity worldwide.

Connective Cities organises opportunities for local government experts in Germany and worldwide to dialogue on relevant and current topics, in order to deepen development cooperation. 41 experts from 16 cities and eight countries accepted the joint invitation of  Connective Cities, Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln (StEB Köln) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to this dialogue event.

Twelve practical examples from five countries formed the starting point for an intensive collegial discussion on which approaches can be used to minimise the risks of heavy rain and storm water events for people and municipal infrastructure. Existing projects were enriched and new project ideas emerged. The documentation provides insights into this consultation process.

Mangrove Forest as a line of defense in Quelimane City, Mozambique

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The City of Quelimane is vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disasters. As a response measure to events such as cyclones and the high winds, the city has adopted the increase of the mangrove forest as a defence mechanism. This has been achieved through sensitization campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of mangrove ecosystems as a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem and to promote solutions for their sustainable management, conservation and use. The communities have also been supplied with the mangroves seedlings and trained on how to plant and nurture them. Successive years of natural coastal erosion and landscape changes for agricultural use, as well as urbanization, have reduced the extent of the mangrove forest in certain areas. This has exposed the coastal communities to the devastating negative effects of climate change, particularly sea level rise.

Quelimane population has most economic activities situated along the coast and is now experiencing, more than ever before, a major threat from the rising sea. Sea level rise, flooding, saline intrusion, land erosion and decreasing biodiversity are phenomena of which occurrences have increased due to the impacts of climate change.

In Quelimane, mangroves are growing along the riverbanks, in estuaries and further inland, as well as along the entire muddy coast. The most commonly known mangrove specie is Avicenia marina. Seeing that the loss of the mangrove negatively affects their standard of living, the community has actively been involved in the mangrove reforestation and, some neighbourhoods close to the mangrove, formed local mangrove management committees that oversee the use of the mangroves. Some committees proposed use of the mangroves for bee keeping which has been a co-benefit to the initial project. The fear of being stung by bees also keeps people away from the mangroves.

Voices from Connective Cities – Al-Maghazi Municipality

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Al-Maghazi in Palestine is a small municipality that is home for many. In this video, the representatives of the municipality describe the municipality’s pursuit to fulfill its developmental role and improve living conditions for the local community despite the various challenges that are amplified by the siege that the Gaza strips suffers from since 14 years . Ms. Amani Ismail values the benefits of peer learning from Connective Cities network members, and has utilised the activities conducted by Connective Cities to develop a proposal for a community garden in Al-Maghazi. She hopes that all municipalities in Gaza district’s join Connective Cities network.

Watch video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/Y7jClLfDFOw

Linear Parks in Campinas, Brazil

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nterview with Gabriel Dias Mangolini Neves The city of Campinas, like many Brazilian cities, experienced rapid urban growth on the outskirts of the city due to rural exodus since the 1970s, which was largely unplanned in terms of urban planning and ecology. Campinas chose linear parks as a nature-based solution to solve several problems at once: More resilience against heavy rain and heat, more community life through public spaces with sports and leisure facilities. 49 parks are planned, two are already being implemented. Learn more about nature-based solutions in the interview with Gabriel Dias Mangolini Neves, Head and Environmental Engineer at the Secretariat of Green, Environment and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of Campinas.

Subtitles in German, English and Portuguese are available.

Watch video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/s87ad6O-x88

Action for Cool Cities – Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort.

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As the first step of the learning process ‘Action for Cool Cities- Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort’, the kickoff event was held on 30 Nov – 1 Dec 2022. During this event, good practices were showcased on the reduction of carbon emissions in building stock and improving outdoor thermal comfort as well as examples of faltering implementation in these key spheres of action. Participating municipalities engaged in peer learning and group discussions to observe and understand contextual considerations shaping municipal practices and projects related to climate action.