Category: Regional project workshops

Projects for the expansion of renewable energies

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Version française

The Regional Renewable Energy for Cities Workshop, held from October 23-25, 2024, in Tunis, Tunisia, was organized by Connective Cities, RoAid, the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM), and the City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund). The event was part of the Renforcement de la Gouvernance Locale et Modernisation des Service Locaux (REMO) project by GIZ Tunisia due to its close collaboration with Tunisian municipalities, key partners in the project, as well as its partnership with the Ministry of the Interior.

The regional conference aimed to strengthen renewable energy initiatives in urban areas, provide technical expertise, and promote peer-to-peer learning among cities in North and West Africa.

Tunisian cities participating in the workshop demonstrate a strong commitment to improving citizens’ quality of life, enhancing safety, and reducing energy costs through investments in green energy solutions. Their priorities include public lighting using photovoltaic panels and sustainable energy operations for public buildings (e.g., health, education, recreation).

The goal of these cities, regardless of their size or character, is to become more attractive for residents, investors, and tourists by fostering sustainable development and creating a healthy environment.

Tunisian cities face several challenges in their transition to green energy systems. Key obstacles include:

  • limited access to non-reimbursable funding,
  • modest technical and financial preparation,
  • political-administrative constraints, and
  • a shortage of technical expertise in the environmental sector.

Despite these hurdles, opportunities exist for cities to access support through initiatives like The Gap Fund, which provides assistance for feasibility studies, cost-benefit analyses, and securing international financing. International development banks prioritize projects that emphasize environmental health, community well-being, and the adoption of green technologies, adding significant value to local populations.

With immense solar potential and a favorable modernization context, Tunisian cities must focus on collaboration with other municipalities or regions to secure larger-scale funding. Leveraging the expertise of institutions such as GIZ, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and other development banks is essential. Additionally, adopting proven, cost-effective solutions from successful global projects can help tailor efforts to their specific needs. By aligning their initiatives with international standards, Tunisian cities can accelerate their transition to sustainable green energy systems and ensure a healthier, more attractive environment for citizens, investors, and tourists alike.

Day 1: Focus on project preparation, financing, and expert presentations

The workshop began with a welcome address by Madame Samira Abidi, President of the Instance Générale de Prospective et d’Appui à la Décentralisation, Ministry of Interior, Tunisia. She emphasized the importance of supporting cities in their renewable energy efforts, highlighting that the Ministry has available funds to support projects. Madame Abidi stressed the need for combined funding opportunities to maximize impact and welcomed all participants to collaborate towards sustainable solutions.

Jelena Karamatijević (Connective Cities) introduced the objectives of the workshop, stressing the organization’s commitment to peer learning and knowledge exchange among cities. She also introduced Connective Cities as a global network facilitating collaboration and capacity-building to tackle sustainability challenges through urban innovation and energy efficiency projects.

Romanian city expertise and good practices

The technical sessions began with a presentation by RoAid, focusing on the experiences of Romanian cities and how they have overcome challenges similar to those faced by cities in Tunisia and other African countries. Romanian experts discussed specific examples of solar energy integration, smart grid technologies, and energy-efficient infrastructure. These insights were particularly relevant, as Romania’s urban energy projects closely align with those of the participating cities. Romanian cities demonstrated innovative urban solutions in solar street lighting, community-driven energy models, and energy-efficient public infrastructure.

Urban Thinkers Campus in Amman, Jordan

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Connective Cities co-organized the Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) that was held for the first time in Amman-Jordan. It aimed at generating insights and discussions to inform urban policies and strategies, fostering sustainable and inclusive urban development. Topics under focus were affordable/adequate housing, green infrastructure, and sustainable mobility. With representation from Jordanian and German municipalities, the Ministry of Transportation, NGOs, and academia, the UTC served as an inclusive forum for meaningful dialogue among urban researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, aimed at fostering constructive urban change.
 

Tourism promotion strategies in municipalities

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Adopting innovative tourism strategies can help municipalities boost their economies and promote sustainable development. These strategies often focus on leveraging local culture, history, natural resources, and new technologies. Municipalities in the MENA region are capitalizing on their unique cultural, historical, and natural assets while incorporating modern technology and sustainability practices to attract a wide range of tourists. During an insight session held on the 9th September 2024, representatives of municipalities from Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia and Lebanon have learned about and discussed effective tourism promotion strategies. This session focused on two key areas, namely innovative tourism promotion strategies, improving existing tourism activities and sustainable tourism practices to prevent destination decline. Participants have learned about digital marketing techniques, methods for identifying and showcasing their unique selling points, and strategies for creating compelling tourism narratives that resonate with potential visitors. The session delved into effective collaboration strategies with local businesses and tour operators to create a cohesive tourism ecosystem.

A good practice example was presented by the secretary general of the municipality of Sidi Jedidi in Tunisia by sharing insights into the local touristic attractions and the promotion strategies they have implemented that included community engagement. Through story-telling, Nablus municipality representatives have engaged the participants in a captivating virtual visit to their city in Palestine.  These presentations have sparked a lively discussion between the participants that included several elements of peer learning, particularly on the solutions developed as part of the working group which include:

  1. Local handicraft protection and promotion policy – Al Aizariya Municipality, Palestine
  2. Designing touristic trails and envisioning an eco-touristic village – Kufranja municipality, Jordan
  3. Assisting and guiding Kfarmatta municipality (Lebanon) in establishing the rules of procedures for Al Hima zone and the establishment of a Local Development Office.
  4. Tourism promotion Strategy in Nablus municipality, Palestine.

Recording of the insight session on Connective Cities platform (in Arabic).

Renewable Energy Options on the Municipal Level

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The continuation of the learning process on the topic of ‘Renewable energy options at municipal level’ brought together participants from six different countries in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Municipal experts worked on project ideas in various learning units and were able to expand their skills and improve the planning of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects through peer-to-peer counselling.

The following project ideas were presented by the municipal representatives and further developed during the workshop:

  • Mostar and Sokolac: Development of sustainable financing concepts for the establishment and operation of energy community projects
  • Ceadir Lunga: Improving the energy efficiency of public buildings
  • Senaki: Implementation of energy-efficient technologies in municipal buildings
  • Priboj: Developing the use of solar energy in public buildings

The documentation summarises the main results.

Sustainable Low-Cost Housing in Sub-Saharan Africa

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The Working Group on Sustainable Low-Cost Housing for Sub-Saharan Africa held a successful kick-off workshop from June 4-6 in Windhoek, Namibia. This pivotal event brought together key stakeholders from across the region to address the pressing challenges of sustainable and affordable housing.

Graced by Namibia’s Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Hon. Erastus Uutoni, and other notable attendees, the workshop facilitated dynamic peer learning sessions among participating cities from Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The discussions focused on slum upgrading, funding mechanisms, and sustainable building technologies, with participants exchanging innovative solutions and best practices.

Notably, the workshop highlighted the importance of integrated planning and sustainable development, emphasizing the need for improved funding models, research into affordable building materials, and the expansion of social housing initiatives. The collaboration between cities, international organizations, and local institutions was a cornerstone of the event, ensuring a holistic approach to addressing the housing crisis.

Solar pumps, e-mobility, and climate-friendly street lighting in Sub-Saharan Africa

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The workshop is part of a working group for Renewable Energy Applications for Cities convened by Connective Cities in collaboration with the Romanian development agency RoAid.

Apart from the municipal experts and the Connective Cities team, the conference was graced by the attendance of Daniella Dobre (RoAid), Massimiliano Pedretti (Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania), and Dr. Tobias Godau (GIZ ProWaS – Water Security and Climate Resilience for Urban Areas in Tanzania.

The conference was a follow-up event of the kick-off workshop in Nairobi in 2023, focusing on the topic of Street Lighting and E-Mobility applications in the urban context.

Participants

The participant experts represented the cities of Nairobi, Kisumu and County of Baringo (Kenya), City of Kasungu (Malawi), Gulu city (Uganda), City of Dar es Salaam, City of Mwanza and City of Tanga (Tanzania). The Working Group is accompanied by the international representatives from the cities of Gersthofen (Germany), Slatina and Alba Luluia (both Romania).

Participating institutions were:

  • Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA)
  • Regional Administration and Local Government Tanzania (PO-RALG)
  • The City Climate Gap Fund (through the project support office of the Global Covenant of Mayors)
  • The African Development Bank (through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department)

Ideas presented:

All ten cities presented their projects and received advice. All ten cities are familiar with the prerequisites for funding and have completed 70% of these requirements.

Kisumu, Kenya:

Improving electric mobility and street lighting in the city of Kisumu. Piloting a PPP model for the deployment of charging infrastructure for 2- and 3-wheel motorcycles.

Baringo, Kenya:

Solarization of a water pump that pumps water from Lake Baringo to a treatment plant in Kabernet town.

Gulu, Uganda:

Solarization of the main street of Gulu City.

Mwanza, Tanzania:

Solar Project on Ijinga Island generated from solar panels to operate water pumps that push water to a treatment tank. Fundraising stage, feasibility analysis completed already.

Nairobi: Energy efficiency and Solarization of markets. Target pilot projects: City Market, City Park Market, Kangundo Road Market and Gikomba Market. Energy audits for these sites have been carried out.

Dar es Salaam: Solar powered street lighting along market street incorporating solar power radio for the market and charging stations for three wheelers.

Tanga: The cites faces an ever-growing landfill. The city intends to undertake a waste to energy project. To begin, the city therefore aims to undertake waste value chain analysis. This will highlight the waste characteristics and the attendant calorific values.

Kasungu: The City of Kasungu presented a double challenge of deforestation due to the heavy usage of biofuels (firewood and charcoal) and the high cost of power for lighting the streets compounded by lack of such streetlights in many areas. The city therefore prioritizes for the project to prepare a solution for solar street lighting still integrated with the main grid for back-up.

Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA): The proposed project focuses on installing solar-powered streetlights to improve lighting in selected municipalities and cities in Malawi. This initiative aims to enhance the local business environment, improve security, and contribute to local economic development.

Targeted Municipalities: Kasungu, Karonga, Luchenza, Mangochi.
Targeted Cities: Zomba City, another city to be determined.

Next Steps of the Working Group

In the journey to support the cities to develop solutions to their challenges, Connective Cities and RoAid plan to continue their support via:

  • Insight sessions and webinars: present emerging knowledge in short learning sessions.
  • Best practices: Publishing of innovative solutions of the collaborating cities.
  • Conferences / Workshops: to bring the city experts together to scale up peer to peer and associated learning.
  • Expert missions: will be availed to city experts with clear cases and inputs for experiential learning and exchange. This will include virtual formats where cities are connected according to relevance of needs.

Strengthening Risk-Informed Urban Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

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SADC Peer-to-Peer Learning Platform for Integrating Disaster Risk Management into Urban Planning and Development

The race against time to determine resilience-driven solutions to highly complex and existential urban disaster risk challenges is increasingly necessary more so in Africa. Projections point to the fact that by 2050, 90% of the global urbanization will be experienced in Africa and Asia. Despite Africa’s low contributions to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, the continent remains the most vulnerable to hazards and risk drivers like such as, but not limited to, climate change and (climate) variability. Evidently, Africa’s cities face exponential growth, unplanned urbanization trends and unfolding vulnerabilities threatening thus, to undo urban development gains. By 2050, most of the countries in the region will have made an urban transition, meaning that more than 50% of their population will live in urban areas, which are in turn, the cornerstone of Africa’s socio-economic development (IFRI 2022). As hubs of infrastructure, services, trade and people, cities are faced with one of the major urban threats in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), namely floods, subsequently challenging the continent’s socio-economic development ambitions. Urbanization is arguably an inevitable, unstoppable yet positive trend which nevertheless has the potential to greatly increase risk.

To incorporate integrated Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and climate change adaptation measures into multilateral and bilateral development cooperation programs – within and across all sectors -, Connective Cities (CC) and the Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA) have called the joint initiative on risk-informed urban development (RIUD) to enable peer to peer exchanges through a hybrid modular learning processes (LP). The LP focuses on strengthening risk-informed urban development by creating innovative solutions for flood risk management in urban systems situated in Sub-Sahara Africa with a focus in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region.

The LP enables the use of an agile, barrier-reduced learning and exchange platform for RIUD, which is used by regional, national, and local governmental and non-governmental actors. The modular and systemic approach of the LP for RIUD includes areas related to “Sustainable Urban Development” and “Good governance” facilitating the formation of new partnerships across vertical and horizontal scales for urban/regional resilience. Through the differentiated yet complementary political counterparts, between CC and RIA, the GIZ is able to ensure scalability and wide-spread transfer and communication of the results (i.e. RIUD SADC Publication).

To enhance resilience in southern African cities, CC and RIA developed a series of hybrid modular LPs (Live Events and virtual Insight Sessions) which focus on peer to peer exchange on integrated flood risk management in SADC as part of Sub-Sahara Africa.

The kick-off event in Windhoek, Namibia took place in April 2023 and marked the first round of the LEP by creating feedback loops to inform the development of context-specific, gender-equitable and climate-change-sensitive solution options directed at tackling urban flood risk challenges in both structural and non-structural terms. During the kick-off event, the peer-to-peer exchange was guided by initial thematic areas i.e: 1) Understanding and managing flood risk drivers, 2) Green infrastructure and nature-based approaches for risk-informed solutions, and 3) Risk communication flows and good governance.

Enhancing Renewable Energy Solutions

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As the world moves towards a more sustainable future, municipalities across Southeast Europe and the Caucasus are actively seeking innovative solutions to address their energy needs. In this context, Connective Cities facilitated two peer-to-peer exchange activities as part of a regional learning process on renewable energy options at the municipal level. These exchanges not only fostered collaboration but also provided valuable insights and inspiration for future projects. Let’s delve into these transformative experiences:
 

Accommodation for evacuees and the use of volunteers

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If German municipalities face an extreme event or disaster and have to evacuate parts of the civil society, they generally operate under standardised plans and the affected population can be temporary accommodated in emergency shelters. But what if they cannot return to their flats or houses for weeks or months? Many places lack concepts for such situations. The City of Cologne raised the question of how municipalities around the world are handling this issue. Connective Cities approached this question and organised a one-year international learning process on disaster management, which focused on the accommodation of evacuees as well as on the involvement of volunteers.

Kufranja ‘the city of Oxygen’

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As part of the activities of the working group “destination management organization and product design in tourism”, Kufranja municipality in Jordan has hosted a workshop on ecotourism and designing touristic trails’. The workshop was attended by key actors in this field including representatives of the tourism ministry in Ajloun governorate, the Royal Society for Nature Conservation, and Bookagri.com which is an agritourism experiences and destinations development company. The tourism expert, Hanane Haber, has provided an overview of the principles of establishing sustainable tourism in Kufranja municipality that is known as “the city of oxygen”.