In November 2019, Connective Cities organised a dialogue event on climate adaptation and climate-resilient urban development for the Latin American region. In the framework of this dialogue, representatives from the municipality of Niteroi/Brazil and the municipality of Quinchía/Colombia developed project ideas, which in turn were expanded in a virtual project planning workshop in June 2020 with collegial advice. In the meantime, the Corona crisis has hindered the learning process to a large extent, but now the progress of these project ideas will be followed up in the context of virtual expert missions.

Niterói/ Brazil: The municipality of Morro da Boa Vista is located in a hilly area in the São Lourenço district in the north of Niterói. The municipality of Niterói in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro has 513,587 inhabitants, of which 2157 inhabitants (1249 women and 908 men) live in Morro da Boa Vista on an area of 80,000 km². Niterói is experiencing increased rainfall and droughts due to climate change. In addition, the informal settlements in the hilly areas suffer more and more frequent wildfires, partly caused by the informal energy supply of the inhabitants themselves. Landslides are also a regular occurrence.

As the Covid 19 pandemic has again not allowed experts to be sent on site this year, Niterói/BR is taking the opportunity to engage in online discussions with experts from Marburg in Germany, Barra do Garças in Brazil and Mexico City in Mexico. The local project of the city of Niterói deals with strengthening the security situation by reducing the risk of landslides and fires in the municipality of Morro da Boa Vista. The virtual expert mission focuses, on the one hand, on establishing citizen participation in the municipality (especially in infrastructure improvements in informal settlements/ favelas) and, on the other hand, on strengthening public service delivery, especially with regard to renewable energy production (solar energy). The virtual exchange between experts from different municipalities will take place in three sessions between 11 - 18 August.

Risaralda/ Colombia: The municipality of Quinchía is located in the administrative district of Risaralda in central Colombia and has 34,075 inhabitants. According to the Regional Development Plan 2020-2023, the housing deficit in Quinchía is 7.8 %. Risaralda is expected to experience a temperature increase of about 2°C by 2100 as a result of climate change, as well as an increase in precipitation of 30-40% above reference scenarios. The Territorial Environmental Management Research Group of the Technical University of Pereira is researching the use of surplus resources (rainwater), and initiatives for building with non-conventional, alternative materials have been identified.

The project idea from Quinchía/Risaralda in Colombia is about adapting existing and new residential buildings to the predicted increase in temperature and precipitation. The expert mission will focus on strategy development to promote the participation of potential beneficiaries on the one hand, and on the other hand will support community representatives in budget planning for rainwater harvesting systems and in the identification of suitable models. The virtual expert mission is planned for September. We are currently looking for suitable experts who would like to support the further development of the project idea from Colombia. If you are interested in contributing your expertise to the project development, please feel free to contact us.

Contact: franziska.loibl(at)giz.de