institute for international urban development - world...

CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: PROMOTING RESILIENCE THROUGH ENHANCED

UNDERSTANDING OF EARLY THREATS

Serageldin, Mona Vice President

[email protected]

Guerra, Erick Research Associate [email protected]

Lee-Chuvala, Christa Research Associate

[email protected]

Institute for International Urban Development

Summary: Experts have named Alexandria, Egypt and Cotonou, Benin as two cities facing high risks due to the impacts of climate change. City authorities are taking actions to build resilience to the most pressing threats, but they must also employ their limited resources to address economic development, employment generation and service provision. Strategies to address climate change must therefore be linked to immediate threats and politically and economically important issues. In both cities, land management policies and plans must focus on directing further urban expansion away from the most vulnerable, low-lying areas. Moreover, regional development strategies and action plans are needed to address impacts that spill over jurisdictional boundaries and promote coordination. Key Words: Climate change, resilience, Alexandria, Cotonou, land management

Climate Change in the Local Development Agenda Fifth Urban Research Symposium 2009


-1-

CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: PROMOTING RESILIENCE THROUGH ENHANCED

UNDERSTANDING OF EARLY THREATS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to thank His Excellency Adel Labib, Governor of Alexandria and His Excellency President Nicephore Soglo, Mayor of Cotonou, for taking the time to discuss these issues with us. We are also grateful for the documentation on Alexandria provided to us by the Biblioteca Alexandrina and wish to particularly acknowledge the assistance provided by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Dr. Mohamed Awad and Dr. Khaled Azab. I. INTRODUCTION While the early impacts of climate change are already documented at the global scale, the local impacts are more difficult to define. Yet it is the city authorities that have to address these impacts. Their ability to respond is constrained by four factors:

1. Accurate local measurements are not readily available. Remote sensing and field observation stations and GIS systems are needed to develop the solid data on which city authorities can rely to build resilience.

2. Lack of the financial and technical resources needed to respond to the complex character of impacts and their more insidious manifestations.

3. Conflicting scenarios generated by different agencies and experts confuse city officials and make it difficult to make a convincing case for taking mitigating action.

4. Action of higher authorities or the activities of other actors elsewhere outside the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality that aggravate local impacts.

Cities in the developing world, and in particular the major ports, are drivers of economic growth and industrial development. Linear settlement patterns and concentrations of heavy industries have forced them to address issues of pollution, traffic congestion, overextended infrastructure networks and underserviced informal settlements. This paper discusses the responses of city authorities to the current and future threats posed by climate change in Alexandria, Egypt and Cotonou, Benin, two port cities facing increasing shoreline erosion, saltwater intrusion and flooding of low-lying areas. Each city has taken some actions to address these challenges but neither has yet developed an overall strategy to build resilience to climate change.



-2-

II. ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT 1. Climate Change Scenarios for Alexandria Egypt is considered one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because of the concentration of population and economic activity in the Nile Valley and particularly in the Delta. Since the late 1980s experts have predicted varying degrees of flooding and damage depending on the scenario they considered to be the most probable. The Government early on joined global efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Committees were set up to address threats to the coastal areas. Alexandria is considered the most vulnerable city in Egypt. It is Egypt’s second largest city with a population of over four million. It concentrates 40 percent of the country’s manufacturing and 50 percent of its refining capacity. The Port Authority, which controls extensive waterfront land, has an ambitious expansion plan. It is expanding the port facilities westward with the addition of several wharfs, warehouses, a free zone and a new cruise ship terminal to accommodate the ever larger cruise vessels. New port facilities and activities are bound to affect the coastline and the ecology along the coast. However, the Port’s expansion and its improved efficiency and capacity are a national priority that will take precedence over the problems it creates for coastal management and the marine ecology. About 40 percent of Alexandria’s population lives in informal settlements in two distinct areas: the urban districts along the north and western shores of Lake Mariout and the Apis rural area to the south and west of the Lake where 18 villages are rapidly urbanizing through unauthorized conversion of agricultural land to urban use. The most widely quoted scenario regarding the impact of climate change on the city is that of Dr. Mohamed El-Raey of the University of Alexandria. Developed in the mid 1990s, his estimates of impact were based on topography and areas flooded under assumptions of sea level rise ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 meters (El-Raey, 1997, 1999). Few experts are convinced by the Raey team’s scenarios. Dr. Omran Frihy of the Coastal Research Institute points out that the Old City is built on higher ground and that parts of Alexandria Governorate are actually experiencing tectonic uplift of about three millimeters per year, so far balancing the rate of sea level rise of three to four millimeters per year (Frihy, 2003). 2. Observed Impacts of Climate Change in Alexandria Mona Serageldin met with the Governor of Alexandria, Mr. Adel Labib, to discuss the Governorate’s concerns and action on climate change. He gave generously of his time. He stated that his primary concern was beach erosion which has been increasing in severity. He was also concerned about rising water levels in Lake Mariout. The Governor had already formed a special committee on climate change grouping experts in marine sciences, water resources, hydraulics, coastal zone management, remote sensing, and industry and trade to advise him on the impacts of climate change on Alexandria. He decided to convene the committee so that we



-3-

could have an in-depth discussion of the issues. Dr. Ismail Serageldin and Dr. Mohamed Awad from the Biblioteca Alexandrina attended the meeting. The first issue raised was how to obtain reliable data to determine local impacts and develop realistic local scenarios. The Agriculture Ministry has seven observation stations along the North Delta Coast but they were not set up for the purpose of monitoring the impacts of climate change and some of the experts felt that the measurements they provided were unsuitable for this purpose. The three tide gauges at Alexandria, Borollos and Port Said measure the relative sea level, i.e. they sum the global sea rise and changes in elevation of the land with reference to the mean sea level, which makes it difficult to assess the impact of absolute changes in sea rise. The Governor enjoined the committee to make the best use of current data and start developing short-term mitigation measures. They should also make concrete proposals regarding the data needed and how to obtain it. Longer-term adaptation strategies would be based on this new data and the actions already adopted could be revised as new data becomes available. Focusing on the observed impacts in Alexandria, the consensus opinion can be summarized in the following five points: 2.1 Alexandria City Proper

Figure No. 1: The Corniche along Alexandria’s coastline, near the Library of Alexandria

Source: Courtesy of Biblioteca Alexandrina



-4-

Alexandria city proper is built on higher ground and is not vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise. Furthermore, the Corniche, due to its elevation ranging from 2.4 meters to 12.3 meters above sea level provides an effective protective barrier against projected global sea rise. The Mediterranean is too constrained, its coast is too ragged and its surface too cut up by Italy, Greece and the Aegean islands to allow violent storms with huge swells to build up. Nevertheless Alexandria can expect to be battered by high waves and water surges during storms. Such waves crash over parts of the Corniche and can temporarily flood abutting uses. 2.2 Lake Mariout Lake Mariout to the south of the city has been an integral part of Alexandria’s landscape and shaped its linear expansion. Once a body of fresh water, Lake Mariout was essential to Egypt’s internal transport system as it linked the Mediterranean Sea to the southern part of the Nile through several navigable canals. The Lake’s fresh water supply also allowed for the development of agricultural and industrial activities along its shores. Since the Greco-Roman period, however, Lake Mariout has experienced a transformation into a salt water body that is now only 17% of its original size due in part to actions in the early 1800s to link the Lake to an adjoining water body, Lake Abu Qir and finally to the Mediterranean. The Lake has also been an integral component of the city’s economic life since ancient times. Pharaonic and Greco-Roman archaeological remains of wharfs, warehouses, workshops and storage receptacles testify to the extensive use of Lake “Mareotis” for industrial activity and trading purposes. No less than 90 archaeological sites were identified along 100 kilometers of lakeshore during an initial pilot survey of the area conducted by the Centre for Maritime Archeology at the University of Southampton in collaboration with the Department of Underwater Antiquities of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities as part of the Lake Mariout Research Project. As a result of silting and evaporation, Lake Mariout has shrunk dramatically since 1900. The lowlands that emerged from the receding waters are being used for agriculture. Alexandria’s large industrial zones have been sited to the south of the city on the Lake’s northern shore including steel, petrochemicals and refineries. These heavy industries contribute to pollution. They attracted informal developments around them that are expanding towards the lakeshore. Today, wastewater from these settlements pollutes the Lake. A major arterial has further bisected it into a very saline, polluted northern section and a far less polluted, brackish southern section which is able to support fish and waterfowl.

Recently the water level in the lake has been rising but this is mostly due to the inflow of salt carrying waters in the drainage canals from agricultural irrigation systems. The rising waters have covered sections of streets on the western edge of the Lake and flooded basements in a new housing development constructed by the Salt Ponds Co. for its workers forcing the abandonment of the whole apartment complex. Several lumber yards are also threatened by the rising waters. Developers of upper middle-class housing and resorts have reacted by infilling land to a height of about 2.5 to 3 meters in project sites fronting on the Lake. This situation cannot improve until the efficiency of water use in agriculture is improved, a task that is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and not the Alexandria Governorate. Rising sea levels are bound to aggravate the problem as it affects the Lake.



-5-

2.3 Beach Erosion Beach erosion in Alexandria has been increasing at an alarming rate and is the Governor’s major concern. The phenomenon is quite complex and it is important to differentiate between the dynamics occurring in different parts of the region. The Nile carried the sediments that have over time formed the Delta but the completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1964 put an end to this natural cycle. Since then the sea currents have been eroding the beaches of the North Delta east of Alexandria from Rosetta to Port Said with no deposit of new sediments to counter the erosion. The situation has been exacerbated by tectonic subsidence of the Delta estimated to be on the order of three millimeters per year. Compounding the vulnerability of the coastal plain is the extremely flat topography whereby a small rise in sea level can flood large horizontal areas. The erosion of the outer margins of the promontories (with a loss of several kilometers) at the estuary of the Nile’s two branches at Damietta and Rosetta as they flow into the Mediterranean Sea is clearly visible on aerial photographs three decades apart. The impact of these natural forces changes the shape of the coastline.

The situation in Alexandria west of the Rosetta Promontory is quite different. The site is crossed by seismic fault lines and has a history of earthquakes which submerged the Ptolemaic and Roman settlements and eventually brought down the famous lighthouse. The geographic composition of the subsurface (carbonate rock) prevented significant subsidence. The disappearance of the Canopic branch of the Nile around the first millennium A.D. deprived the area of alluvial sediments. The current land features are the result of a pattern of emergence and subsidence mostly related to seismic and tectonic activity.

Sea carried sediments in Egypt’s Mediterranean coasts are moved by currents from west to east. The sandy beaches along Alexandria’s otherwise rocky coast were formed by white carbonate sand drift from the north coast (Agami to Salloum). Today’s severe beach erosion problem is the outcome of human action and not natural forces. The main culprits are the touristic developments along this north coast. Resort construction grew exponentially since 1990. Each resort developer built breakwater structures to create jetties, protect marinas and reduce beach erosion in his resort without taking into consideration the impact of these structures on the coastline outside the project area. By law, construction is prohibited within 200 meters of the the mean watermark. Real estate interests invest heavily in development along the coast, ignoring the regulations and encroaching on the protected zone. Their project-based, short-sighted vision is affecting the surrounding environment destroying the coastal marine ecology and impacting Alexandria. The result has been an environmentally disastrous scouring of beaches to the east, now deprived of replenishing deposits. Furthermore, the diversion of natural sea currents by a multitude of breakwaters and sea walls prevents adequate flushing of bays and harbors resulting in pollution and algal blooms along the beaches.

The Governor has every reason to be concerned. Alexandria beaches now require periodic nourishment to continue to attract the summer season tourists. Even so, Sidi Bishr beach lost 50 meters in 20 years to erosion by scouring. The Governor agreed to the Committee’s recommendation to study the whole shoreline from Silsilah to Abu Qir as part of a climate change mitigation plan for the Governorate. It was also agreed that the use of submerged structures offshore should be considered since breakwaters and sea walls tend to interfere with



-6-

natural flushing of bays resulting in algae and trash drifting onto the beaches. They also tend to damage submerged archaeological sites. Climate change-induced sea level rise will have a greater direct impact on the north coast resorts area than on the city of Alexandria. However, the magnified indirect impacts on Alexandria will increase as resort owners, managers and developers in the north shore continue to expand their high end developments and their ill-advised protective barriers against sea waves and currents. As a result of this situation Alexandria will suffer cumulative direct and indirect impacts accelerating beach erosion. Active hotel construction and extensive new real estate developments have marked Alexandria’s revival in recent years. Understandably the Governor wants the city to remain Egypt’s primary port and resort area on the Mediterranean. The threats it is currently facing are caused by activities occurring outside the Governorate’s jurisdictional boundaries. They can only be addressed at the Cabinet level. An interministerial committee should be set up with the participation of the General Organization for Physical Planning and the General Organization for Tourism to recommend new regulations for coastal zone development to be endorsed by the Higher Council for Planning and Urban Development. 2.4 Groundwater levels and salt water intrusion A similar situation prevails regarding the rising groundwater level and the intrusion of salt water in the aquifers. Throughout the city groundwater levels have been rising, threatening to flood archaeological sites particularly below-ground parts of structures, catacombs and cisterns. The primary source of these waters is leakage from old water supply and sewerage pipes. Depending on location, the wastewater is filtered by the sandy soil and the groundwater is quite clear. Sea level rise will lead to infiltration of salt water in this perched water table adversely affecting archaeological sites and underground infrastructure networks. Increasing groundwater salinity damages plaster, stucco and frescoes. Damage is clearly visible in the catacombs as humidity rises in the walls and salt microstations form causing the plasterwork to fall. Increasing salinity will also lead to corrosion and shortened economic life of infrastructure networks. The greatest adverse impacts resulting from sea level rise and the increasing salinization of soils will occur in the lowlands and the brackish lakes of the Delta Coast from Rosetta to Port Said. Here flat topography will result in extensive salt water intrusion inland affecting agriculture and fisheries. Loss of biodiversity in the coastal marshes and the brackish lakes, and declines in a great variety of fish and shellfish species are expected to occur although arguments have also been advanced claiming that the long time horizon of these impacts may allow many species to adapt to the increasing salinity of their habitat. This North Delta region is the main focus of the Government’s climate change mitigation strategy. 2.5 The low-lying areas

The low-lying areas around Lakes Mariout and Edku to the south of the city but still within the governorate are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The major activities are agriculture and some industries. Ground water levels and salt intrusion in the aquifers are



-7-

projected to increase. A sewerage project funded by the Swiss Government will service the most rapidly urbanizing villages in the Apis area (villages 7 and 8) near the sewage treatment plant which is being upgraded. By international standards, Egyptian villages and small towns are very dense. Densities in urbanizing villages rise very rapidly and are directly proportional to proximity to the city’s edge. Densities in the Apis villages 7 and 8 we visited were on the order of 500 persons per hectare. Within Alexandria Governorate, the total area of the informal settlements located south and east of Lake Mariout in the lowland zone where elevations range from zero to four meters below sea level is about 840 hectares measured on the 2007 satellite images from Google Earth. Assuming saturation densities of 400 to 600 persons per hectare, about 400,000 persons would be at risk from sea level rise. Overall, residents in this vulnerable zone will experience waterlogging. Major drainage works will be required to mitigate the adverse impact on agriculture. Elevated ground floors (three or four steps) will prevent flooding of houses. In the lowest-lying areas protective levies may be needed if sea level rises beyond 30 centimeters. Some of the structures along the Mahmoudia canal and the lakeshore are clearly in high risk of flooding.

Furthermore the Governorate has commissioned in 2008 plans for the expansion of Alexandria. These plans call for the urbanization of areas south of Lake Mariout in order to counter continued east/west linear expansion along the seashore which is resulting in costly infrastructure and traffic congestion. From this perspective large areas of this rural hinterland and land along

Figure No. 2: Housing in low-lying area in Alexandria

Source: Mona Serageldin



-8-

the major east-west highways and the north-south connectors will be urbanized by 2025. In our discussion with the Governor and the committee, we pointed out that preventing further expansion of settlements in the highest risk areas should also be given priority as part of a land management strategy to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Governorate authorities are not at this time overly concerned with the predominantly rural hinterland. Remedial action is known and the required civil works can be undertaken in due course. Accommodating the planned expansion of the port and the industrial zone, building a new town at Burg El Arab west of Lake Mariout, dealing with accelerated beach erosion, controlling pollution in the bays, and draining the flooding in key listed historical monuments are all receiving higher priority because of their impact on the economy. Given the wide range of perspectives regarding the magnitude of the impacts attributable to climate change, it was agreed that the Governorate committee would start by collecting and assessing existing data and that an international workshop would be organized by the Biblioteca Alexandrina to discuss in-depth what needs to be done to cope with current and future impacts and recommend appropriate adaptation strategies.

Figure No. 3: Vulnerable low-lying areas in Alexandria, Egypt

Source: Base map – Google Maps. Information – Alexandria Governorate



-9-

III. COTONOU, BENIN 1. Climate Change Vulnerability Cotonou’s population had increased fortyfold from 1950 to 2007 and now stands at 762,000. It is projected to double to 1.4 million by 2025 (WUP, 2007). Job opportunities in the city and the decline in agriculture have been major factors contributing to this growth. According to the 2002 national census, 34% of households in Cotonou lived in poverty, compared to a national average of 40%. Cotonou’s natural environment, financial resources and physical infrastructure have long been overstretched and unable to cope with growth of this magnitude. Climate change is expected to accentuate the city’s vulnerabilities. Rising sea levels and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms and ocean swells will exacerbate flooding, shoreline erosion, salinization of the lagoon and the increase in tsetse fly and malaria mosquitoes. Large residential neighborhoods, the port of Cotonou, the airport, industrial areas, and the main road to Lagos – part of a larger West African urban corridor linking Abidjan to Lagos – are all at risk. Coastal erosion has been affecting the Beninese coast line for the last half century. Although the coastline was previously considered stable, construction of the Port of Cotonou in 1962 and the extension of a nearby port in Lomé, Togo interrupted natural patterns of coastal sand drift leading to serious erosion in some areas. Although recently prohibited, the practice of removing beach sand for construction accelerated the pace of erosion. Cotonou has lost an estimated 112 hectares of land, resulting in the abandonment of homes, businesses, tourist resorts, urban infrastructure and thousands of palm trees, which provide protection against further erosion. (Doussou and Gléhouenou-Doussou, 2007) The Ministry of the Environment, Housing and Urbanism estimates that the coastline retracted by 50 meters on average between 1981 and 1996 and, unchecked, will retreat another 50 meters by 2025. (Ministre de l’Environnement, de l’Habitat et de l’Urbanisme, 2001) East of the port area, the main industrial lands as well as population concentrations in the 4th and 1st arrondissements are particularly vulnerable. The port prevents sea-carried sediments from the west from replenishing losses to the east. The city is already encouraging residents to move inland, but without sufficient funds for relocation this has proven a daunting task. To emphasize the potential impacts of erosion, entire neighborhoods of Grand Popo to the west of Cotonou have been abandoned as a result of sea encroachment. Given that two-thirds of the Beninese population and most industry are in coastal zones and two-thirds of Cotonou’s urbanized area is at or below sea level, even modest increases in sea levels present a serious threat. Urban flooding already shuts Cotonou down during heavy rains as water fails to drain naturally. Hard surfaces and the orientation of the city’s street network obstruct natural drainage channels. Growing population and increasing intensity of weather patterns will lead to greater and more frequent flooding. According to the 2002 national census, fewer than 10% of households had gutters or water drainage systems. Improving drainage and preventing new settlement in the most vulnerable areas are becoming increasingly pressing challenges. Lake Nokoué is just north of Cotonou and connected to the Atlantic by the Cotonou Lagoon. An estimated 15,000 people depend on ocean and lake fishing. (Doussou and Gléhouenou-Doussou,



-10-

2007) A number of lake villages on stilts are also at risk. The largest, Ganvié, has around 20,000 residents and is an important cultural heritage site and a major tourist attraction. Pollution and overfishing are affecting the ecology of the lake. Many popular fish are in decline and with a nearby population of about a million to feed, overfishing is likely to continue. A sustained outreach effort, awareness building and a joint city/community interface must be instituted whereby community-based organizations are involved as full partners in the management of the lake fisheries.

Rising sea levels will contribute heavily to the lake’s existing problems. Salinization and the reduction of periphyton, an important food source for much aquatic life, will continue to change the lake’s ecology. A decline in the prevalence of edible and profitable fish is anticipated. The disappearance of mangroves will lead to the loss of important spawning grounds compounding the problem. Adverse impacts on employment and informal income-generating activities will affect lower-income communities that have traditionally relied on the lake for food and to earn a living. (Doussou and Gléhouenou-Doussou, 2007)

Figure No. 4: Housing near Cotonou’s main industrial area

Source: Emily Hibbets



-11-

Figure No. 5: Key areas affected by sea level rise in Cotonou, Benin

Source: Base map – Google Earth. Information – Cotonou City Map



-12-

2. Climate Change Adaptation Local, national and international bodies all have a role to play in addressing these challenges. The Ministry of Environment, Habitation and Urbanism laid out a series of potential adaptive actions in its 2001 First National Communication of the Republic of Benin to the Framework Convention on Climate Change. To control coastal erosion, the Ministry recommended constructing: 1) a system of groynes to interrupt flowing water and encourage the deposit of sand; 2) breakwaters to limit the disruptive force of incoming waves; 3) building protective sea walls around vulnerable buildings and infrastructure; and 4) providing beach nourishment with sand from areas of built-up deposits. These are all immediate remedial measures whose longer-term impacts have to be well-studied to avoid unanticipated adverse consequences. At Lake Nokoué, the Ministry recommended the construction of dams to control the flow of water between the lake and the Atlantic, the replenishment of lake bed sands, and the introduction of stocks of fish that can thrive in various levels of salinity. Furthermore, the Ministry also suggested a change in fishing techniques to prevent further damage to the aquatic environment, the promotion of aquaculture and a shift away from fishing to other economic activities. Expensive investment for groynes, dams, seawalls and other infrastructure are well beyond the fiscal capacity of Cotonou’s municipal government without donor funding and assistance. The estimated cost of a single groyne was about $1 million in 2001, the equivalent of over 3,100 times the average income per capita for that year. Introducing new fishing methods and practices is a necessary precondition to instituting fish quotas and preventing violations, but it is bound to meet with resistance. Sustained outreach and pilot projects including trials undertaken by the fishermen themselves will be needed to transition to improved fishing techniques that can simultaneously maintain current income levels while protecting the fragile Lake environment.

3. City Government Responses and Priorities In a discussion with Mona Serageldin, Dr. Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo, Mayor of Cotonou and former President of Benin, identified a number of key initiatives and priorities for his government in adapting to climate change. Although these vary widely – one even offers an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions – all tie climate change responses to existing priorities in an effort to achieve the maximum impact with limited resources.

3.1 Solid Waste Management

Many households and home-builders use solid waste to fill swampy lots. This practice pollutes groundwater, changes natural drainage and encourages the spread pests, insects and disease. Cotonou does not have the equipment to collect and dispose of the 710 tons of solid waste that it generates per day. Community-based, NGO-led solid waste collection and recycling initiatives have won awards and done a good job at cleaning up neighborhoods. But they are insufficient to deal with the collection and disposal of garbage at the city scale. As increased flooding affects



-13-

larger areas of the city, the use of garbage as fill is becoming more prevalent and more problematic. 3.2 Improvement of Transport Systems As in many African cities, the urban transportation system in Cotonou is inadequate and congested. Public transportation, in particular, needs significant reinvestment. At present 90% of collective transportation trips are taken on motorcycle taxis, compared to just 2% for institutional public transportation. (Godard, 2002) Informal and public motorized trips by motorcycle taxi account for only 55% of trips in Lomé and 30% in Douala. These motorcycles are dangerous, loud and heavy polluters. As a result, air quality in Cotonou is significantly worse than in other African cities of a similar size. Cotonou’s geography, a narrow rectangle between the Atlantic and Lake Nakoué, and its wide boulevards make it ideally suited to an east-west oriented rapid bus network that could be supported by a motorcycle and microbus taxi feeder system. Tighter emissions controls on motorcycle taxis will also have a role to play to improve local air quality and CO2 emissions. Although few transportation projects have been accepted for the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a program by which industrialized nations can invest in carbon reduction programs in developing countries for carbon credits, the CDM presents an opportunity to reduce emissions at reasonable prices while encouraging locally sustainable development. (Zegras, 2007) The World Bank is currently financing a project to improve roads and drainage infrastructure in three Beninese cities, including Cotonou. According to the Bank’s estimates the project will protect 76,000 residents, infrastructure and property from regular flooding as well as improve road connections for 106,000 people. The total cost of $75 million ($35 million in 2006 and $40 million in 2008) represents 1.4% of the country’s 2008 GDP and underscores the difficulties in financing urban infrastructure improvements in Cotonou and throughout Benin from own sources. In order to create jobs, the Bank is using labor intensive construction. President Soglo stressed the importance of maximizing job creation in construction and adaptation projects throughout the city. Without work today, it is difficult to worry about future problems of rising sea levels and damage to the ecosystem. 3.3 Control of Flooding The stretch of land near the lagoon between the lake and the sea is swampy, vulnerable to flooding and a breeding ground for mosquitoes and tsetse flies. President Soglo wants to drain, fill and stabilize this area, which also contains major markets including the popular women’s produce market. In Benin, informal employment account for 93% of all non-agricultural jobs, well above the average of 72% for Sub-Saharan African countries, and contributes an estimated 43% of non-agricultural GDP. (ILO, 2002) At 97%, informal employment rates are even higher for women, most of whom work in informal markets. Protecting these markets is vital to women as well as to the overall economy. The markets are strategically located from the viewpoint of access to suppliers and clients. The women leaders are vocal and have forcefully demanded the



-14-

construction of protective barriers to prevent regular flooding of their stalls. They have specifically asked President Soglo to provide them with adequate protection. The municipality is working with funding and technical assistance from the Dutch government to design and implement protective barriers to control flooding in the areas below sea level. An elevated corniche road, which will serve a dual purpose as part of a ring road and as a sea wall protecting low-lying areas of Cotonou from flooding and the impending rise in sea levels. This road, coupled with improved public transportation, will also increase the supply of accessible land around the city. Finding suitable tracts to accommodate Cotonou’s fast expanding population is essential to limiting the harmful impacts of climate change. Appreciating land values have greatly contributed to drive new developments to the periphery and to ecologically vulnerable areas. Providing access to safe, affordable land is a key local government role in climate change adaptation.

3.4 Strengthening Municipal Finance The weak fiscal capacity of African cities constitutes a major impediment hindering their ability to address pressing challenges including immediate threats caused by longer term trends attributable to climate change. President Soglo brings to this issue the unique perspective of a leader who has experience running the national government as well as the economic capital city

Figure No. 6: Housing vulnerable to flooding in Cotonou.

Source: Emily Hibbets



-15-

of the country. He is strongly advocating that bilateral and multilateral development organizations fund cities directly and help them develop their own revenue sources. Funding through central government is cumbersome and unwieldy. Inefficiency in the transfer of financial resources is compounded by the lack of transfer of human resources. Some of the larger infrastructure projects required to help mitigate the impacts of rising sea levels may involve central agencies, but the city has the key role. Its land management competences are crucial to address the urban environmental challenges including those generated or aggravated by climate change. Foremost among these is continued settlement in the ecologically vulnerable wetlands in constant danger of flooding and erosion. Resettling residents at risk is beyond the municipality’s financial capacity. Major investments in infrastructure (roads, water supply, and sanitation) are needed first to provide protection from the impact of rising sea levels and storms and second to enable the city to develop a rational land management strategy with a view to open up affordable living options for the city’s growing population outside of the highest risk areas. IV. CONCLUSION Alexandria and Cotonou recognize that they are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Because of the long time frame of the predicted disasters, neither city considers addressing scenarios of extreme events and floods projected by researchers as a priority deserving the same attention as enhancing economic competitiveness, improving infrastructure and urban services, and absorbing population growth. Yet city authorities in both cases have been thinking about the need to increase resilience to the growing impacts of weather patterns and rising sea levels and despite technical and financial constraints have managed to take actions to counter some impacts. The discussions held with the Governor of Alexandria, the Mayor of Cotonou, and senior officials and experts allowed us to develop a clear understanding of the situation as perceived by the city authorities, the importance and urgency given to the different categories of impacts, the strategies adopted to respond to immediate threats and the actions already taken. These actions are typically tied politically and economically important issues such as unemployment, infrastructure deficiencies, inadequate urban services, pollution and traffic congestion. The experiences of the two cities clearly demonstrate that for climate change resilience in developing countries to be salient, resilience-building strategies must be linked to current threats and urgent issues, and solidly tied to government priorities. The dynamics of urban growth and land markets make appropriate responses difficult and expensive. As Alexandria and Cotonou grow, vulnerable populations continue to settle in risk-prone areas and future resettlement is even more difficult to contemplate due to the lack of suitable and affordable land, lagging infrastructure and inadequate public transportation. Decision-makers need to adopt land management strategies that will guide growth away from the most flood-prone and hazardous areas. This will require partnership with private developers and NGOs to increase the supply of affordable land for urban expansion and in the case of Cotonou organizing links between formal and informal service providers to extend services to newly urbanized areas yet to be reached by infrastructure networks. It will also require sustained action to control pervasive corruption in the administration of permits issued by subdistrict offices and in the inspectional services that allow violations to continue unabated.



-16-

V. BIBLIOGRAPHY Agrawala, S., Moehner, A., El Raey, M., Conway, D., van Aalst, M., Hagenstad, M., Smith, J. (2004). “Development and Climate Change in Egypt: Focus on coastal resources and the Nile.” Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, Paris, 68 pages. El-Raey, M. (1997). “Vulnerability assessment of the coastal zone of the Nile delta of Egypt, to the impacts of sea level rise.” Ocean and Coastal Management, 37(1), 29-40. El-Raey, M. (1999). “Adaptation to the impacts of sea level rise in Egypt.” Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies for Global Change, 4(3-4), 343-361. Frihy, O. (2003). “The Nile Delta-Alexandria Coast: Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise, Consequences and Adaptation. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.. 8, 115-138. Godard, X. (2007). “The Contribution of Informal Transport to Urban Mobility.” Villes en Développement, No. 78. Harding, A., Pálsson, G., Raballand, G. (2007) “Port and Maritime Transport Challenges in West and Central Africa.” Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program Working Paper, SSATP, World Bank, 50 pages. Huq, S., Kovats, S., Reid, H., Satterthwaite, D. (2007). “Editorial: Reducing risks to citied from disasters and climate change.” Environment and Urbanization, 19(1), 3-15. Institut National de la Statistique and de l’Analyze du Benin (2002) “Troisieme Recensement General de la Population et de l’Habitation.” <http://www.insae-bj.org/IMG/pdf/principaux_indicateur_rgph3.pdf> (April 2, 2009) Integrated Regional Information Networks (2008) “Benin: Half million potential flood victims: WHO.” Reuters AlertNet, <http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/94fab4a04dee2c02067690a6f8122037.htm> (Feb. 18, 2009) International Labour Organization (ILO) (2002). Women and Men in the Informal Economy: A Statistical Picture. Employment Sector. <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/infeco/download/menwomen.pdf> (Apr. 12, 2009) Satterthwaite, D., Huq, S., Pelling, M., Reid, H., and Lankao, P.R. (2007) “Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Areas: The possibilities and constraints in low- and middle-income nations.” International Institute for Environment and Development Working Paper, IIED, London, 107 pages.



-17-

Sawahel, W. (2005) “Climate change in Egypt ‘to force millions to migrate.’ ” Science and Development Network, <http://www.scidev.net/en/news/climate-change-in-egypt-to-force-millions-to-migr.html> (Sept. 19, 2008). United Nations (2007). “World Urbanization Prospects: the 2007 Revision Population Database.” United Nations, <http://esa.un.org/unup/> (Feb. 18, 2009) Zegras, Christopher P. (2007) “As if Kyoto mattered: The clean development mechanism and transportation.” Energy Policy, Vol. 35, No. 10. (October 2007), pp. 5136-5150.

institute for international urban development - world...

Documents