Mexico Agua y Cambio Climatico

8/3/2019 Mexico Agua y Cambio Climatico

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CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVE

December 2011

NEWSLETTER

UN-Habitat Supports Two Municipalities in Mexico inAdapting to Climate Change in the Water Sector

From the droughts in the north-centralpart o the country to the intense rainsand ooding that Chiapas experienced in2007, water-related natural disasters area critical issue in many parts o Mexico.And water may well be the sector mostthreatened by climate change in the u-ture. By mid-century, projected tempera-ture increases may well reduce wateravailability by up to 30 percent, due pri-marily to evapotranspiration; meanwhilemanagers must anticipate spikes in de-

mand or water during heat waves.

UN-Habitat, through its Water or Cit-ies Programme in Latin America and theCaribbean (WatSan-LAC), is helping twomedium-sized cities in Mexico, TuxtlaGutirrez in the State o Chiapas and Xa-lapa in Veracruz, to address adaptationto climate change in the water sector.

Both cities ace pressing water-related chal-lenges. In Tuxtla Gutirrez (pop. 500,000),much recent growth has occurred in an un-regulated ashion on land that lacks basicinrastructure. Some 14,600 houses on theurban periphery depend upon water romtankers. Furthermore a number o amilieshave built on lands susceptible to oodingas well as land- and mudslides. The distribu-tion system that does exist or potable wa-ter has partially deteriorated, while 15 outo every 100 connections are clandestine.

Veracruz has a high incidence o ooding:between 1950 and 1994, ofcials recorded

475 oods. People living in the urban pe-riphery o Xalapa (pop. 425,000) are vulner-able to such natural disasters. Risk is exac-erbated by a number o actors: unplannedsettlement on river banks and in ood proneareas; the clogging o drainage channels

rom rubbish and debris; bridges and cross-ings designed with insufcient clearance orood waters; deorestation and insufcientsoil conservation measures in various partso the basin; inadequate ood manage-ment inrastructure, and so on.

In both cities, UN-Habitat supported a step-by-step process that sought to improve ur-ban water management. The team: (1) As-sessed the water sector, along with urbanwater and sanitation services, rom a riskmanagement and climate change adapta-tion perspective. (2) Reviewed a century odata to uncover climate tendencies, and

analyzed climate change scenarios or theperiod 2010-2060, with an eye to impactson the urban water sector. (3) Mapped 29stakeholders according to actors such astheir specifc responsibilities and data needs,and interviewed them regarding urban wa-

ter resource management practices and re-lated topics. (4) Developed preliminary pro-posals based on the previous assessments.(5) Carried out participatory dialogue work-shops to raise awareness, validate fndings,rame multi-sectorial agreements and buildsupport or action. (6) Supported the inte-gration or mainstreaming o policy recom-mendations into key planning documentsat both the municipal and state levels.

Based on those experiences, the team or-mulated a set o Guidelines or the Man-agement o Water and Sanitation ServiceProvision in Peri-Urban Areas o Cities Under

Climate Change Conditions. These guide-lines address our topics. Firstly, planningprocesses need to integrate scientifc knowl-edge such as regarding risk areas, while atthe same time providing or consultationswith stakeholders and the orging o multi-

Can del Sumidero UN-Habitat/Tuxtla Gutirrez


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ARTICLES December 2011

sectorial agreements. Secondly, water man-agers need to consider alternative solutionssuch as in-situ water supply, along withtechnologies that do not require traditionalinrastructure particularly when extend-ing basic services to peri-urban settlements.Thirdly, urban basins and aquier rechargeareas should be protected and restored. Fi-nally, climate change adaptation needs toaddress a range o areas: buildings includ-ing houses, hospitals and schools; health at-tention plans; civil protection measures; andthe responsibilities o various governmentalinstitutions regarding attention to peri-ur-ban and highly vulnerable areas.

For more inormation visit http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3208.

The UN-Habitat-ARCADIS PartnershipSupports the Citiesand Climate ChangeInitiative in Asia

The UN-Habitat Cities and Climate

Change Initiative (CCCI), active in morethan 20 countries as well as engagedin normative work, carries out its ac-tivities in collaboration with a series opartners. One o the most productiveand unusual o our partnerships is withthe Netherlands-based internationalengineering company ARCADIS. Lastyear UN-Habitat and ARCADIS signedan agreement o cooperation, one ele-ment o which provides or ARCADISto extend pro-bono expertise to UN-Habitat or feld projects. This partner-ship, named the Shelter Programme, isthe main corporate social responsibilityprogramme o ARCADIS. Actively en-gaged in climate adaptation programsin the Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, theUS and elsewhere, ARCADIS possessesextensive knowledge that has proven tobe o use to CCCI in various regions.Recently CCCI has put this know-howto work in city-level work in Asia; spe-cifcally in cities in Mongolia, the Philip-pines and Sri Lanka.

Preventing fash foods in Ulaan-baatar, Mongolia

Despite its dry climate, Ulaanbaatar occa-sionally suers rom ash oods due toextreme rainstorms, a problem which willgrow with climate change. Flash oodsare especially a problem or the ormernomads who live in tents (gers) in thehills surrounding the capital. UN-Habitatis providing support through the projectCommunity-Led Ger Upgrading in Ul-

aanbaatar City Project. An ARCADIS wa-ter manager provided technical supportor this project during a recent feld visit.In a workshop with the local residents acommunity action plan was drawn up totackle problems, including the creation ospecial corridors or rainwater dischargeand a programme to maintain these cor-ridors even in the dry season.

Combating typhoons and climatechange in Manila and Sorsogon,Philippines

Metro Manila is the 14th most populatedcity in the world, with more than 16 millioninhabitants. In search o work and a placeto live, people who reer to themselvesas scavengers settled on the main wastedump in Patayas. Disaster struck in July2000 when a landslide o garbage, trig-gered by rains rom tropical storms killed

218 people and let 300 amilies homeless.In the ollowing years several typhoonsmade many other scavengers homeless.With the help o the NGO Peoples Fed-eration o the Philippines, these amiliesare rebuilding their homes in saer loca-tions. But ooding and sanitation remainproblems. An ARCADIS team consistingo water managers, urban planners and a

Water treatment system in Xalapa UN-Habitat

The Shelter team of ARCADIS and UN-Habitat working together with the HomelessPeoples Federation of the Philippines Bert Smolders


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ARTICLES December 2011

Nearly 200 participants, including may-ors, city ofcials, national ministries o en-vironment and climate change, ofcialso the Association o Namibia Associationo Local Authorities o Namibia (ALAN)and Namibia Mayors National orum, theprivate sector and NGOs attended the 3day event on Namibia Mayors ClimateChange Declaration. The Arica MayorsClimate Change declaration which wasully endorsed and signed by the Mayorspresent calls or due recognition o therole o local governments in internationalclimate change debate and implementa-tion. The declaration itsel will be present-

ed by the Mayor o Durban, the host Cityo seventeenth conerence o Parties (CoP17) to the United Nations Framework orClimate Change Convention Conerence(UNFCCC) to take place later in the year.The Arica Mayors deceleration was de-

Namibia WillStrengthen theVoice o AricanMayors at COP17In Durban

veloped and adopted in March 2011 at

the local climate solutions congress heldin Cape Town. This ollows the recogni-tion o local governments as stakeholdersin international climate change action atthe CoP 16 that was held in Cancun.

Cllr AM Kaula, President o ALAN andCllr Derek Klazen, Mayor, Walvis Bay City,lead the thirty one (31) Mayors present insigning the declaration. Hon. CleophasMutjavikua, the Governor o Erongo re-gion o Namibia in his strong speech atthe occasion emphasized on the sever-ity and intensity o climate change andcalled on local authorities to make cli-mate change an active agenda in theirmonthly and weekly meetings. The eventalso doubled up as the Namibia MayorsForum Annual General meeting.

The event, supported by UN-Habitat,ICLEI and the Namibia Coastal Manage-ment Authority (NACOMA) was held inAugust 2011 in the Namibian port city oWalvis Bay which is vulnerable to sea level

rise and ooding. Walvis Bay is one o the20 cities benefting rom the UN-HabitatCities and climate change Initiative and isnow developing its climate change strat-egy with the involvement o its recentlyormed multi-stakeholder group the

Walvis Bay Environmental Management

Forum (WEMAF).

National Climate Change Policy has re-cently been approved by Cabinet andpassed by parliament. As such, a strategyor its implementation is currently beingdeveloped with inputs rom stakeholders.One such stakeholder is the Ministry olocal Government. UN- Habitat under itsclimate change and decentralization the-matic area intends to support eorts indeveloping, fnalizing and implementingthis strategy to ensure inclusivity o thelocal authorities.

sanitation expert, acting under UN-Habitatauspices, worked together with stakehold-ers to fnd solutions. With sufcient reten-tion areas and green corridors a naturalwater discharge system can be created,preventing ooding and creating healthierliving conditions. Sanitation can also be im-proved by proper location o wells.A second activity was undertaken in Sor-sogon, on the southern coast o the islando Luzon. Sorsogon is known or its suscep-tibility to typhoons, tsunamis and ood-ing due to its heavily populated coastlineand exposure to the ocean. Together withUN-Habitat, local ofcials and residentsdiscussed alternative solutions. Focusingprimarily on land use, landscape planningand water and sanitation issues the teampresented suggestions on methods or in-

tegrating consideration o the eects o cli-mate change into uture planning eorts bythe Sorsogon mayor and the community.

Support or communities in Batticaloaand Negombo, Sri Lanka

Batticaloa and Negombo are locatedon coast o Sri Lanka; both are highly

vulnerable to the impacts o climatechange, including sea-level rise. In 2004,approximately one third o the coastalarea o the city o Batticaloa was severe-ly damaged by a tsunami. The city andits environs are also highly vulnerable tocyclones, and oods are increasing inrequency. These climate disasters nega-tively impact on the economy, especiallyin the important sectors o agriculture,fshing and tourism.

In June 2011 a team o ARCADIS spe-cialists (a social geography/urban andport planner, coastal engineer, ecolo-gist and water sanitation specialist) sup-ported preparation o a work plan oradaptation to recurrent ooding andmanagement o water resources at thecity level. (The mission to Batticaloa was

part o a larger process, started by theUniversity o Mortuwa some years ago.)The ARCADIS team frst analyzed thevulnerability o Batticaloa and Negom-bo. Experts then discussed fndings withlocal and national stakeholders during aworkshop. This work produced an ac-tion plan or adaptation to ood risk andmanagement o water resources.

Expertise and building with naturethrough new orms o cooperation

Flooding and erosion are serious problems inurban areas, and these problems are grow-ing due to climate change. Oten the mostvulnerable groups in society are hit the hard-est as they tend to live in low lying areas,river beds and coastal zones. With properplanning the worst problems can be allevi-ated and settlements can be adapted tochanging situations. Retention areas andgreen corridors can act as natural waterdischarge systems, which are cheaper thanconcrete drainage. Instead o hard seawalls,natural elements like sand dunes can act ascoastal protection. Such approaches can becost eective and incremental, with naturaleatures expanded to match rising sea levels.

The solutions proposed in these communi-ties emerged rom the cooperation o UN-Habitat, the consultants o the ARCADIS/UN-Habitat Shelter Programme and thelocal population. It shows that innovativemodalities o cooperation with the pri-vate sector can provide high-level exper-tise or those who need it most.


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RECENT EVENTS December 2011

ABOUT US

Headquarted at UN-Habitat in Nairobi,the Cities and Climate Change Initiative(CCCI) involves the participation o morethan 20 cities worldwide. It targets medi-um-sized cities in developing and least-de-veloped countries and emphasizes goodgovernance and practical initiatives or themunicipalities and their citizens. The CCCIteam has adapted participatory processes

Esmeraldas

Maputo

Hoi An

Walvis Bay

Kigali

Bobo Dioulasso

Saint Louis

Sorsogon

Pekalongan

Kathmandu

Ulaanbaatar

KampalaBatticaloa

Mombasa Port Moresby

Apia

Port Vila Lami

Jiangyin

Sihanoukville

Negombo

Banjarmasin

TuguegaraoCauayanSantiagoOlangapoRodriguez

developed previously by UN-Habitat so asto specifcally address climate change is-sues within the city. A complementary seto tools is being developed to support cit-ies in raising awareness on the impact oclimate change and undertaking mitiga-tion and adaptation activities. Since 2008,CCCI has been generously supported bythe Government o Norway, the United

Nations Development Account, the CitiesAlliance, the Government o Sweden andother sources o global, regional, nationaland local unding. Newsletters o theCities and Climate Change Initiative areperiodically published electronically. Formore inormation, or to be added to ourmailing list, contact [email protected] visit www.unhabitat.org/ccci.

CCCI Cities and Countries

CCCI Policy Note Series

As part o its eorts to capture and dis-seminate normative lessons coming outo the Cities and Climate Change Initia-tive (CCCI) cities, CCCI recently launcheda Policy Note series. The two initialNotes, scheduled to be released just be-

PUBLICATIONS

ore the Conerence o the Parties to theUN Framework Convention or ClimateChange (UNFCCC) in Durban, South A-rica (COP-17), will address the importanttopics o access by cities to adaptationfnance and mitigation fnance, respec-tively, with recommendations on how toimprove access.

These notes will be available via the CCCIwebpage at www.unhabitat.org/ccci.

Urban Climate ChangeAdaptation CourseOctober 2011Gangwon, Korea

Urban planners and decision-makersrom 10 Asian countries concluded acourse on cities and climate change ad-aptation this past October. The courseocused on vulnerability assessment andclimate change action plans and helpedcities improve their planning and re-sponse to climate change. Tools devel-oped by UN-Habitats Cities and ClimateChange Initiative such as Developing Lo-cal Climate Change Plans, and by the In-stitute or Housing and Urban Develop-ment Studies (IHS) such as Climate PRO,

an Excel based climate change decisionmaking support tool, ormed the basisor the course. Participants applied thesetools frst hand and benefted rom con-crete case studies rom Korea and feldvisits organized by the International Ur-ban Training Centre (IUTC).

Anwar Hussain, Executive Director orthe Local Councils Association o thePunjab (LCAP), commended the courseor highlighting the need to incorporateclimate change and disaster prepared-ness in planning. [G]iven the extremeoods Pakistan experienced last year andagain in 2011, better planning with thecommunities who understood the situa-tion on the ground is essential, he said.

The 10-day course was jointly organizedby UN-Habitat, the Institute or Housingand Urban Development Studies (HIS)and the International Urban TrainingCentre (IUTC). Participating countriesincluded Cambodia, Indonesia, LaoPDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philip-pines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Documents

Mexico Agua y Cambio Climatico