Lessons learned from the risk-informed urban development initiative in the SADC region

Ketlaodirelang E Letebele; Manuel A A L De Araujo; Johanes A Belle; Frederika A Shigwedha; Lucie N Bakajika; Geofrey Ochieng; Georg Johann; Tlou D Raphela; Jimmy P Yoedsel; Gorata Samuel; Karl H G Sada

doi:10.4102/jamba.v16i2.1793

Lessons learned from the risk-informed urban development initiative in the SADC region

Jamba. 2024 Nov 22;16(2):1793. doi: 10.4102/jamba.v16i2.1793. eCollection 2024.

Affiliations

¹ South African Council for Planners, Development Planning, Environment and Management, eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa.
² Department of Climate Change and Energy, Quelimane Municipality, Quelimane, Mozambique.
³ Department of Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
⁴ Sub Division of National Government and Traditional Authorities Affairs, Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, Windhoek, Namibia.
⁵ Corporation of Congolese Town Planners, Kinshasa Multisector Development and Urban Resilience Project, Cellule Infrastructures, Kinshasa, DRC, Congo.
⁶ Department of Programme Management, East Africa Local Governments Association, Arusha, Tanzania.
⁷ Faculty of Hydrology & Hydraulics, Emschergenossenschaft & Flood Competence Center, Cologne, Germany.
⁸ Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Change, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani, Thailand.
⁹ Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
¹⁰ Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management, Group Peace and Security, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Bonn, Germany.

Abstract

This study presents the systemisation of lessons learned from the urban sector in which the measures based on the guiding principle of risk-informed development (RID) have been implemented in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region at the national and/or sub-national levels. Despite notable risks in the region, these are not adequately considered in urban development planning and programming. Aiming at strengthening RID in the SADC region, the objectives of this peer-to-peer exchange were achieved through virtual workshops, roundtables and briefings on a cloud-based and open-source BigBlueButton Web conferencing system. Risk-based decision frameworks were used as footprints throughout the moderation phases. Peer-to-peer exchanges totalled 25 events and 80 registered individual members. About 14 SADC member states and 26 cities represented by city officials, local governments and academia participated in this process. Results along the risk-based decision frameworks lead to a clustering of recurring topics during the peer-to-peer exchange, which are presented along legal and organisational setups; budget and funding; risk assessment and mitigation options; and data and information flows considerations.

Contribution: Aligned with the 'Regional Assessment on Urban Vulnerability and Resilience in SADC Member States' by conclusions provide a series of recommendations for risk-informed urban development in the SADC region.

Keywords: SADC; disaster risk management; resilience; risk-informed planning; risk-informed urban development.

Grants and funding

Funding information The risk-informed urban development initiative is carried out in cooperation with the Connective Cities – Community of Practice for Sustainable Urban Development (CC) a Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM) and the Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA), implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).