Africa’s urban adaptation transition under a 1.5° climate
For cities in Africa a 1.5°C increase in global temperature will bring forward urgency of meeting basic needs in sanitation, water and land-tenure
Abstract
For cities in sub-Saharan Africa a 1.5°C increase in global temperature will bring forward the urgency of meeting basic needs in sanitation, drinking water and land-tenure, and underlying governance weaknesses. The challenges of climate sensitive management are exacerbated by rapid population growth, deep and persistent poverty, a trend for resolving risk through relocation (often forced), and emerging new risks, often multi-hazard, for example heat stroke made worse by air pollution. Orienting risk management towards a developmental agenda can help. Transition is constrained by fragmented governance, donor priorities and inadequate monitoring of hazards, vulnerability and impacts. Opportunities arise where data and forecasting is present and through multi-level governance where civil society collaborates with city government.
This is an output from the Urban Africa: Risk Knowledge (Urban ARK) programme
Citation
Mark Pelling, Hayley Leck, Lorena Pasquini, Idowu Ajibade, Emanuel Osuteye, Susan Parnell, Shuaib Lwasa, Cassidy Johnson, Arabella Fraser, Alejandro Barcena, Soumana Boubacar, Africa’s urban adaptation transition under a 1.5° climate, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 31, 2018, Pages 10-15, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.11.005.