The Transformative River Management Programme (TRMP), developed as a consequence of a four-year collaboration between the C40 Finance Facility (CFF) and the eThekwini Municipality, would lessen the effects of climate change, as evidenced by the April floods.
The Sihlanzimvelo Community Stream Cleaning Program and other river management initiatives in eThekwini have been built upon by the TRMP, which was handed over to the municipality on Thursday.
As part of creating a climate resilient and secure city, the TRMP seeks to modify more than 7000 kilometers of the city’s rivers and streams over the course of ten years. In the green economy, the program has the potential to hire thousands more people.
In order to anchor the green economy, develop the social and economic capital of the city, and forge partnerships, the municipality states that it intends to expand the program and others to a wide range of river conditions, ecological infrastructures, property ownership, and land use circumstances.
The program will give towns all across the world a scalable and replicable methodology for managing and maintaining their waterways while maximizing socioeconomic advantages.
Mxolisi Kaunda, the mayor of eThekwini Municipality, said adaptation is essential, particularly for places like Durban that are already exposed to the effects of climate change. He was speaking at the handing over event.
According to Kaunda, the city acknowledges the value of the natural environment in assisting cities in adapting.
In order to achieve this, the city has made major investments in managing, preserving, and reestablishing critical ecosystems using the community ecosystem-based adaptation approach.
This strategy provides vulnerable and underprivileged communities with employment possibilities to manage and maintain our ecosystems, protecting them from the effects of climate change while also generating cash.
“Well-managed ecosystems give our city and its citizens with annual services worth over R4 billion.
If these streams are properly maintained, they not only serve as a source of freshwater but also aid in reducing the effects of heavy rains and flooding.
The City’s approach to climate adaptation must center on investing the necessary resources in rivers and catchments, according to Kaunda.
The success of the TRMP, according to Ravi Pillay, MEC for KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs, puts the climate change subject back on the front burner.
“Having survived the floods, this is not simply a concern for climate campaigners; everyone should keep it in the forefront of their minds. The timing is right to establish the steps we must take to ameliorate the situation and alter the trajectory of development, according to Pillay.