The City has a plan to combat climate change
Climate change has a profound effect on the environment, as well as on the sustainable development of a city.
MBOMBELA – The City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) takes the change of weather patterns seriously and has adopted a Climate Change Response Strategy and Implementation Plan (CCRSIP) approved by Council in September 2018.
Siphiwe Ngelo, the spokesman for CMLM, told Lowvelder that the plan, “gives a detailed account of all vulnerable areas and proposes climate actions for each sector, in order to reduce the associated risks. It is meant to drive the city’s transition towards a green economy.
The climate change vision for CMLM, according to the CCRSIP is, “to create a municipality resilient to climate change that is committed to sustainable development and greening solutions to drive future economic and community development, in both the rural and urban sectors of the City.”
The CCRSIP report indicates that the region’s rainfall has historically been between October and March, with an average of 100 precipitation days. Unpredictable rainfall patterns due to climate change will potentially hamper the CMLM’s current economic sectors’ productivity and could exacerbate its current socioeconomic conditions.
Long-Term Adaptation Research Programmes (LTAs) as well as regional modelling done for the province suggest that an increase in evaporation rates will leave the landscape drier. However this also suggests that the CMLM will encounter increased rainfall, particularly in the high-lying areas, including White River and Kaapsehoop, and more frequent and intense rainfall occurrences.
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One concern is flooding and flash flooding, particularly in low-lying settlements, with as many as 33 per cent of CMLM’s human settlements currently lying within the floodplains and in close proximity to powerful rivers.
The report also suggested that according to the CMLM’s Rapid Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) on water resources and water supply, the system is highly sensitive to climate changes.
The current constraints listed by the plan to keep up with the water demands of the City is due to a significant growth in the area over the past decade which is expected to continue as the population grows. Insufficient planning and funding around the water supply and treatment for the area was also cited as a concern.
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The adaptive capacity of the City is described as low by the CCRSIP, regarding water supply issues which may worsen due to climate change, due to the following factors:
- The water service infrastructure is old and requires significant upgrading in order for the municipality to adapt to current stresses.
- Poor or ineffectual planning currently in place.
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Ngelo urges the citizens of Mbombela to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases in their daily activities. They are furthermore encouraged to avoid biomass burning and to plant indigenous trees for carbon storage. Renewable energy sources, like solar energy, should also be embraced and employed
