Abstract
Nelson Mandela Bay is a two-port metropole on the South-East coast of South Africa. Located within a convergence zone of weather systems, currents, biomes, economies and cultures it is particularly susceptible to climate change impacts. Such impacts are already underway, and significant future change is anticipated in weather, ecosystems, economies, infrastructure and social wellbeing. Currently struggling with high unemployment, intense poverty, a dysfunctional local authority, and an under-threat core industry, the metro was chosen by South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission to pilot a framework approach to building climate resilience. A team of local consultants researched, assessed, consulted broadly, mapped systems with stakeholders, and tested outcomes in a final dialogue session to develop a framework approach that would inform interventions at both local and metro-wide scale. What emerged was a broadly endorsed five-pillar strategy centred around a vision of a clean, safe, and working metro. Work is now underway to establish a climate forum and also to integrate climate resilience into individual stakeholder strategies. Five key insights have emerged. 1) There are already wide-spread “hope-pockets” of citizen-led responses that offer scalability if enabled. 2) Resilience requires an “all-of-society” response. 3) A functional local government is an essential tool in building resilience. 4) Climate change remains a periphery priority. 5) Change is coming faster than anticipated. This paper highlights the challenges and successes of the framework process with a view to understanding how urban sustainability can be enabled and entrenched. And it potentially offers insights for other similarly challenged dysfunctional urban spaces.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Unseen Unsustainability: Addressing Hidden Risks to Long-Term Wellbeing for All
KEYWORDS
Urban, Sustainability, Climate, Resilience, Framework, Strategy, Pathways, Multi-stakeholder, Participative
