Project Update 1, October Water Resilient Green Cities in Africa

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1 Welcome Welcome to our joint project: Water Resilient Green Cities in Africa! For the next four years we will investigate the options for using urban green infrastructure as a means to increase the water resilience of the two cities - Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam. In this first Update the basic information about the project is summarized, the core idea is described as well as the initial exploration of options to be done during the next months, a preliminary outline of Conference 1 in January in Dar es Salaam is suggested, and some administrative issues drawn up. Please also note the important To Do s in the end. summary The general objective of the project is to explore water resilience by using the urban green infrastructure as a climate change adaptation strategy in flood and drought prone cities. The aim is to identify options and suggest strategies for water resilient cities, using Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam as example cases. This is not a simple task, and accordingly the project contains a high number of different, but all very relevant investigations, as well as a lot of knowledge sharing activities, which are crucial if the aim is to be reached. Figure 1 provides an overview of project content and staff. 1

2 The project contains three disciplinary work packages and one work package on capacity building and project management. Across the work packages the options for realizing a strong green infrastructure for water resilience is explored at three different levels: the city scale, the catchment scale and the site scale. Each work package covers both case cities and the city researcher in each case city conducts research and coordinates across work packages. The disciplinary approaches are also integrated through pilot site studies and events in the two cities and in the six PhD projects traversing work packages To involve city stakeholders is a major element in the project. Knowledge is generated in collaboration with users and stakeholders who jointly prioritize needs at start-up at city stakeholder meetings and at subsequent meetings in advisory groups throughout the project (the city working group). The ambition is further to involve city stakeholders in design workshops at pilot sites. The main products of the project is finalized PhD s, joint research and training activities, pilot site events, development of MSc course, city and pilot site recommendations and strategies and research papers. The project is organized with a project leader and a project management group which contains all project staff except PhD students. The project management group meets at least once a year. Decisions are made in consensus. management meetings, stakeholder interaction, training and pilot site activities, master course preparations etc. are organized in conjunction with the yearly project conferences. The idea The idea of the project is to enhance the water resilience of the cities by establishing a strong green infrastructure that can protect against floods and simultaneously provide day to day services to the citizens like e.g. water supply and areas for food production. Such approaches to water resilience have gradually developed as a response to failing conventional sewer systems based on an underground network of pipes. It is known by different names such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), Landscape based stormwater management, Low Impact Development (LID), and Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). Basically a green infrastructure may provide water resilience by holding back flood water, preventing it from flooding housing areas and other high-value areas, and by providing water from water storages during droughts. The challenge is to secure these functions of the green infrastructure in periods with nonextreme weather conditions. Rather than simply discharging the stormwater runoff the water is to be delayed, transpired and infiltrated by means of terrain modification (swales, depressions and basins), vegetation enhancement and the installation of storage tanks. In this way the natural water cycle is mimicked in the urban context. It takes both a good planning process and local commitment to establish and maintain a strong green infrastructure for urban water resilience and support of local livelihood activities. By working on the city scale and on the catchment scale, we can gain an overall understanding of the general framework and conditions. Thereafter the work at the pilot site scale will help us to link the overall problems to the specific local conditions and possibilities for solutions. In order to follow such an approach, it may be an advantage to work at two pilot sites in the same catchment one upstream in order to explore how the water can be retained and used as a resource and the other downstream to work on possible solutions for flood prone areas, such as flood protection and multi-functional flood plains. This is illustrated in Figure 2. 2

3 Figure 2: Left: Both Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam contain several catchments. These must be identified. Middle: Within a catchment the upstream and downstream conditions for water management are different but interlinked. Therefore it is suggested to consider two pilot sites (case 1 and 2), an upstream and a downstream, within the same catchment, in both cities. Right: Upstream solutions may be based more on retaining water, while downstream solutions may need to rely more on discharge. Table 1 lists some of the physical information needed and relevant stakeholders to engage with. 3

4 Table 1: The ability of a green infrastructure to provide water resilience in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam depends on both the physical conditions and the engagement of stakeholders in the two cities. Scales Physical information Stakeholders Macro- city scale Meso - catchment scale Baseline information -Surface water network (location of rivers, catchment delineation) -Terrain (Contour lines) -Major infrastructure elements (large roads, railway) -Land use zones (housing areas, public green spaces, agriculture, industry zones etc.) -Flood prone areas with a written description of the city s water problems Who to approach at the different administrative city levels (water utilities, flooding task force, traffic and infrastructure department etc.)? How to distribute the knowledge from our project? Who has the power to implement future projects? Additional relevant information: -Drainage situation -Distance to groundwater table -Soil types -Waste management and contaminated sites -Areas with ongoing or future development -City master- or sector plans Micro- Site scale In order to develop suitable solutions for the specific sites, the following information might be helpful for the process: - Information on the housing structure, infrastructure, green areas (e.g. as aerial photos) - Information on local habits and needs: Which areas are used by whom? How are the local transit routes / connections? What are public meeting points? Which kinds of facilities are needed? Where are the communities biggest problems?(flood prone areas, pollution problems, lack of water, lack of sanitation) Is there an existing administration structure? Is there local identity and cohesion? Are there drivers for the local people to take part in a project development? How are flood problems influencing today s livability at the site and how may a redesign of the green infrastructure improve it? Conference no. 1 Our first project conference will be held in Dar es Salaam from the st of January. Please book your calendars. Below a first draft for the conference program is suggested. 4

5 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Green infrastructure and water resilience discussion of concept, options and vision Disciplinary training 1: Mapping and structural analysis Specification of WP frameworks Excursion to pilot site and meeting with local stakeholders City stakeholder meeting Insight into the project Joint initial exploration of options, supported by maps of physical conditions Disciplinary training 2: Institutional and governance analysis. Disciplinary training 3: Participatory methods. PhD presentations Late afternoon: PhD presentations management meeting Each partner is responsible for a disciplinary training workshop session; EiABC for no. 1, IHHS for no. 2, and IGN for no. 3. However, the sessions can include participants from the other partners as well. Suggested duration: 2-3 hours per session. Administrative issues Reporting IGN is responsible for the project coordination with Danida. An annual report is required. It includes an overall evaluation of the project, the annual expenditures, progress of the project during the year, lessons learnt, any substantive changes, etc. The annual expenditure report has to be audited by an approved auditor before sending it to IGN. The deadline for the annual report to IGN is March 1st. The accounting department at IGN requires half-yearly expenditure reports from all partner institutions. The deadlines of the half-yearly expenditure reports are March 1 and September 1. The PhD students need to submit half-yearly progress reports required by Danida. The deadlines are March 1 st and September 1 st. More detailed requirements for the reports will be sent separately. 5

6 Communication Website:. This official project website contains a short description of the project. Here we can post news, upload important findings and project products. Dropbox: All project documents are organized and shared in a dropbox entitled WGA project. The dropbox already contains a list of participants and relevant literatures. The dropbox is organized in accordance with the To Do s (see below). coordination. Every month a Skype meeting with city researchers and the WP leaders is suggested. Outlook invites to be forwarded shortly. Internal updates will be posted twice a year; in October and in April. Inputs are welcome External newsletters will be posted once a year; in February. Let us know contacts and partners you would like on the mailing list for this newsletter. To do s Deadlines Events Responsible persons November 1 st, Suggest catchment and two pilot sites for case studies in Addis Ababa and provide information on delineation in dropbox folder: Shared materials Addis Ababa- Two pilot sites for case studies City director: Kumelachew Yeshitela and city researchers November 1st December 20, December 20, Conference: January, Conference: January, Conference: January, January 13, January 13, January 13, Suggest catchment and two pilot sites for case studies in Dar es Salaam and provide information on delineation in dropbox folder: Shared materials Dar es Salaam- Two pilot sites for case studies Provide information on the physical conditions and stakeholders at city and lower levels in Addis Ababa see table 1. Upload to dropbox folder: Shared materials Addis Ababa- Physical conditions and stakeholders. Provide information on the physical conditions and stakeholders at city level in Dar es Salaam. Upload to dropbox folder: Shared materials Dar es Salaam - Physical conditions and stakeholders. Prepare presentation of initial analysis of options and challenges in the two cities, from material in dropbox, for Conference 1. Prepare presentation of the physical conditions of the catchment and suggested areas and an analysis of the important stakeholders at the different scales in Addis Ababa for Conference 1. Prepare presentation of the physical conditions of the catchment and suggested areas and an analysis of the important stakeholders at the different scales in Dar es Salaam for Conference 1. Specify WP frameworks (research questions, methods, organization and teams, planned activities and timeplan) and upload to dropbox folder: Work packages- WP frameworks. Prepare presentation for Conference 1. Describe disciplinary trainings (topics, learning outcome) and coordinate teaching and exercises with other relevant partners. Upload to dropbox folder: Conference 1-Disciplinary trainings. Develop PhD study plan (background, objectives, methods, working plan, courses, preliminary paper titles) and upload to dropbox folder: PhD students- PhD study plan. City director: Kombe Wilbard and city researcher Liberatus Mrema City researchers: Abraham Workneh and Ketema Abebe City researcher: Liberatus Mrema Antje Backhaus and Lise Herslund City director: Kumelachew Yeshitela and city researchers Abraham Workneh and Ketema Abebe City director: Kombe Wilbard and city researcher Liberatus Mrema WP 1 - Kumelachew Yeshitela, WP 2 Antje Backhaus, WP 3 - Tatu M. Limbumba, WP 4 Lise Herslund WP 1 - Kumelachew Yeshitela, WP 2 Antje Backhaus, WP 3 - Tatu M. Limbumba Individual PhD students 6

7 Important Dates December 20: Deadline for upload to dropbox of information on physical conditions of catchments. January 13: Deadline for upload to dropbox of WP-specifications, Disciplinary Trainings and PhD plans. January 27 31: Conference 1 in Dar es Salaam March 1: An annual report for calendar year. March 1: Half-year status report on PhD-studies. 7