The saying ‘adapt or die’ is never more appropriate than now. In Africa and the Global South local governments are rapidly realising that climate change adaptation is critical. Now I acknowledge I may have a particular Global South bias but I do think the urgent need, the drive, and in fact the innovation around adaptation is currently positioned in the Global South and indeed on the African continent. This in a large part is why the Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) for Local Governments was conceived, signed and presented to the Nations of the World via the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, on African soil in Durban, South Africa in 2011. During the momentous signing ceremony day, a 107 mayors and elected officials representing 950 local governments globally joined the DAC. Most of these were from Africa. When I speak to city officials from what may seem like far flung places like Walvis Bay (a small town in Namibia sandwiched between a bone dry Namib Desert and a cold and unforgiving Atlantic Ocean) it’s pretty obvious to me why African local governments are increasingly becoming committed to tackling the impacts of climate change – because they are experiencing them already. In many cases they are coping with already extreme environments, and for this reason changes are being seen there more rapidly. Although those of us from the Global South may be inclined to see adaptation as more relevant to us, it’s not really an ‘us and them’ game. We have seen the ravages of Superstorm Sandy on New York, and the impacts of heat waves and snow storms in European cities in recent years. There is a growing realisation that we all have an imperative to adapt and local governments world over are coming to appreciate their role as leaders in this field.

You may be curious about this charter and what relevance it has to really dealing with the calamities of nature - droughts and storms and floods and fires. What drives a local government to commit to the DAC you may ask? Do they see this as going beyond political commitment? Awareness, knowledge and local leadership are powerful drivers. They do say the pen is mightier than the sword, and the groundswell of hundreds if not thousands of pens  put to paper for the same purpose perhaps will mobilize a ground swell of awareness, local action, and a global voice that resonates for a resilient future for the next generations. Remember that nation’s leaders are voted in by pieces of paper, signed or marked by hundreds of thousands of citizens. Indeed important texts such as the Declaration of Independence that founded the USA and the Freedom Charter that founded the South African Constitution are examples of texts that really have changed the course of history for the better. And while I am giving you a little history lesson, as a matter of interest, the DAC is named in the spirit of the Freedom Charter, bringing with it the history of being signed on South African soil, and the belief that it too will bear witness to positive societal changes. More than the hopes that the pen is so mighty, by signing commitments such as this leaders are agreeing to “stand up and be counted”, to putting their hands in the air to say “look over here, I am providing forward thinking leadership”.  If there is one thing ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability knows from working with cities, it is that visionary leaders and champions are game changers. 

Why local governments you may ask? At ICLEI, one of our fundamental driving points is that it’s at the local level where the impacts of climate change are felt – “where the rubber hits the road”. This is where officials have to deal with societal impacts and respond to constituents, rapidly and effectively. It’s where individuals lose homes, access to transport, food, water and energy. In the Global South it’s also where existing development challenges, backlogs of service delivery and poverty are compounded by climate change and variability. This is also the space where we have the best chance to change the current collision course that our global civilisation is on. Ban Ki-moon, the UNFCCC Secretary General agrees with us, in his words: “The road to sustainability runs through the world’s cities and towns. By building more sustainable cities and regions, you will lead us to a more sustainable world”. This reasoning is what drove the development of the DAC. It was a Commitment, one that was needed desperately in 2011, to draw a line in the sand and to state to the world that local governments are standing together to safe guard their citizens in an uncertain future.

Great, you say, so this political commitment exists and but what does it mean to “walk the talk” and to respond to the growing sense of urgency? If we think about it there isn’t a single city out there that can claim they are adapted. Not yet at any rate.This was why an Implementation Guidance Workshop was held in Durban from the 20 to 23 March 2013. This event was hosted by eThekwini (City of Durban), funded by USAID through their ICMA-implemented CityLinks program, and organised by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability –Africa. Through the Workshop, we aimed to identify potential governance mechanisms, the need for support for the implementation of the DAC and for appropriate mechanisms for documenting progress. The official results of which will be published soon. In a nut shell we aimed to figure out how best to assist local governments to take action on their political commitment.

Ultimately we want to inspire and build confidence through supporting visionary leaders and champions, to create linkages within and between cities and leaders, to share solutions and bravely help each other into a more resilient future. We want to demystify in order to empower. Empowerment is really what it’s all about.

*This is a personal opinion piece and does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the organisation – ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.