| Project Objective/ Description: |
Municipalities can play an important role in the design and implementation of adaptation policies, as they are the tier of government closest to where the impacts of climate change will be felt. However, in South Africa there has not been a consolidated approach to adaptation to projected climate impacts on a municipal scale. Given the urgent need to address climate change, it is necessary to understand the factors preventing or enabling the mainstreaming of adaptation options in municipalities. This research explores such factors, and investigates where, why and how awareness of climate change adaptation filters down to affect policies and then practices (and where and why not). Different scales and contexts of local governance are being investigated using a mixed-methods approach: City of Cape Town Metro, Eden District Municipality, select local municipalities within Eden District Municipality, and one local West Coast municipality. The focus is on the following classes of ecosystem services: flood, drought and storm protection. |
