Working with nature to reduce disaster risk

A case study of Kampala, Uganda

MAINSTREAMING BIODIVERSITY INTO AFRICAN CITIES

LAND USE PLANNING | 2018

URBAN NATURAL ASSETS FOR AFRICA: R IVERS FOR L IFE

Nature and more specifically, healthy ecosystems, are

increasingly being recognized as essential to minimise and

prevent disaster risk in cities (Monty, Murti & Furuta, 2016).

Through the process of urban expansion, cities transform

their ecosystems and often generate new risks. Recognising

the economic value and multiple benefits of healthy

ecosystems acting as natural buffers to cities are important

for reducing risks and contributing to urban resilience and

sustainability. As a result, in order to build resilient and

sustainable cities, natural assets need to be incorporated

and mainstreamed into city planning and development

decisions.

The city of Kampala in Uganda is moving their disaster

management paradigm from a traditional emergency

response focus towards managing disaster risk. Through

the UNA Rivers project, the role and value of natural assets

in managing disaster risk was identified as a crucial

component. As a result urban natural asset mapping that

was carried out in the Kampala Capital City Authority

(KCCA) and the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA)

which aimed to identify the location, condition and

vulnerability of urban natural assets in these locales. The

resulting maps and analysis aim to provide a baseline to

prioritise vulnerable systems so that they can be

proactively integrated into urban planning mechanisms

and policies.

A participatory mapping process occurred for the Kampala

Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the Greater Kampala

Metropolitan Area (GKMA). The following activities were

undertaken:

Review and analyse all existing urban natural asset and

related maps to provide a baseline of existing data as

well as identify gaps in existing maps for the KCCA.

Develop a guideline for future urban natural asset

mapping methodologies and monitoring processes in

the KCCA.

Assess the spatial extent to which the urban natural

assets in the KCCA have been degraded in relation to

land tenure and land use practices.

Identify the urban natural asset hotspots/ priority areas

in the KCCA, i.e. where the urban natural assets in KCCA

are, and prioritise them in terms of ecosystem service

provision, vulnerability to land use change and climate

change

Extend the urban natural asset hotspots/ priority area

map (as per above) to the four municipalities that

comprise Kampala Great Metropolitan Area (KGMA), i.e.

Kira, Mukona, Nansana and Wakiso .

Identifying & Mapping Urban Natural Assets in Kampala, Uganda

Linking Urban Natural Assets to Disaster Risk Reduction

While the urban natural asset mapping was taking place the Kampala Capital City Authority, with support from ICLEI Africa

and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, completed the Disaster Resilience score card for cities under The

Making Cities Resilient Campaign. This scorecard provides a set of assessments that will allow local governments to monitor

and review progress and challenges in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: 2015-

2030, and assess their disaster resilience. It is structured around UNISDR’s Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient. It

offers the potential for scoring at two levels: the Preliminary level, responding to key Sendai Framework targets and

indicators, and with some critical sub-questions and the Detailed level assessment.

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) utilised preliminary and detailed assessment results to inform the development

of a draft Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan for the City of Kampala, which has been ground-truthed with key local and

national stakeholders and will be presented for adoption by the city in March 2019. One of the 10 Essentials is Essential 5:

To Safeguard Natural Buffers to enhance the protective functions offered by natural ecosystems which required sets to

Identify, protect and monitor critical ecosystems services that confer a disaster resilience benefit. Given the synergies

between Essential 5 and the key recommendations of the participatory mapping engagements with the KCCA it was

deemed strategic to mainstream the urban natural asset mapping outcomes from the UNA Rivers project into the draft

Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan developed by KCCA.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Urban Natural Assets for Africa: Rivers for Life (UNA

Rivers) is implemented by ICLEI’s Cities Biodiversity

Center.

This cutting edge project is designed to support the

daily challenges that local governments in Africa

experience around protecting and revitalising their

urban natural assets, in particular their river

systems.

It aims to integrate nature-based solutions into

land use planning for increased resilience.

ABOUT ICLEI

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is the

leading global network of over 1,500 cities, towns

and regions committed to building a sustainable

urban future. ICLEI promotes local action for global

sustainability, supporting cities to become

sustainable, resilient, resource-efficient, biodiverse,

and low-carbon.

ICLEI Africa Secretariat is the Sub-Saharan office of

ICLEI and serves our local and sub-national

government members across the region in line

with the ICLEI Strategic Plan. ICLEI Africa also hosts

the global ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center.

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Contact: biodiversity@iclei.org / www.cbc.iclei.org / www.twitter.com/ICLEICBC

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