In December 2011, the Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) was formed at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) 17 in Durban (eThekwini Municipality), South Africa. The 114 local government officials from 27 different countries who signed the Charter have committed to help their communities cope with climate change risks, enabling them to become more resilient.

This week, CityLinks is lending support to the Durban Adaptation Charter Implementation Guidance Workshop (DAC IGW) in Durban, South Africa. The workshop will allow the participants, local government officials from various countries, to form an effective plan for executing the Durban Adaptation Charter worldwide. eThekwini Municipality, the current Secretariat of the DAC is hosting this four day workshop, while ICLEI Africa, one of our partners (read about them here in a previous blog post), organized the event. The workshop will address the following three main themes:

1. Identify potential DAC governance mechanisms to ensure the long term stability of the initiative and provide support for local governments seeking to implement their commitments to the Durban Adaptation Charter.
2. Identify ways that cities need support to implement climate change adaptation projects. These needs may include (but will not be limited to) knowledge, technical support and financial resources.
3. Propose ideas for documenting progress made by cities implementing the charter and adaptation projects, and to assess the effectiveness of the Durban Adaptation Charter in increasing the resiliency of cities.

If you would like to learn more about the Charter, Durban, and climate change adaptation, check out:

1. Official Website of the eThekwini Municipality (Durban)
2. Durban Adaptation Charter
3. Durban Community Ecosystem Based Adaptation
4. ICLEI Africa
5. ICMA’s Climate Change Topic on the Knowledge Network

To learn more about CityLinks, visit our website, and follows us on Twitter at @ICMACityLinks. Click here to get more information on ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities and please visit ICMA International’s site to find out about the projects ICMA implements around the world.