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During the GDS2040 themed week on the environment, ways will be sought to mitigate climate change, preserve natural resources, fight pollution and protect the environment.
WITH the harsh realities of global warming becoming more prevalent daily, the City has set aside one week to focus on environmental issues such as renewable energy, conservation and recycling as part of its Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) consultation process, GDS2040.
 Johannesburg has already taken a number of steps regarding environmental planning and management, as well as steps to create awareness around saving the environment. But more can be done, prompting the City to run an environmental focus week as one of its GDS2040 themes. It will take place from 19 to 23 September; a full programme of activities is available online.
Topics to be discussed are:
- Monday, 19 September – City of the future: environmental sustainability;
- Tuesday, 20 September – Building a resilient city in pursuit of a low carbon economy amidst a changing world;
- Wednesday, 21 September – Natural resource management in an ever-changing urban landscape;
- Thursday, 22 September – Educational environmental theme day for the youth of Joburg; and
- Friday, 23 September – Mayoral business breakfast on environmental sustainability.
Climate change
Climate change is one of the major challenges that need to be taken into consideration in building a city for the future, particularly as scientists believe global warming will only get worse.
The GDS2040 draft strategy notes: “Eleven of the last 12 years (1995-2006) rank among the 12 warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature (since 1850) providing now undisputed scientific evidence that climate change is an inevitable part of our present reality.”
 Flooding is a result of climate changeIt further states: “When we reduce carbon emissions we mitigate climate change, but we also become more resource secure because we save scarce natural resources.”
Over time, Joburg is expected to become hotter and wetter, leading to an increased risk of flash floods. The city’s poor will be the worst affected, and the related risks of flooding in urban slums will increase.
The city, so far, has remained largely exempt from natural disasters, thanks to a range of geographical factors. An assessment undertaken in 2008 by Mastercard Worldwide Insight 1 rated Joburg as the fourth best placed city out of 21 major cities in Asia, the Middle East and Africa in terms of exposure to climate change-related risks.
GDS2040 reads: “The focus on climate change and the environment comes with considerations of how to mitigate the damage that has already been done, and how to adapt individual and collective behaviour.
“Key stakeholders in the environmental field will be called on during the themed focus week to add their input and propose possible solutions to the problems the city faces.”
Statistics
Joburg has a population of about four million and covers some 1 100km2. It is the fastest growing city in Africa and its population is expected to reach 6,5 million in 2010, according to the United Nations – Habitat.
Since Johannesburg is inland, nearly 500 kilometres from the closest harbour, at an average elevation of 1 800 metres, it has a temperate climate with cold, dry winters.
 High traffic volumes add to carbon emissionsWhile incomes are higher in Joburg than anywhere else in the country, extreme racial disparities exist with respect to income distribution, and the local economy incorporates some of the richest and poorest segments of society.
Most informal settlements – 52 percent – are located in the south of Joburg. Population growth rates are also highest in informal settlements. Overall, the legacy of apartheid has resulted in inefficient land use patterns whereby much of the poor population has to commute from outlying townships that are far removed from places of employment.
Rea Vaya
As a result of these lengthy travel requirements, the City introduced the country’s first low carbon public transport, the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in 2009.
Rea Vaya points out that if only 15 percent of car users who live close to the city switch to the bus service, carbon dioxide emissions can be cut by 1,6 million tons by 2020.
It is clear that Rea Vaya is the single largest climate change initiative ever undertaken by the City and represents a major turning point in how it deals with congestion, pollution and greenhouse gases caused by transportation.
The buses run on low-sulphur diesel with the most advanced pollution reduction equipment. They reduce nitrous oxides, the most dangerous health risk from vehicular emissions, by thousands of tons a year and particulate matter by hundreds of tons annually.
UN-Habitat notes: “Greater Johannesburg has a wide range of environmental problems associated with rapid urbanisation.
 Keeping our rivers clean“Water and air quality are inequitably distributed; for example, residents of Soweto are at risk from badly polluted air mainly due to burning of coal and other low-grade fuels for cooking and heating in an area of poor dispersion conditions.”
Pollution
It adds: “Water in most of the rivers and streams in the [Joburg area] is badly polluted, largely as a result of urban runoff from areas with inadequate sanitation. Water is a scarce resource in the region, though there is a high degree of wastage due to corrosion in the water supply infrastructure and subsequent leakage.
“Other key environmental problems include improper solid waste disposal, poor hygiene in overcrowded inner city areas, lack of open space, and flooding.”
It is these concerns that Joburg is seeking to address, with input from its residents, experts in the field, and other stakeholders, during the GDS2040 Environment Week.
To find out more about events and activities taking place during the week, as well as more about the GDS, you can go to the Facebook page or follow the GDS2040 on Twitter, @GDS2040. It also has a website.
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