Participatory approach for integrated basin planning with focus on disaster risk reduction : the case of the Limpopo river

This paper defends the idea that a participatory approach is a suitable method for basin planning integrating both water and land aspects. Assertions made are based on scientific literature review and corroborated by field experience and research carried out in the Limpopo River basin, a transboundary river located in southern Africa which is affected by periodical floods. The paper explains how a basin strategic plan can be drafted and disaster risk reduction strategies derived by combining different types of activities using a bottom-up approach, despite an institutional context which operates through traditional top-down mechanisms. In particular, the "Living with Floods" experience in the lower Limpopo River, in Mozambique, is described as a concrete example of a disaster adaptation measure resulting from a participatory planning exercise. In conclusion, the adopted method and obtained results are discussed and recommendations are formulated for potential replication in similar contexts of the developing world

Flood analysis of the Limpopo River basin through past evolution reconstruction and a geomorphological approach

This research reconstructs the past evolution of the Limpopo River, a transboundary system located in southeastern Africa, and describes its geomorphological settings through a literature review and field work activities, with the aim of analysing flood hazard in the basin. Major changes have occurred since the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous period due to successive tectonic events. The paper demonstrates that the apparently abandoned drainage conformation of the palaeo-Limpopo in the upper and middle stretches of the river today constitutes preferential flood-prone areas in the case of major rainfall events. An important palaeo-delta is identified in the lower Limpopo, which imposes a particular drainage pattern onto the floodplain in Mozambique and influences the flood dynamics at present. The adopted method is helpful in determining flood hazard in a data-scarce area showing complex fluvial dynamics, and allows for the identification of unsuitable locations for human settlements

Capacity building within urban climate resilience in the Global South – a literature review

Capacity building for urban climate resilience is essential for strengthening both cities’ own capacities and multilevel governance, which are instrumental for the successful operationalisation of the Paris Agreement. Strengthening the capacities for planning, managing, and developing cities is required to support an urban resilient transition in a context of high complexity and uncertainty, especially in the Global South. The main objective for this article is to investigate the differences in understanding of capacity building in urban climate resilience in the Global South through literature review. Specifically, this paper investigates the main approaches, aspects, components, and end users for capacity building in the frame of urban climate resilience. The article identifies a set of Capacity Building Parameters and Enabling Factors which are Purpose, Transformative Capacity, Multi-actor, Participation, Knowledge and Learning, Transdiciplinarity as well as Data and Finance. The Capacity Building Parameters and Enabling Factors can serve as a basis to develop an analytical framework to assess existing capacity building initiatives and to support the development of new capacities for planning, management and developing cities for an urban resilient transition

The Spatial Development Framework to facilitate urban management in countries with weak planning systems

There is an urgent need to develop strategic spatial planning methods adapted to the conditions of countries with weak planning systems facing rapid urbanization. These methods should allow evaluating the territorial qualities of the system of cities and to meaningfully guiding the implementation of national urban policies or strategies. In this context, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat) has developed the Spatial Development Framework (SDF) method, which is presented here for the first time, after having been tested in different countries. The SDF method helps to develop an understanding of the roles and inter-linkages of various urban settlements in the territory and to frame the territorial structure in a context of fluidity and uncertainty typical of countries facing uncontrolled urbanization. The method is then discussed and conclusions for the way forward are drawn