Durban - Durban may have seen landmark deals made at the end of COP17, but the city itself is celebrating its own successes.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize and Durban Mayor James Nxumalo both heaped praises on the city for hosting a successful conference.
An estimated 20 000 delegates from around the world, including international media and civil society, attended the United Nations climate change talks and agreed on the second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol which expires next year.
"We are absolutely overwhelmed by the success of this event for the city... irrespective of the outcome for the broader climate change discussion, Durban has notched up a number of significant successes, of which we are immensely proud," Nxumalo said.
The KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council, meanwhile, congratulated all key role players for the "outstanding work" during COP17 which took place from November 28 to December 10.
Describing it as an "early Christmas present for the province", Mkhize said KwaZulu-Natal had been showered with accolades for the exceptionally high standard in handling all logistics, including security, accommodation and facilities.
"We thank President Jacob Zuma for the stewardship and the President of the Conference, [International Relations] Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane for skilfully managing all the COP17 meetings leading to the successful conclusion. We also commend the role of [Water and Environmental Affairs] Minister Edna Molewa as leader of the South African delegation in bilateral and multilateral platforms to seek group consensus.
"We have done very well to put our country on the international map and showcased what South Africa can achieve. The future of these climate change negotiations will now always be referenced on what has been achieved here. As a result of the Durban outcome, the name of our country shall forever be in the lips of world leaders of government and civil society," said Mkhize.
The city has witnessed the adoption of the Durban Adaptation Charter, where 114 mayors and other elected local leaders representing over 950 local governments from around the world came up with a document that focuses on adaptation as a critical component of the global climate change response.
Until recently, local government was not recognised as a key governmental stakeholder in the climate change negotiations at an international level.
Over the last few years, on-going and committed lobbying by local government bodies such as South African Local Government Association and international organisations such as ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), has brought about a significant change to the status quo.
"The Durban Adaptation Charter is yet another example of Durban's ability to effect global change through local action. The Charter should be regarded as a beacon for national governments and international agencies, if they are serious about a sustainable and resilient future and Durban looks forward to leading the global drive to implement the commitments of the Charter," said Nxumalo.
The Ethekwini Municipality's Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project was one of 10 lighthouse projects chosen from around the world in the inaugural 'Momentum for Change Initiative', the brainchild of Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.
The Buffelsdraai project is a partnership between the municipality and Wildlands Conservation Trust, and is in the process of restoring forests to a 520 hectare area around the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site.
Local community members are involved in growing and replanting forest trees and benefits include climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as social upliftment of the more than 600 local community members involved.
Through the COP17/CMP7 Greening Programme, a methodology has been developed to calculate the ecological footprint of the event in Durban.
Events such as COP17 have a large carbon footprint, caused by carbon dioxide emissions resulting from all the travelling, transportation of waste, food and other conference items, as well as electricity and gas usage.
However, what the carbon footprint does not consider is the impact of the increased consumption of other resources that are required to support an event of this magnitude. Resources such as water and food are consumed by the thousands of delegates that arrive for these conferences.
The eThekwini Municipality has now an understanding of the ecological footprint and want to move towards hosting environmentally responsible events.
The Durban Community Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (CEBA) Initiative at Durban's Paradise Valley, which involves ecosystem restoration in the uMbilo River catchment west of Durban, was adopted as the official voluntary offset mechanism for COP17/CMP7 by the UNFCCC.
It allows Durban to 'Africanise' adaptation by drawing communities and ecosystems together in a new 'green partnership' that alleviates poverty and rebuilds and manages the city's natural resource base.
Figueres was full of praise for the CEBA project, calling it a "shining example" of the kind of projects that should be encouraged and promoted as part of every city's response to climate change.
"Investment in the natural environment is the most sustainable approach for the future," she said.
The municipality believes that COP17 has not only given Durban's image a boost but has also given the city a unique opportunity to showcase the extent of what Durban can do through its organisational and infrastructural capacity, and created a host of greening projects and initiatives that have been developed to have long-term legacy value for the city.
