The Council for the Built Environment (CBE) is on track to convene its second Built Environment Climate Change Indaba (BECCI) next week.
“The CBE’s 2024 BECCI is centred on building a climate-resilient built environment for South Africa while acknowledging and incorporating the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in the entire construction lifecycle, and processes and legislations of national, provincial and local government,” said the council in a statement on Thursday.
The CBE is public entity of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and is a regulatory body established under the Council for the Built Environment Act 43 of 2000 (the CBE Act) that coordinates six councils for the built environment professions including architecture and engineering.
The two-day indaba is set to be held in the Mandeni Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal next Thursday and Friday.
This, as KwaZulu-Natal has experienced adverse weather in recent years.
“These natural disasters are worsened by poor drainage and building standards, especially in low-income areas. There was significant damage to over 13 000 homes, disrupted water supply, impassable roads, and destroyed bridges. Additionally, the recent snowfall in KwaZulu-Natal… underscores the growing severity and unpredictability of South Africa's weather patterns.
“The snow and icy conditions led to the closure of the N3 highway between Gauteng and KZN, stranding numerous travellers, which highlights the vulnerabilities in our infrastructure amid extreme climate events, necessitating urgent policy and planning responses.”
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The indaba will be held under the theme: “Co-creation of spaces and places that respond to just transition.”
The council said the indaba will together stakeholders from the engineering and the built environment sector, disaster management and the South African Weather Service (SAWS) to co-create sustainable, resilient, and equitable spaces that address climate change and socio-economic disparities.
“The Indaba is particularly critical in the context of the CBE’s mandate to transform the built environment, promote sustainable development, and contribute to inclusive socio-economic growth.”
The BECCI will bring together stakeholders from the engineering and the built environment sector under one roof to discuss and enhance climate resilience in South Africa’s built environment “by fostering collaboration to generate new knowledge and insight geared towards reducing and mitigating the impact of climate change in the sector.”
The outcomes and resolutions from the BECCI 2024 are expected to feed into the operations and functions of the CBE’s and its stakeholders on numerous levels. Furthermore, the BECCI will aim at addressing climate change related challenges facing the South African Built Environment and vulnerable communities at large.
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson and Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala, among others, are expected to attend the indaba. – SAnews.gov.za
