Nature Positive Cities Efforts to Advance the Transition Durban 2024

1 City overview ENABLER1.2 Situational context Durban is situated in a global biodiversity hotspot, and it contains three of the country’s nine terrestrial biomes: savanna, forest and Indian Ocean coastal belt. The region is also home to 2,267 species of plants, 526 bird species, 25 species of endemic invertebrates, 69 reptile species, 37 amphibian species and 80 mammal species.KEY STATISTICS 2.5°C rise in average temperature 2,200 local plant species Only 7% of the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D’MOSS) is under a land protection mechanism. Select the tabs to discover more The main threats to biodiversity identified by the municipality are: –Rapid and uncontrolled transformation of natural areas (land use change, habitat destruction, degradation and fragmentation) –Introduction of invasive alien species –Over-exploitation of natural resources –Pollution and disease –Human-induced climate change could lead to more intense and frequent rainfall, a sea level rise of 2.7 cm per decade, and an increase of up to 2.5ºC in average temperature.11 Local biodiversity and the natural environment Nature and climate change strategies Economical and developmental context Nature Positive: Cities’ Efforts to Advance the Transition 13