Nature Positive Cities Efforts to Advance the Transition Durban 2024

2 Assessment of enabling environment2.5 Data and analytics Overview –The Durban Environmental Planning & Climate Protection department collects and manages environmental data, including mapped areas with relevant biodiversity and conservation statuses, as well as the populations of highly valuable species. The BMD stores data and shares it publicly upon request. The city also uses the CIDMS. –This data is available through the Strategic Hub dashboards, which help to form insights by integrating data from different sources and sectors (including the Floodline Exposure Dashboard and GreenBook MetroView, see Figures 5 and 6). –Durban tracks and publishes unaudited reports on both its climate-change strategy and its biodiversity efforts. –The city also reports on climate and nature- related targets and objectives to the national government and on platforms such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). –The city primarily collects data through citizen science initiatives, including the City Nature Challenge, a participatory event supported by the local government. Analytics The city of Durban uses the data for the purposes of climate resilience and disaster preparedness. Some recent efforts include: –As part of the 2015 Climate Action Plan, a vulnerability assessment was conducted to forecast climate hazards such as floods, extreme heat, droughts and sea level rise. This assessment was carried out to inform climate resilience efforts based on various emissions scenarios across the city. Nature solutions were incorporated into the outcomes and climate resilience efforts.21 –The GreenBook MetroView, which provides spatial information on risks for buildings, people and roads caused by climate change hazards,22 is accompanied by a complementary climate-risk profile tool and a climate actions tool that provide socioeconomic and environmental data on subregions across eThekwini. The climate-actions tool provides information on the city’s targets for eight sectors, including biodiversity, coastal protection, and water and sanitation. Each target is aligned with the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).23 Challenges identified –Limited or unavailable long-term datasets on nature. –Limited number of processes to manage nature-related data. –Outdated platforms (such as the vulnerability atlas) are integral to supporting nature-related decision- making. –Hampered monitoring of NGO’s contributions due to lack of an integrated system. Improvement areas –Update vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure and natural capital, so that risks can be detected and addressed as they arise. –Strengthen integration between Durban’s Strategic Hub with the Biodiversity Management Department (BMD) and the Climate Change Department (CCD) to ensure data availability, updated dashboards and greater coordination on data use and management. Nature Positive: Cities’ Efforts to Advance the Transition 29