Nature Positive Cities Efforts to Advance the Transition Durban 2024

3 Exemplary solutions Challenge Riverine ecosystems play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity. They provide food and clean water and offer various ecosystem services such as the regulation of flows, and carbon capture and storage. Factors such as pollution, habitat destruction and unsustainable resource extraction, however, have led to the deterioration of these ecosystems. This has not only had an impact on the environment but also affected the livelihoods of communities dependent on rivers for their sustenance. Impact The Sihlanzimvelo Stream Cleaning Programme began in 2012 with the goal of cleaning solid waste and invasive alien plants from 450 km of river and thereby reducing damage from flash floods. In the 2021-2022 financial year, the programme created 600 jobs in local communities. The C40 Cities Finance facility helped to develop a business case and cost-benefit analysis based on the valuation of ecosystem services and the damage they prevent. Three scenarios were assessed: doing nothing, upscaling the existing cleaning programme and developing a transformative management programme. It was shown that, for broader society (including the municipality and third parties), the upscaling would have a benefit- to-cost ratio of one, whereas the TRMP would yield a benefit-to-cost ratio of 1.8.34 In business terms, it is estimated that ZAR 7.5 billion (about $400 million) of public and private investment will be needed over 20 years to finance the TRMP . This would generate between ZAR 13 and 25 billion (between $650 million and $1.3 billion) in societal benefits and avoidance of municipal land damage, and would create more than 9,000 jobs.35 Solution In collaboration with the C40 Cities Finance Facility, the eThekwini Municipality developed the Transformative Riverine Management Programme (TRMP). It proposes a holistic and transformative approach to riverine management that goes beyond mere adaptation. It also addresses the sources of negative impacts and enhances local social and economic capital. The TRMP restores and rehabilitates degraded riverine ecosystems through activities such as reforestation, the rehabilitation of catchments and the cleaning of streams. These actions are complemented by the promotion of sustainable practices for resource extraction to ensure long-term viability. One of the most notable aspects of the TRMP is its strong emphasis on community engagement. Recognizing the importance of local communities, the TRMP involves them in decision-making for its projects, many of which create local employment opportunities in low- income communities.The Transformative Riverine Management Programme (TRMP) enhances flooding resilience, generates social and economic opportunities and improves water qualityExemplary solution 2 Nature Positive: Cities’ Efforts to Advance the Transition 37