Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, visited the Jukskei River to view Alexandra Water Warriors’ efforts on Thursday, 22 August 2024,. She was accompanied by Cllr Jack Sekwaila, MMC for Environment & Infrastructure Services, Floyd Brink, the City Manager, and senior management from the Environment & Infrastructure Services Department (EISD).
The Alexandra Water Warriors is a group dedicated to rehabilitating the river and planting trees under the SUNCASA project. SUNCASA, which stands for Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa, aims to reduce flood risks, enhance climate adaptation, promote gender equality, and protect biodiversity in urban settings.
The project is significant as it aligns with the City’s Water Security Strategy, which aims to create resilient, livable, and sustainable urban water environments, and foster a water-conscious society. The EISD played a key role in developing the proposal to secure funding for implementing NbS, with a focus on strengthening climate resilience, protecting biodiversity by conserving, and restoring watersheds in urban communities.
After meeting the strict criteria set by funders, the City embarked on defining specific activities and work packages, consolidating project sites, identifying local partners, and creating implementation plans. The City remains committed to submitting proposals to various funding platforms to secure climate and green finance for different sectors highlighted in its Water Security Strategy.
“We are grateful to Minister Mélanie Joly for visiting today and seeing how we’re working with nature to empower women, fight climate change, and reduce flood risk in Johannesburg,” said Janina Schnick, IISD Project Lead for SUNCASA.
Amanda Gcanga, Country Lead at World Resources Institute, echoed this sentiment: “Minister Joly’s visit highlights the importance of protecting natural infrastructure and building climate resilience in Johannesburg. We’re grateful she could engage with local organisations we’re partnering with to scale up nature-based solutions in the Jukskei River Catchment.”
Paul Maluleke, co-founder of the Alexandra Water Warriors, shared how the community has united to address climate change along the Jukskei River. “Through the City and the SUNCASA project, we’re getting the attention and support needed to implement nature-based solutions. Unemployment is high, and the environment has become a significant source of employment in our community, with about 2,500 volunteers currently involved.”
Maluleke praised the benefits of the SUNCASA project, which enabled him to travel to Rwanda to learn from their environmental initiatives and river clean-up projects. “During Arbor Month, we plan to plant about 3,000 trees,” he added.
Brink assured that the City would continue to support the project and seek additional funding during budget adjustments to ensure the continuation of this impactful work. “We are grateful to the Canadian government for funding this budget and this will go a long way to address some of the socio-economic challenges being faced by this community as there are opportunities that have been created.”
Written by Dudu Lushaba
Photo by Jenna Echakowitz/ SUNCASA
23/08/2024
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