Nacala-Porto, located on the steep bank of a natural deep-water bay, is a hub for economic activity facilitated by the local port that ships natural resources such as coal, copper, cobalt, zinc, and agricultural products from Mozambique and its landlocked neighbors to the international market.
Increasing port traffic is stimulating private investment, attracting new residents, and encouraging construction of informal settlements on unstable soil, even in designated no-build zones. Although the city is experiencing rapid private sector investment, these activities have only minor impacts on improving the living conditions of the local population, who survive on informal subsistence agriculture, fishing, or informal trading.
Nacala-Porto is highly vulnerable to current and future climate variability, particularly heavy or prolonged rainfall events that often result in significant erosion and sedimentation impacts on roads, housing, and other infrastructure. The rapid increase in new development, sometimes in vulnerable areas and without regard for the climate-related impacts, is exacerbating this vulnerability and the sustainability of new development.
Activities and Outcomes
The CRIS program worked with this low-lying city to help its residents understand their vulnerabilities, develop and test innovative techniques that can rapidly increase the climate resilience of services like water provision and transportation, and better protect residents through adaptation actions in high-risk areas.
This partnership has yielded the following accomplishments:
- Municipal staff have increased awareness of climate change impacts and adaptation measures and expanded technical capacity, and are actively working on climate change challenges.
- The city participated in a “writeshop” designed to help cities strategically identify funding sources and to develop successful proposals for climate adaptation funding. The city’s work with CRIS has enhanced the visibility of its climate-related development challenges among the international donor community.
- Municipal staff participated in a study tour that included participants from other Mozambique cities and focused on sharing lessons learned, promoting peer learning, and building relationships among municipalities, NGOs, national government agencies, and international donor organizations.
- Municipal staff helped to develop a rapid assessment tool that integrates climate vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning into a single resource and focuses on current and potential future climate-related impacts and vulnerabilities associated with erosion, flooding, and sedimentation.
Resources
CRIS worked with city officials, community members, and other partners to develop the following resources:
