Climate Atlas Green Tours
GREEN TOURS NOW FULLY BOOKED
The Climate Atlas Green Tours are now fully booked.
Background:
The eThekwini Municipality recognises the threat posed by climate change and has, during the past decade, implemented a number of mitigation- and adaptation-focused interventions as part of its Municipal Climate Protection Programme. A number of notable achievements, as well as key learning outcomes, have been attained during the implementation of these projects. COP17/CMP7 provides an ideal platform for communicating these key learning outcomes to regional stakeholders and the international community.
Among the publications that have been planned for release during this event is the booklet “Durban: a Climate for Change – Transforming Africa’s Future”. This is essentially a list of eThekwini Municipality projects across various sectors that have a mitigation or adaptation focus. Although intended to be brief, each project does contain a short project description, a budget, key learning outcomes and contact details for further information.
The Atlas is specifically targeted at accredited visitors to COP17/CMP7, and will be complemented by site visits to some of these projects during the negotiations. These site visits, called the Durban Green Tour, will consist of two routes that will focus upon mitigation and adaptation projects respectively. The Green Tour will run once every day and will alternate between the mitigation and adaptation tours. The itinerary for the Green Tour is given below.
It is hoped, as a result of the various publications with their specific target audiences, that climate change awareness will be heightened locally and that Durban’s achievements will be recognised internationally.
Green Tour Itinerary
Tours are expected to take no longer than four hours. The tours are free.
If you’re an accredited delegate, you can follow the email link on the COP 17-CMP 7 website for information about how to sign up for the tour. During COP 17-CMP 7 it will be possible to sign up for the tour at the eThekwini Exhibition Stand at the South Africa Climate Change Response Expo. This will be open to all visitors at the stand, but will be subject to space being available.
The Green Tour Schedule
The tours will start on the 23nd November and will run daily until the 6th December. All tours will leave at 10h00 from the Transport Hub, with the exception of the two tours running on Sunday Dec 3, and will return within four hours.
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
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Nov 27 |
Nov 28 |
Nov 29 |
Nov 30 |
Dec 1st |
Dec 2 |
Dec 3 |
Dec 4 12h30 |
Dec 5 |
Dec 6 |
Dec 7 |
Dec 8 |
Dec 9 |
Dec 10 |
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What to bring
If you’re coming on the Green Tour you should bring shoes suitable for walking, wear clothes that are ideal for warm weather, sunscreen and a hat. Given that it is Durban’s rainy season, an umbrella or jacket would also be a good idea. Water, a small snack and a project folder will be provided. A staff member of the eThekwini Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department and a qualified tour guide will accompany each tour to provide information about the projects and Durban respectively.
Tour Description
Adaptation Tour: (80 km)
From its departure point at the transport hub, this tour passes the eThekwini Water & Sanitation Department’s energy-and-water efficiency building and proceeds to the Durban Beachfront, where you will find out about the Coastal Management Plan in response to sea-level rise. From there, the tour passes the Moses Mabhida Stadium, where you will hear about eThekwini’s initiative to host a carbon neutral 2010 football World CupTM and the greening of the stadium. From there, the tour goes by the Green Hub/Corridor, where you will learn about the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D’MOSS) and efforts to raise awareness of climate change. From the Green Hub, the tour travels past the Beachwood Mangroves and out to peri-urban suburbs, passing an eThekwini low-cost solar water heater project in a low-cost housing initiative. The tour then arrives at the Buffelsdraai landfill site, where you will learn about the community reforestation project. At this site, you will be given the opportunity to alight from the tour bus, walk through the fledgling forest and meet treepreneurs that have benefited from this programme. On the return trip, you’ll find out about eThekwini Municipality’s efforts to eradicate Alien Invasive Species, as part of the Working for Ecosystems Programme, along with other non site-specific projects.
Mitigation Tour: (25 km)
From its departure point at the transport hub, this tour passes municipal buildings (City Engineers’ Complex), where you will learn about the Energy Office’s energy-efficiency programme. The tour then passes the eThekwini Water & Sanitation Department’s energy-and-water-efficiency building. From there it continues through the Durban CBD, where you will find out about other energy efficiency initiatives such as traffic and streetlights. The tour then passes the Moses Mabhida Stadium, where you will learn about eThekwini’s initiative to host a carbon neutral 2010 football World CupTM and the greening of the stadium. From the stadium, the tour progresses through to the Bisasar Landfill site. At this site, you’ll learn about the achievements and challenges of this gas-to-electricity project. Along the return route, you will hear about other non site-specific projects, including the Integrated Transport Plan, the GHG Inventory, the Low-Cost and the Shisa Solar Water Heater Projects, as well as the Low Carbon Durban Project. The final stop on the mitigation route is the Priority Zone where you will be given a tour of the green roof and be told about this integrated urban management initiative. This project is directly opposite the ICC precinct, so you can choose to either remain at the Priority Zone to enjoy the exhibition or return back to the Transport Hub with the tour bus. A map of the Green Tour routes is given below.
Figure 1. Proposed routes of the adaptation (blue line) and mitigation (red line) tours. The Adaptation tour does not show the route as far as Buffelsdraai.
For the mitigation route follow this link:http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=206244402908841259037.0004aad658f5c5fe91241&msa=0&ll=-29.810561,31.023674&spn=0.22193,0.307961
For the adaptation route, follow this link: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=206244402908841259037.0004aa25a88de1460a06d&msa=0&ll=-29.742619,31.039124&spn=0.222081,0.307961