Water Resilient Green Cities for Africa (WGA)
PROJECT IS CLOSED
Project period: 2013 to 2019
The project investigated the options for leapfrogging conventional urban water systems to landscape-based systems for increasing the climate resilience of larger African cities and for providing inclusive urban green spaces, and better local planning and governance. This was through developing catchment plans, facilitating a rapid mind-set change through champions, encouraging stakeholder involvements through design charrette and developing low-tech and local material based green technologies.
The WGA project was led by the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN) University of Copenhagen. Project partner institutes were the Institute of Human Settlements Studies (IHSS) at Ardhi University, Tanzania and the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building construction and City Development (EiABC) at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. The project was in close collaboration with representatives from the city administrations and selected communities in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam.
The project was organised into four work packages
- Work Package 1
Urban ecology, green spaces; use and livelihoods. Explore the use, functions and livelihood activities in urban green spaces and identify opportunities and barriers for integrating stormwater management in the landscape.
WP leader: Kumelachew Yeshitela (kumeyesh@googlemail.com), EiABC - Work Package 2
Stormwater management. Assess the present stormwater management, and design and test local options for LSM in two communities in the two case cities.
WP leader: Antje Backhaus, IGN - Work Package 3
Urban planning and governance. Identify opportunities and barriers, from an urban planning and institutional point of view, for the adoption and implementation of LSM and its integration in urban planning and how to facilitate inclusive stormwater management.
WP leader: Wilbard Kombe (kombewilbard@yahoo.com), IHSS - Work Package 4
Research capacity building and management. Strengthen research capacity in relation to urban climate change adaptation through interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research activities linking theory and practice in a collective learning process specifically related to LSM.
WP leader: Lise Herslund (lihe@ign.ku.dk), IGN
The Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Prof. Marina Bergen Jensen (mbj@ign.ku.dk), project director
- Associate Prof. Lise Byskov Herslund (lihe@ign.ku.dk), lead for WP4
- Dr. Antje Backhaus, lead for WP2
- Dr. Li Liu (liu@ign.ku.dk), project manager, WP2 and WP4
- Dr. Patrik Karlsson Nyed (pakn@ign.ku.dk), project supporter
- Dr. Ole Fryd (of@ign.ku.dk), WP2
The Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building construction and City Development (EiABC), Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
- Dr. Kumelachew Yeshitela (kumeyesh@gmail.com), lead for WP 1
- Dr. Ketema Abebe, city researcher
- Associate Prof. Abraham Workneh, city researcher
- Dr. Alazar Assefa, Earlier PhD student of the WGA project (WP1)
- Dr. Liku Workalemahu, Earlier PhD student of the WGA project (WP2)
- Dr. Dagnachew Adugna, Earlier PhD student of the WGA project, PhD student (WP3)
The Institute of Human Settlements Studies (IHSS), Ardhi University, Tanzania
- Prof. Kombe W.J. (kombewilbard@yahoo.com), lead for WP3
- Dr. Tatu Mtwangi Limbumba, researcher WP3
- Dr. Liberatus K. Mrema, researcher
- Dr. Given Justin, Earlier PhD student of the WGA project (WP2)
- Dr. Simon Mpyanga, Earlier PhD student of the WGA project (WP1)
- Ms. Martha Mkupasi, Earlier PhD student of the WGA project (WP3)
The city of Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia. The population of Addis has been very dynamic. What used to be 443,000 in 1961 has grown 2,7 in 2007 in official figures, however, estimates are that the population has reached 4 million. Addis Ababa has a complex mix of subtropical highland climate. Mid-November to January is characterized by dry winters. The short rainy season is from February to May, with warm temperatures and a pleasant rainfall. The long wet season is from June to mid-September; it is the major winter season of the country. The city is located at 2,200 meters above sea level, at the foot of a mountain range. Many polluted rivers pass by the city. The city experiences both heavy rains and severe drought. Several of the rivers are equipped with dams for the water supply of the city.
The City of Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's largest and richest city, serving as a regionally important economic center. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 4,364,541 as of the official 2012 census. Dar es Salaam has a tropical wet and dry climate, with two different rainy seasons. Annual rainfall is approximately 1,100 mm (43 in), and in a normal year there are two distinct rainy seasons: "the long rains", which fall during April and May, and "the short rains", which fall during October and November. Dar es Salaam is located in a river delta. In the rainy season, many areas of the city suffer from flooding and stagnant water. According to researchers, 50% of the problems with flooding, however, a consequence of human impact and 'bad management' such as garbage in drainage channels and streams, lack of infrastructure and so on.
Articles
Assessing the Potential for Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting from Large Public Institutions (In Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health)
Mapping the gap of water and erosion control measures in rapidly urbanizing Mbezi River catchment of Dar es Salaam (In Water MPDI Journal
Conditions and opportunities for green infrastructure – Aiming for green, water-resilient cities in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam (In Landscape and Urban Planning 2017)
Access to a Videnblad: Klimatilpasning ved landskabsbaseret vandhåndtering i afrikanske byer (Videnblade Planlægning og Friluftsliv 5.2-18, Skov og Landskab, December 2016)
Green infrastructure for flood-risk management in Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen: exploring the potential for transitions towards sustainable urban water management (in Water Policy 2014)
Public recreational parks and green environmental development in Addis Ababa (by Kumelachew Yeshitela 2015, in Amharic)
WGA reports
Municipal level policies and site-specific neighbourhood strategies for the Mbezi river catchment
LSM strategy for Jemo River Catchment in Addis Ababa
Local institutional frameworks at community level in Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa (Report 2 – WP 3)
Green area typologies and mapping of green structures in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam (Report 1-WP1)
Urban Water Management in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam (Report 1-WP2)
City Level Institutional Comparisons of Landscape Based Stormwater Management in Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa Cities (Report 3-WP3)
Green space & livelihood in the WGA case sites of Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam (Report 2-WP 1)
Draft landscape‐based stormwater management strategies for the Jemo and Mbezi River catchments (Report 2-WP 2)
Thesis
Options for Landscape based Stormwater Management & Green Infrastructure in Urban Areas within developing Countries: A case study of an informal settlement in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (by Lagiya Ayoub Khatib)
Water resilience and social capital: Comparing informal and formal housing areas in Addis Ababa (by Silje Breckan Paulsen)
Newsletters
(October 2015)
– The pathways for leapfrogging, Design Charrette, and PhD students.
Newsletter 1-which is about the project, the case study areas, and the latest progess.
News
2017
Grøn infrastruktur kan mindske byernes tørst, Ingeniøren 10. juni 2017
Afrikas fremtid afgøres i byerne, Ingeniøren 10. juni 2017
Verdens byer boomer – men kan de bære væksten? Ingeniøren 20. maj 2017
News
2015
Intro til Byer under vand. Politiken, 2015
News
2014
Danske forskere skal afhjælpe oversvømmelser og tørke i Afrika, July 18, 2014
Danske forskere vil afhjælpe oversvømmelser i afrikanske storbyer, dr.dk, July 21, 2014
Danske forskere skal afhjælpe oversvømmelser og tørke i Afrika, Videnskab.dk, July 22, 2014
Danish Stormwater Solution To Solve Drought And Flooding In Africa, modernghana.com, July 25, 2014
Danish Researchers To Fight Flooding In Africa, spyghana.com, July 25, 2014
Solving Flooding in Africa: Danish Researchers to the Rescue, spynewsagency.com, July 26, 2014
Institute, stakeholders sign city flood curbing MoU, Ethopian Herald, January 18, 2014
Curbing flood for the city, Addis Fortune, vol. 14, No. 716. January 19, 2014
Dr. Li Liu, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen
Email: liu@ign.ku.dk
The project was funded by Danida
Project: Water Resilient Green Cities for Africa (WGA)
Principal investigator: Marina Bergen Jensen, the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
Start: 31 August 2013
End: May 2019
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