Walvis Bay recognised as Local Action Biodiversity City
13 July 2007
The Municipality of Walvis Bay is one of only five African municipalities to be recognised as a Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Project Participant. LAB was launched by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and forms the first step in a broader urban biodiversity programme. LAB aims to profile and promote the importance of urban biodiversity through coordinating the sharing of experiences, successes and challenges from a diverse group of participant cities from around the world.
According to David Uushona (Manager: Solid Waste and Environmental Management) the LAB status is an important achievement for Walvis Bay. “As you know the municipality has implemented and successfully managed the Local Agenda 21 target goals, through various environmental awareness and conservation initiatives. Being recognised as an LAB City underscores not only our efforts to create more awareness of environmental issues, but also signals the high regard international organisations like ICLEI have for the work we have been doing in our port city,”
Walvis Bay’s adaptation of the Local Agenda 21 programme comprised projects geared at managing both its natural and human-made urban environments in a sustainable manner. Some of these projects included reducing poverty levels by creating environmentally driven income generating projects, reducing pollution, creating awareness of the importance of the environment and its relationship to human habitats and development, as well as transferring new experiences to other local authorities.
“In Walvis Bay we have many diverse ecosystems from the Kuiseb Basin, the dune belt, the wetlands to the lagoon, the Damara Tern breeding area and even the ocean. To be recognised for the way in which we have managed these systems is an honour indeed. At the moment we are trying to collect funds for the full participation in the LAB project. All participating cities are obligated to pay an amount of 40,000 US dollars to cover all the related expenses for the three-year period of the programme. Council has already paid U$10,000, and we would like to appeal to stakeholders and the business community to support our participation in this prestigious biodiversity programme,” Ushona noted.
The benefits for the participating cities include: - Various international brain-storming workshops
- Showcasing the city’s achievements and best practices
- Adapting other successful practices to develop economies
- International recognition as a global leader in local governance with respect to biodiversity and environmental matters
- Improved quality of life and health of communities
- Increased tourism through branding and profiling as an LAB City
- Job creation and contribution to poverty alleviation
- Financial savings
- Potential for partnerships with a number of international cities and organisations
- Access to global information and approaches, as well as
- Intrinsic, cultural, heritage and spiritual benefits.
The International LAB programme will explore the best ways for local governments to engage in urban biodiversity management and conservation. It focuses on the key roles that local authorities currently play, as well as the increasingly critical role that they will play in future, in conserving the world’s biodiversity and retaining the relationship between people and nature. Cities with a track record of involvement and interest in biodiversity initiatives have been invited to participate in LAB. The programme entails certain key steps that the participating cities must complete, after which the learning experiences and best practices will be shared with the global community.
The other LAB Cities are Barcelona, Leicester, Bonn, Liverpool, Cape Town, Nagoya, Durban, Querétaro, Edmonton, São Paulo, Ekurhuleni, Seoul, Île de France, Tilburg, Johannesburg , Waitakere, Joondalup, King County, Zagreb.
The official LAB agreement signing ceremony will take place within the next few weeks.
For more information about Walvis Bay’s participation please contact David Uushona Read more about LAB at www.iclei.org/lab
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