on the road to re-defining SUSTAINABILITY

1. assessing the resilience of windhoek on the road to re-defining SUSTAINABILITY BY SOPHIA VAN GREUNEN

2. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Sustainability

3. 80’s ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Sustainability A Sustainable Society is one that satisfies its own needs without diminishing the prospects of future generations¹ ¹ LESTER BROWN CITED IN CAPRA 1996 p4

4. 90’s ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK GREATEST CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME; the creation of Sustainable communities

5. 2008 ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK 50% of world population living in urban areas

6. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Resilience

7. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK RESILIENCE The ability of a social or ecological system to absorb disturbances while retaining the same basic structure and ways of functioning, the capacity for Self-organisation, and the capacity to adapt to stress and change ² ² SURJAN ET AL 2011 p19

8. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK CITY = (ECO)SYSTEM SYSTEMS THINKING

9. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK THE WORLD POPULATION DENSITIES

11. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK WINDHOEK THE CAPITAL OF NAMIBIA

12. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK SOCIAL SYSTEMS WINDHOEK A FAST GROWING CITY

13. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK COMPARED URBAN POPULATION VS TOTAL POPULATION

14. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

15. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK

16. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK WINDHOEK: AN OVERVIEW

17. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK WINDHOEK POPULATION DENSITIES COMPARED

19. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS changing human conditions drive, both directly and indirectly, changes in biodiversity, changes in ecosystems, and ultimately changes in the services ecosystems provide.³ ³ MILLENIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT 2005 piii

20. THE ROLE OF BIODIVERSITY IN A ECOSYSTEM adapted from theMillennium Ecosystem Assessment³

21. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Over clearing of areas =habitat destruction /water run-off /Erosion /depletion The urgent conservation of the Windhoek underground aquifer pollution from industrial and urban waste, alien aquatic species and agricultural management practices =Threats to open water habitats Alien plant species =heavy burdens on the city’s water resources Proposed developments and heavy industry to the north of the City =destruction of the Klein Windhoek River Habitat. WINDHOEK THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

22. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Lack of access to electricity and fuel-efficient cook stoves =deforestation of slow-growing protected plant species EG the Camel thorn Over-harvesting and selling the pods of the Camel thorn tree, to feed livestock Sand harvesting leads = significant loss of Camel thorn trees and the destruction of their important riverine habitat +making the area susceptible to alien invasive species general Lack of environmental research, lack of awareness under policy makers and insufficient monitoring of the city’s natural resources and systems. WINDHOEK THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

23. ANGOLA ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SYSTEMS SOUTH AFRICA NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN NEIGHBOURS

24. SOUTH AFRICAN LABOUR STRIKES

25. Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry Ministry of Fisheries AND Marine Resources Ministry of Environment and Tourism Ministry of Works AND Transport MINISTRY OF LANDS AND RESETTLEMENT MINISTRY OF REGIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES MINISTRY OF GENDER EQUALITY AND CHILD WELLFARE MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE MINISTRY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY MINISTRY OF SAFETY AND SECURITY MINISTRY OF DEFENCE MINISTRY OF MINES AND ENERGY MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY MINISTRY OF YOUTH, MATIONAL SERVICE, SPORT AND CULTURE MISISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS AND IMMIGRATION MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY OF FINANCE ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK

26. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK mapping

27. FAST CHANGING EXTERNAL FACTORS civil wars, labour strikes (direct), markets, income & investments, media plague or epidemic outbreaks, seasonal climate changes, floods, drought, sinkholes SLOW CHANGING INTERNAL FACTORS local governance, infrastructure, land-use & management, human rights, policy making, culture, values, long-term skills transfer SLOW CHANGING EXTERNAL FACTORS governance, labour strikes (indirect), world trends, neighbouring governments, world economy, skills transfer, regional development, FAST CHANGING INTERNAL FACTORS education, attitudes & trends, incentives, bylaws & rules fires, flash floods, disease outbreaks local climate change, animal densities, local habitat stability, crop yields, water, soil and atmosphere quality, regional rainfall, disease, climate change, regional habitat changes

28. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK general RESILIENCE Diversity openness Reserves Tightness of feedbacks modularity

29. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Specified resilience MAIN ISSUES AND THEIR IMPACTS

30. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK MAPPING SOCIAL NETWORKS

31. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK ADRESS IDENTIFIED MAIN ISSUES AND THEIR IMPACTS ADRESS IDENTIFIED FACTORS OF CHANGE AND HOW THEY CAN BE AVOIDED

32. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK General recommendations for WINDHOEK to foster biological, economic and cultural diversity; bridge the massive social & geographical divides; address the explicit lack of education and housing; kerb social problems like poverty, HIV, violence, racism and prejudice; reduce the economy’s reliance on external factors; promote a holistic approach to governance; promote social networks which would encourage collaborative objectives and outcomes; promote sustainable practices and environmental awareness

33. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK A new sustainability There are solutions to the major problems of our time; some of them even simple. But they require a radical shift in our perceptions, our thinking, our values4 4 CAPRA 1996 p4

34. ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF WINDHOEK Sources Bravenboer, B. 2004: Windhoek – Capital of Namibia. Windhoek: Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers (Pty) Ltd Capra, F. 1996: The Web of Life – A New Synthesis of Mind and Matter. London: HarperCollins Publishers City of Windhoek Biodiversity Inventory. 2009. Compiled by Enviro Dynamics (Pty) Ltd, Windhoek Madanipour, A. 2003: Public and Private Spaces of the City. New York: Routledge. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005: Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. National Planning Commission. 2011: Namibia 2011 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Results Niikondo, A. 2010: Migrants to Cities and Towns in Namibia: What their Interests are? Polytechnic of Namibia http://ir.polytechnic.edu.na/bitstream/10628/249/1/Niikondo.%20Migrants%20to%20cities%20and%20towns%20in%20Namibia.pdf downloaded 10 October 2012 Resilience Alliance. 2010: Assessing resilience in social-ecological systems: Workbook for practitioners. Version 2.0 Surjan, A; Sharma, A and Shaw, R. 2011: Climate and Disaster Resilience in Cities. Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.