The Place

Durban is an African city located on the east coast of South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on the Indian Ocean, embracing the full range of global sustainable development challenges. Durban’s landscape ranges from the rural to the urbanized and is a multicultural society, which faces a complex mix of social, economic, environmental and governance challenges.

EThekwini Municipality is the local government body responsible for governing and managing Durban. The eThekwini Municipal Area (EMA):

  • Is 2297 km in size (1.4% of the province of KZN);
     
  • Has an annual municipal budget of R12,3 billion (2004/5);
     
  • Has 18 886 municipal employees (2005);
     
  • Has a population of 3 million (more than one-third of the population of the entire province); and
     
  • Has a high rate of HIV/Aids prevalence (KZN province has an infection rate of 32%).

The Economy

The eThekwini Municipality was awarded the highest credit rating in Africa for a municipality in September 2004 by the Global Credit Rating Company.

Durban has the largest and busiest port on Africa’s east coast; more than 1.956 million containers were handled in 2004/5;

Manufacturing (30%), tourism (24%), finance and transport are the four largest economic sectors;

Tourism is concentrated along the coast, with emerging eco – and cultural-tourism opportunities in the western areas; and

eThekwini Municipality’s Gross Value Added (GVA) comprises 66.3% of the total GVA for KwaZulu-Natal and 9.9% of the national economy.

The Ecosystem

South Africa is the third most biodiverse country in the world, and Durban contains:

  • Four of the country’s eight bionomes;
     
  • Seven broad vegetation types;
     
  • Over 2000 plant species;
     
  • 97 kilometres of coastline;
     
  • 18 catchments, 16 estuaries;
     
  • 4000 kilometres of rivers; and
     
  • An open space system of 64037h (2004/5).

The environmental services provided by Durban’s open space system and valued at approximately R3.1 billion per annum (2002), which makes the preservation of this resource a priority.

The People

Durban is ethnically diverse, with a cultural richness of mixed beliefs and traditions. These add vibrancy and depth to the experience of living, working and visiting the city. The demographic breakdown of the population is as follows:

  • Black African 68%;
     
  • Asian 20%;
     
  • White 9%; and
     
  • Coloured 3%.

The city’s demographics indicate that 68% of the population are of working age, and 38% of the people in Durban are under the age of 19 years.

Planning the path to sustainability

Durban was the first city in South Africa to accept the Local Agenda 21 mandate as a corporate responsibility in 1994. Similarly, Durban became the first city in South Africa to accept the Local Action 21 mandate, which emerged from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The Municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) (2003-2007) provides the vision and mechanism for achieving long-term sustainability and as such, reporting on environmental management through the State of Environment (SOE) process is linked to the Municipality’s IDP and its performance management system.