EThekwini Mayoral Awards 2011 Winner
Winner of the Biodiversity Category for 2011:
The Ntuzuma Environmental Cooperative was established in 2004 as a community initiative to improve the environmentally degraded landscape and remove the heavy infestation of invasive alien plants that covered much of Ntuzuma. Community members have started vegetable gardens and plant indigenous trees. Many small wildlife species have returned to the streams and teachers are able to use them to teach learners.
The cooperative is mainly women driven and plays a role in empowering the youth through awareness programmes organized in partnership with schools and various National and Provincial Departments. One of the school projects run by the cooperative is a waste control and recycling project. Learners get involved in clean ups where they collect litter and learn about caring for the environment. The Cooperative has unified the community around environmental awareness and action. The benefits to biodiversity are numerous.
Nominations are now open for 2012. For more information on the Mayoral Awards. 
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The Outcomes Of COP17/CMP7 In Brief
2011 delivered a breakthrough on the international community’s response to climate change. In the second largest meeting of its kind, the negotiations advanced, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, the Bali Action Plan, and the Cancun Agreements. The outcomes included a decision by Parties to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, and no later than 2015.
The President of COP17/CMP7 Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said, “What we have achieved in Durban will play a central role in saving tomorrow, today.” (Taken from:
www.unfccc.int)
Durban will take out so much more than having been the Host City for COP17/CMP7. The City has shown at every level, that it is up to the challenge of leading the African response to climate change, demonstrating real and innovative solutions to climate change within an African context. Although COP17/CMP7 has come and gone, our commitment to living sustainable lifestyles and reducing our carbon footprint should remain and become part of our daily lives.
Don’t forget to save water, reduce electricity consumption, plant indigenous, use public transport, buy locally produced goods, reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Ecological Footprinting
One of the requirements of the Host Country Agreement with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the calculation and mitigation of the event's local carbon footprint. However, the carbon footprint of an event does not take into consideration the impacts of the increased consumption of other natural resources such as water, food and energy.
Neither does it consider the impact on ecosystem services that are needed to supply these resources and take up the waste outputs. Such ecosystem services include water supply, energy production, food production, waste assimilation and dilution. As part of the COP17/CMP7 Greening Programme, the eThekwini Municipality will develop and test a methodology for calculating the ecological footprint of COP17/CMP7.
An ecological footprint provides an indication of the quantities of resources consumed or waste generated, as well as the demand that this consumption places on natural assets. A methodology to develop an ecological footprinting that is specific to the local context has been created. This will provide an opportunity for eThekwini Municipality to (1) pioneer the use of a new tool within the context of the COP17/CMP7 Greening Programme so that this can be used in future events; (2) raise awareness of the full environmental impact of COP17/CMP7 and the types of interventions that would be needed to offset this, specifically in relation to biodiversity and (3) use the outputs of the ecological footprint calculation to prompt changes in behaviour from delegates at future events. It is anticipated that this methodology will have legacy value beyond the COP and that it can be used in future by other event host cities as part of their greening programmes.
To learn about the possible ecological footprint for COP 17/ CMP 7
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Public Notice: Kloof Waterfall Plateau Conservation Split Rezoning, Acquired Sites Rezoning, Roosefontein & Fosaville Rezoning
The public is hereby notified that the Municipality adopted various scheme amendments to a number of its planning schemes in separate initiatives driven by the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department (EPCPD). The purpose of these initiatives is to contribute to the implementation of the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D’MOSS) and Plan 1 of the Municipality’s Integrated Development Plan: Sustaining our Natural and Built Environment.
EThekwini Municipality Launch Of COP 17/CMP 7 Responsible Accommodation Campaign
Brief Description: COP 17/CMP 7 Responsible Accommodation Campaign
The hosting of COP 17 / CMP 7 in Durban from 28 November – 9 December 2011 is expected to attract between 20,000 and 30,000 delegates and visitors. This is significant, and represents probably the largest conference-related gathering in the world. A conference of this size presents key opportunities for accommodation facilities to benefit from COP 17 / CMP7.
Invasive alien plants: their nature, management, and links to climate change
The Nature of Invasive Alien Plants
Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs) are plants that have arrived in a new location, usually as a result of human activities, be they accidental or intentional. In the case of South Africa, most of the invasive alien plant species that have proved most problematic as invaders, in fynbos and other biomes, arrived between 1825 and 1860 along with inward waves of human migration.