Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Municipal Planning: Lessons from two South African Cases

Abstract

The message that climate change response should be central to municipal planning is clearly communicated in policy, science, and practice; and given that municipal planning is the core function of local government, the task of climate change response mainstreaming lies with them. There is however limited guidance offered to municipalities on how to go about mainstreaming climate response into planning. This study explores how climate change response, with a specific focus on adaptation, can be mainstreamed into South African local government planning instruments and processes. The study is largely framed in critical pragmatism in that it looks into real-world situations and appreciates context-specific complexity to make recommendations relevant to practice. Using a comparative case study design, two cases where mainstreaming has been undertaken were explored. Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in the Western Cape Province and Thulamela Local Municipality in the Limpopo Province were selected as atypical cases with core similarities and contextual differences, which are able to offer information on the phenomenon of mainstreaming. A qualitative content analysis was undertaken of their latest Integrated Development Plans and Spatial Development Frameworks for both the cases, and the Built Environment Performance Plan in the case of Cape Town. Individual interviews were done in one case and a group interview in the other. Participants included spatial planners, environmental practitioners, and an infrastructure planner, all of whom have been involved in planning, climate change response and resilience. Similar themes with different findings emerged from the two cases, indicating that planning processes and experiences are very context-specific. The themes or factors that emerged can contribute to success in one case and cause significant challenges in another. These factors are a) champions, leadership and momentum, b) networks, mobilisation and organisation, c) information gathering, use and sharing, d) capacity, resources and skills, e) institutional support and coordination, and f) intergovernmental relations and mandate. The study contributes to the fields of local government, municipal planning, climate change adaptation mainstreaming, and the intersection between these fields. Insights are provided into the factors and conditions that can either support or hinder effective mainstreaming of climate change adaptation into local municipal planning instruments and processes, and recommendations are provided to support more effective mainstreaming in local government.