Project profile — Scaling Urban NbS for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA)

• Ethiopia (35.30%)
• South Africa (32.30%)
• Rwanda (32.40%)

• Water sector policy and administrative management:
Water sector policy and administrative management (14010) (3.00%)
Water resources conservation (including data collection) (14015) (40.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (4.00%)
• Agriculture: Agricultural land resources (31130) (22.00%)
• General Environmental Protection: Bio-diversity (41030) (18.00%)
• Other Multisector: Urban development and management (43030) (13.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (significant objective)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (principal objective)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project aims to enhance climate adaptation, gender equality, and biodiversity protection in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Africa’s urban communities. The project contributes to increasing the capacity of women’s organizations and underrepresented groups to plan, implement, and monitor gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation. It also seeks to increase the capacity of women, women’s organizations, and underrepresented groups to participate in local government decision-making processes to advance gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions. Project activities include: (1) conducting dialogues and training on gender-based barriers to Nature-based Solutions, addressing social norms and local power dynamics for community members, especially men and local leaders; (2) restoring watershed lands with agroforestry, afforestation, and reforestation practices in upstream farmlands, bare lands, and degraded forests with local landowners and women cooperatives; and (3) providing training programs for women’s organizations and underrepresented groups to influence municipal policy on gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) reduced barriers to women and other underrepresented groups to participate in planning, implementing, and monitoring of Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation in urban communities; (2) increased adoption of gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions using watershed conservation and restoration practices to support flood control, upstream and downstream water security, gender equality, and biodiversity protection in urban communities; and (3) enhanced inclusive and gender-responsive governance in implementing of Nature-based Solutions for climate adaptation and biodiversity protection by municipal officials and local stakeholders in urban communities.

Results achieved as of September 2024 include: (1) implemented 4 major communication campaigns to raise awareness among urban communities in sub-Saharan Africa about the benefits of climate-adapted and gender-inclusive nature-based solutions (NbS). These campaigns met the project's objectives for its duration, with additional initiatives planned; (2) restored 123 hectares in Dire Dawa through agroforestry and reforestation practices, with the active participation of 16 local women in tree-planting activities; (3) rehabilitated 11 hectares of riparian corridors in Dire Dawa and the planting of 100 urban trees in Johannesburg to mitigate climate impacts and strengthen local green infrastructure; and (4) trained 39 participants, including 15 women, on climate risk assessment, social inclusion, and participatory governance across the three partner cities: Dire Dawa, Kigali, and Johannesburg.

• Proactive disclosure