SUNCASA | Resilient Cities. Natural Solutions.
Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) is a 3-year project that aims to enhance resilience, gender equality, social inclusion, and biodiversity protection in urban communities in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Africa.
SUNCASA will benefit 2.2 million people living in high-flood-risk areas in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa). Funded by Global Affairs Canada through the Partnering for Climate program and delivered by IISD and the World Resources Institute, SUNCASA will be implemented in partnership with a wide array of local organizations.
The project’s gender-responsive NbS include the restoration and conservation of upstream watershed areas with agroforestry, afforestation, and reforestation, buffer zone creation, and urban tree planting.
Project Sites
Dire Dawa
SUNCASA will restore the Dechatu River catchment in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, reducing flood risk, erosion, and urban water stress, benefiting over 200,000 people.
Kigali
In Kigali, Rwanda, SUNCASA will restore micro-catchments in the lower Nyabarongo River watershed, mitigating flood risk, landslides, and soil erosion, improving the resilience of 975,000 people.
Johannesburg
SUNCASA in Johannesburg, South Africa, will restore the Jukskei River catchment through the removal of invasive alien species and tree planting initiatives, decreasing flooding and improving water security for 1.045 million people.
What's new
Tackling flash floods, urban heat, and other climate change threats in three sub-Saharan African Cities
A new project will use solutions found in nature to improve the resilience of 2.2 million people in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa).
SUNCASA in Kigali: Beyond planting trees
The City of Kigali and SUNCASA launched the “My Tree” campaign to promote tree sustainability and community ownership.
Alex News | Canada’s foreign affairs minister visits Jukskei River in Alex
Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Mélanie Joly, visited the Jukskei River on August 22 to view the progress of its government-funded work being done by the Alexandra Water Warriors. The project is significant as it aligns with the city’s water security strategy, which aims to create resilient, liveable, and sustainable urban water environments, and foster a water-conscious society.
The New Times | Seven things about the project designed to build resilience to flooding in Kigali
Rwanda is among three Sub-Saharan Africa countries which will share $22 million funding for building resilience to flooding in three cities – Dire Dawa in Ethiopia, Kigali in Rwanda, and Johannesburg in South Africa. The project is designed to help improve vulnerable urban communities’ capacity to adapt to climate change.
Mail & Guardian | Alexandra Water Warriors are reviving Joburg’s Jukskei River
As one of the city’s largest rivers, the Jukskei’s roughly 50km course inexorably marks it as a casualty of Johannesburg’s rapid urbanisation. Its deeply eroded waterways have long been a repository of the city’s sewage, stormwater, litter, industrial waste and building rubble. But through the work of the community-based Alexandra Water Warriors, the healing and restoration of the blighted river is under way. (Photo: Delwyn Verasamy| M&G)
Video: SUNCASA | Resilient Cities. Natural Solutions.
The SUNCASA project is a 3-year initiative aiming to revitalize critical watersheds in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa), by implement gender-responsive nature-based solutions (NbS) such as agroforestry, afforestation and reforestation, buffer zone creation, alien invasive species removal, and urban tree planting.
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Project Partners
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