Transcript The City of Cape Town’s Role in Creating a Better Life for All

Strategic Planning and the Environment: Cape Town
Perspectives
Gregg Oelofse: Environmental Policy and Strategy
City of Cape Town
Context: Environmental Strategy Remains a Key Challenge
In a developing context where:
Service provision
Economic growth
Poverty alleviation
Social development
Must remain urban priorities
Where massive disparities in wealth and living
standards remain
Environmental management and sustainable
development risk being left as peripheral issues
Key Challenge: Environmental Paradigm
Comes from a history of protectionist activism
Stuck in a people or environment dialogue
As a result remains on the periphery
Has to shift toward broader principles of common
good, quality living environments, urban health,
recreation and proactive integration into urban
planning
Shift to an ecosystems approach
Key Opportunity: Environmental Integration with Spatial
Planning
City planners are central to
environmental outcomes
Environmental issues and
objectives must be integrated
into planning
City planning must take the lead
in environmental planning and
strategy
City of Cape Town’s SDF has
integrated key environmental
objectives:
Biodiversity and ecosystems
EMF’s for district plans
Coastal Edge
Urban Edge
Planning must protect the built
environment, cultural heritage
and sense of place
Challenge: Better-understand the real cost and
economics of the environment
Real costs to ecosystem loss
Under-estimate and under value “free” ecosystem services
Capital costs of replacing ecosystem services
Cape Town’s valuing of the natural environment:
R2 - R6 billion annual benefit
In comparison only 2,5% OPEX and 2,1% CAPEX invested
Environmental sector has 1.2 to 2 times greater return than any other municipal
expenditure
Cost of poor environmental planning
Challenge: Environmental planning must reduce
risk to the City and its communities
We must entrench a long-term view over short-term gains
Must make decisions in the interests of the many as
opposed to the few
Reduced risk means reduced economic cost and reduced
opportunity costs
Informed and wise decision making
Ratepayers ultimately carry the cost
Challenge: Environmental legislation and compliance
Strategies to facilitate environmental approvals of appropriate
development
Free up city development to enhance economic growth within
environmental legislative frameworks
Reduce costs of environmental approvals
Lead by example through ensuring compliance
Reduce negative association with environmental governance
Opportunity: Climate Change – the need for
proactive planning
Six key strategies if we are to adapt:
Its not so much an environmental issue but a social and economic risk
We need to trust the science
Cannot continue with “business as usual”
Demands strong and decisive leadership
Shift local government toward longer term planning
Shared responsibility – universities, business and civil society
In summary: Strategic lessons
Sustainable development agenda risks being left on the periphery
Need to move environmental management out of its historical
protectionist context to a proactive urban approach.
City planning and planners will ultimately determine environmental quality
Need to understand the true economic value and role of our environmental
assets
Need to understand the real risks and costs of environmental degradation
and loss
Need a strategic approach to environmental legislation
Climate change is not an environmental issue
Thank you