FAO launches the Sustainable Cities Integrated Programme in Zimbabwe

Harare – With 55 percent of the world’s population residing in urban areas, it is estimated that by 2050, urban population is expected to rise to 68 percent, mainly in low-income countries. Local councils are finding it increasingly challenging to ensure urban and peri-urban populations have access to inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems. Zimbabwe is no exception.

To address these challenges, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Zimbabwe has launched the Green Cities - Sustainable Cities Integrated Programme (SCIP). The two-year programme is anchored on strengthening community and ecosystem resilience to various shocks and stresses through the preservation and restoration of sustainable ecosystems in urban and peri-urban areas.

In alignment with FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022 – 2031, the programme’s goal is to advance food systems that are MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

“The programme adopts a multifaceted and multi-stakeholder approach to address the unique challenge of sustainable urban development on climate change, nature and pollution. The project works with urban councils of Harare and Bulawayo, urban actors from across various sectors, financial institutions, national governments to create innovative models, build bankable projects and develop green and blue infrastructure investment frameworks,” said Tendai Munyokoveri, Assistant FAO Representative – Programmes, speaking on behalf of Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative to Zimbabwe.

“With the FAO people centric approach, the integration of gender, health, and inclusion are critical to ensure sustainability and equitable distribution of environmental benefits,” added Munyokoveri.

In 2020, FAO launched the global Green Cities Initiative (GCI) which seeks to assist cities to identify, develop and implement strategies tailored to their context contributing to green urban regeneration, increasing health and well-being of urban and peri-urban population. In June and December 2022, FAO signed letters of intent with Cities of Bulawayo and Harare respectively to implement the GCI in the two cities under a Technical Cooperation Programme anchored on these three pillars: Urban-Peri-urban Agriculture, Urban peri-urban Forestry and Urban food Systems.

Last year, FAO GCI assessed urban and peri-urban agriculture; urban food systems and urban and peri-urban forests of these two cities. This process enabled the cities and the relevant key stakeholders to identify and prioritize areas of intervention that will be implemented under this programme. Other interventions include but are not limited to, valorisation of solid waste, nature-based solutions to reclaim wetlands and support vulnerable populations and greening the city reforestation to address issues around greenhouse gas emissions and rehabilitation of degraded land in and around the cities.

“This programme takes a holistic approach of strengthening urban governance and planning, supporting investment in innovative and impactful sustainability solutions, catalyze innovative financing and business models, facilitate global collaboration and partnerships to shift from ‘business as usual’ path towards urban transformation,” said Tanyaradzwa Mundoga, Zimbabwe GEF Focal Point within the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife.  

During the launch, stakeholders were equipped with knowledge and experiences of local authorities, representatives from development partners and NGOs on best practices, case studies and benchmarks about protection and valorisation of blue and green ecosystem services in the country. The discourse agreed that strengthening urban and peri-urban resilience for sustainable ecosystems in Zimbabwe involves an inclusive and multifaceted approach.

The City of Harare applauded the proposal for advocacy on incentives to the residents who will implement nature-based technologies that will reduce service provision costs.

“The City officials agreed with other stakeholders that coming up with a data collection tool linked to city GIS will go a long way in putting in place mitigation measures and swift response in cases of disasters especially floods and waterborne dieses among others,” said Engineer Simon Muserere during the launch.

Participants had the opportunity to review and critique the project results framework with the objective to agree and come up with project outputs and indicators focusing on the following thematic areas: 1) blue and green ecosystem services; 2) climate change impacts on urban settings and nature-based solutions and 3) urban food systems.

Going forward, a team of experts will develop the project document which will be reviewed and approved by both FAO and the GEF Secretariat to enable the project to move into full implementation mode.