“The  planning is over and we are in the final stages of implementation,” says eThekwini Mayor, Councillor James Nxumalo, with just days to go to the opening of the biggest conference ever held on the African continent, COP17/CMP7.  “We are in the process of meeting all the responsibilities expected of us as the Host City and are now getting ready to stand back, open our arms and welcome the world to Durban, Africa’s leader in the response to Climate Change.”

As the host city, Durban took up the challenge of hosting COP17 in such a way that delegates and visitors would leave the event updated and informed about Durban’s Greening Projects, as well as touched by its social and cultural wealth and natural beauty and its sustainable approach to City development.  In order to maximise the benefits (both economic and environmental) of hosting such an event, the full strength and capacity of the municipality has been brought together to run the event as efficiently as possible.

From a practical perspective delegates had to have access to sufficient accommodation at reasonable rates and be able to get from their hotels to the various conference venues and city attractions, safely and efficiently.

Finally, an underlying premise in the design of the COP17 Greening Programme is that projects must have life beyond the event and that their initiation will help to advance the environmental and climate change agenda of the city.

BENEFITS TO THE CITY: 

• Huge international exposure – over 190 countries will be represented and in both the personal accounts of the attendees and through the media, the eye of the world will be on Durban. 
• The city has the opportunity to showcase its organisational and infrastructural capacity, with an eye on bringing future investment to the City.
• The City, a world-leader in respect of its greening and environmental work, has the chance to showcase its environmental projects and programmes to an even wider audience.
• Tourism : 
- Accommodation, across the board, is fully-booked for the event period. It has been estimated that approximately 160 000 accommodation bed-nights and 495 000 meals will be consumed during the COP period.
- Boost to food, entertainment and leisure industries
- Curio’s and crafts will be bought  (it’s just before Christmas)
- Local tourist attractions will be visited, by locals and delegates
- Transport sector will benefit from increased car hires, taxi trips, bus trips, tours etc.
• Printing industry - hundreds of thousands of documents, flyers, brochures and other promotional materials have been printed.
• Arts and Culture - A range of social, cultural and entertainment events have been organised and the Durban Beachfront and surrounding tourist attractions such as the Green Hub and the Botanic Gardens, will be buzzing with activity during the COP.
• Conference industry - The scale of the COP event and the range of side-events has boosted Durban’s conference sector.

Around 20 000 people are expected to be in the City at any given time – 15 000 accredited delegates and 5 000 interested parties. Event-dependent, these figures could rise to 40 000.
 
DURBAN’S GREENING PROJECTS FOR COP17/CMP7
Key principles that have been incorporated into the COP17 Greening Programme include a thorough approach to calculating impacts and selecting relevant measures to minimise these; promoting efficient resource use; focussing on biodiversity and ecosystems  and creating opportunities for social upliftment and advancement of the green economy.

Durban’s bold response to the challenges of climate change has positioned the City as a global leader in the field of climate protection planning. It is a truly African city, a place of rich contrasts where sophisticated, first-world urban development and high density townships give way to undisturbed rural landscapes where people follow traditional African lifestyles. It is this diversity that provides the city’s planners with similar challenges to those faced by most big cities in the global south. As the host city of COP17/CMP7, there is a golden opportunity to communicate the municipality’s achievements to both the local and international communities.   Amongst these are the Municipal Climate Protection Programme, various conservation projects, the COP17/CMP7 Greening Programme the Ecological Footprint for the event, the CEBA Initiative (the official voluntary offset project for COP17/CMP7) and the Green Tours.

THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE (ICC) – The Climate for Change Starts Here
The world-class Inkhosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (ICC) and Durban Exhibition Centre (DEC) is the hub of the entire conference and will constitute the official UNFCCC precinct.  This is the location that will host all the negotiations and meetings related to COP17 and it has been declared a UN site for the duration of the COP.    Only UNFCCC-accredited delegates will have access to this precinct in order to participate in official negotiations.  A significant ICT and logistical, technical and logistics effort, provided mainly by the City, has gone into readying the ICC for this massive event.

The ICC itself has a strong environmental vision and policy and already has a number of green features. The building, which recently obtained its ISO14001 certification, has incorporated green elements such as large glass facades for natural lighting, energy efficient light fittings and air conditioning systems and indigenous landscaping.  The ICC also has a stringent waste separation policy and has a strong emphasis on minimising waste at source. Key interventions have included reducing the supply of bottled water for the event, using bio-degradable packaging products, and minimizing the use of disposable catering equipment.

Ahead of COP17, the ICC and Durban Exhibition Centre buildings have recently undergone an energy efficiency retrofit, which includes the latest in lighting technology.  This retrofit is anticipated to reduce the energy requirements of the complex by approximately 7% of the current total demand.  Through a recent partnership project between the eThekwini Municipality, Philips Lighting Southern Africa, and Eskom, one hundred and fifty five (155) street lights in the ICC precinct have been retrofitted with energy efficient Iridium LED street lights. In addition, four of the major road intersections around the ICC have been fitted with solar traffic lighting.  …more/ 
         

TEAM EFFORT

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) takes overall responsibility for the logistics of the conference.  Working closely with them, the eThekwini Municipality’s Strategic Projects Unit (SPU) has been responsible for many aspects of the co-ordination and logistics support, together with a range of city line-function departments. From transport, to disaster management, tourism, communications and the Environmental Planning & Climate Protection Department (EPCPD), which has been responsible for the delivery of the City’s ‘green’ initiatives.

In addition, the City has worked closely with Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the United Nations Secretariat for Climate Change (UNFCCC) with ICT services within the ICC.

SECURITY

The safety and security of delegates during their stay in the City is paramount.  A provincial Joint Operations Committee (Provincial JOC’s) is an integrated security model used for major events and the responsibility of the Host City JOC focuses on safety and city service. Durban’s Disaster Management Centre is regarded as the most advanced in Africa. The SAPS and Metro Police will be working closely to ensure the smooth running of the event from a safety and security point of view

CITY VOLUNTEERS

For the COP17 event over 550 volunteers will be actively deployed throughout the City.  All volunteers will wear an official, easily identifiable green and white COP17 Volunteer uniform and will be stationed throughout the City and at Shuttle Pick-up points and Bicycle nodes.

HOST CITY…FUN CITY
Finally, Durban’s reputation as a ‘fun city’ should be strengthened once again with the amount of side-events and happenings taking place around COP17.  An exciting Durban Green Festival with an action-packed offering of events, activities, concerts, exhibitions, cultural exchanges, rallies, sports events and the like, has been planned for the Durban Beachfront from uShaka Marine World to The Green Hub at Blue Lagoon, as well as an exciting programme at Durban’s Botanic Gardens.
The arrival of 600 bikes in the City coincides with the opening of the City’s new designated bicycle lanes and will undoubtedly be the transport mode of choice for delegates during the Conference.
“We are delighted to be able to host probably the most important and largest conference held in Africa ever and to be able to contribute to ensuring we leave our children a legacy that they can be proud of, a legacy that ensures that we reverse the trend towards global warming and ensure we adapt to changing weather and other environmental patterns”, concludes Mayor James Nxumalo.