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

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.