Durban

All eyes turned to South Africa in the summer of 2010, when it became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup.

In addition to being a nation of soccer fans, South Africa also is impacted deeply by climate change. Let’s start with Durban. Also known as eThekwini, Durban is a port city on the eastern coast of South Africa with a population of more than 3 million. Durban sits within the South African province of KwaZulu Natal, the home of the Zulus.

As a coastal city, Durban is vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise, erosion and coastal storms. Some of these impacts are already being felt. In 2007, a major storm caused $310M worth of damage in and around Durban. These extreme rainfall events are expected to become more frequent in South Africa, although the overall amount of rain will likely decrease as the climate warms and becomes more arid.

In November and December, Durban will be host to the 17th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an important juncture in ongoing climate negotiations.

PRESENTED BY JEUNESSE PARK

Jeunesse Park is a conservationist and environmental activist who believes that motivated individuals are the most powerful force for changing the world. In 1990, she founded Food & Trees for Africa, a national social enterprise that addressed food security and solutions to climate change. She is a board member of the Carbon Protocol of South Africa, a member of the Global Carbon Exchange, and also represents Renewable Energy Solutions, a company promoting the planting of bamboo to help reduce carbon pollution. She was appointed to the international advisory board of OgilvyEarth and works as an advisory editor for the publication Simply Green. Jeunesse travelled to Japan in 2009 to discuss climate change and food security, and her talks resulted in over 200 Japanese travelling to South Africa to plant trees and food gardens.