GAUTENG CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM MINUTES
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Meeting Details:
Date:
12 August 2016
Time:
08:30am – 13:00pm
Venue:
Faircity Mapungubwe Hotel (JHB CBD)
Item Status / Actions
Responsible
1. Opening and Welcome:
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The Head of Component GDARD Environmental Policy, Planning and
Co-ordination, Ms. Basani Ndindani opened the Quarter Two Climate
Change Forum and welcomed all stakeholders from national, provincial
and local government; and private institutions.
Apologies:
 Mr. Loyiso Mkwana (GDARD)
 Ms. Azeeza Rangunwala (Department of Health)
City of Tshwane and City of Ekurhuleni adopted the meeting agenda.
2. Working for Energy Programme – Presented by David Mahuma,
SANEDI
 It is part of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and is in
partnership with GDID. It is present in all provinces.
 Focus areas include Energy Research, demonstration of Renewable
Energy Technology Applications, demonstration of energy saving
options and community outreach.
 Work that has been done include installation of solar water heaters in
Tygerkloof Combined School in Vryburg (North-West), Sharpeville
School (Gauteng), Hammanskraal (Gauteng) and in Kwa-Maphumulo
(KZN).
 Other projects include ceiling insulations, installation of efficient
lighting, waste to energy projects and food gardens.
3. Sustainable Energy Solutions for Low-income households – Presented
by Bertha Chiroro, Gender CCSA
Topic: The Biogas Digester as an alternative technology for Low Income
House Holds
 Used in rural households and informal settlements where there is no
access to energy. The project is championed by women, who ensure
access energy, food security and water.
 GenderCCSA as part of its work on Improving Climate Change
Resilience, has been working with different donors such as the EU,
Oxfam and NCA and women to ensure that women have access to
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renewable energy hence adapting to climate change
 Biogas Digesters have been installed at different sites, these include
Risenga Primary School in Siyandhani Village, Giyani, Nwajaheni
Primary School, Nwamitwa Village in Tzaneen, The Green Park
informal Settlement and at Founders Educare Centre, Makhaza
Khayelitsha in the city of Cape Town as part of the EU- Oxfam Funded
Project on “ The Sustainable Use of Natural Resources to Improve
Resilience In South Africa: A Grassroots Women’s Initiative.” In
addition to installation of biogas digesters, water tanks and dripline
systems have been installed and are being used for food gardens to
ensure food security for communities living in poverty. The bio-slurry
from the biogas digester is being used to fertilize the food gardens.
 Benefits of these Sustainable Livelihoods Projects:
 Reduces the amount of time women spend doing household work
thus allowing women the time for income generating activities.
 Provides clean energy options by installing and training women to
maintain, and use biogas digesters and solar power units (PV
systems).
 Provides supplementary training on sustainable farming practices to
assist the women with their food gardens for their livelihoods
thereby ensuring food security and excess to generate an income.
 Improved health because women do not have to inhale smoke from open
fires and reduced diseases.
 Job creation as biogas construction and maintenance enables people to
earn an income.
 Allows women to have more time to engage in other developmental
activities.
4. Climate Change and Health – Presented by Rebecca Garland, CSIR
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Temperatures over the interior regions of South Africa are projected to
rise at about twice the global rate of temperature increase.
 In Johannesburg, temperature has been projected to be above 270C for
71.5 days per year between 2011 – 2040.
 Increase in temperature poses the following risks: Vector borne disease:
malaria transmission, malnutrition, air pollution and water quality.
 Elderly and children will are mostly affected by rise of temperature.
 Heat alert and Response Systems have been successful in mitigating
health impacts in tropical and subtropical countries and is necessary for
South Africa.
5. DEA’s Local Government Support Project – Presented by Derek
Morgan, Urban Earth
 This programme is aimed for Districts and Local Municipalities.
 It involves training on climate change response using the Let’s Respond
Toolkit.
 Objectives of this Programme include: Assisting with conducting
municipal vulnerability assessments, assisting with developing the
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Climate Change Response Plan tools and Capacity building and
knowledge-transfer.
 Next steps for the Programme are:
– Provincial Introductory Workshop – 01-02 September 2016
- Vulnerability Assessment Workshop – 11-12 October 2016
– Stakeholder Engagement and IDP Integration Workshop – TBC
6. Topic: Gauteng 2016 provincial & local government climate change
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mitigation status quo report
The Gauteng Dialogue took place on 28 May 2016. Objectives include:
 Understanding mitigation efforts
 Clarity of information
 Support required for implementation
 Unlocking barriers of implementation
Support Requirements:
 Support required for implementation
 Support for accessing funding
 Support provided by Stakeholders
Constraints and Lesson Learnt:
 Lack of alignment
 Ongoing implementation of projects lacks understanding and
quantification of mitigation impacts
 Capacity issues(e.g. skills on how to draft proposals, knowledge on
how to identify opportunities and what goes into the IDPs)
 Lack of climate change functions (champions) and structures in
smaller municipalities
 Lack of access to partnerships and external support links
 Lack of political buy-in
 Climate change is still seen as an environmental issue not a
developmental issue
 Municipal mandate on climate change is not clear, a legal
framework is required
Next Steps:
 Addressing the governance issues
 Mainstreaming climate change through existing institutional
structures (national, provincial and district)
 Participation in Induction training organized by SALGA for new
Councillors
 Engagement with various stakeholders in addressing support needs
 Establishing partnerships
 Strengthening the role of DEA Local Government Support
Programme
 Finalizing the local government implementation plan
7. Update on Provincial Climate Change Projects – Presented by
Ndivhudza Nengovhela, GDARD
Topic: Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) Project
 Water and Changing Climate
Climate change impacts in South Africa are likely to be felt primarily via
effects on water resources. Projected impacts are due to changes in rainfall
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and evaporation rate. To build resilience to climate change in the water
sector, resource planners need to ensure:
 Policy review for enabling flexible frameworks;
 Flexible and robust infrastructure planning;
 Maintaining and rebuilding ecological infrastructure in vulnerable
systems;
 Institutional oversight to ensure that water-related institutions
build adaptive management capacity; and
 Sustainable and locally accessible financial management
 Benefits of RWH:
 Used for variety of applications: toilet flushing, washing, drinking
for animals and gardening and drinking
 Reduces water bills
 Manages stormwater at source and helps mitigate the negative
impacts of urbanisation on water quality and flow
 Disadvantages:
 Regular maintenance
 Roof materials may leach toxins.
 Anaerobic conditions can develop in RWH storage tanks where the
stormwater has high levels of organic matter
 Initial high costs
 Project has three phases:
 Phase 1- 2016-17 - Collect data and analyse existing rainwater
systems
 Phase 2- 2017-18 –
- Select location and RWH types
- Installation of tanks and monitor RWH effectiveness
 Phase 3- 2018-19
- Evaluate effectiveness of Phase 2 projects
- Promote and support manufacturing of the low cost tanks and
RWHs in Gauteng
- Awareness building on benefits
8. Update on Local Climate Change Projects – Presented by Local
Government
7.1. COJ Local Climate Change Projects – Presented by City of Joburg
Municipality_
 Projects include:
 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Inventory
 GHG emissions Sectoral Target Setting
 Review of Adaptation Plan
 Business Sustainability Forum
 Climate Change Adaptation Review:
 Current Plan was developed in 2009
 City of Joburg has engaged Wits University to review the plan.
 The first work package was Policy Review
 Second work package will be stakeholder engagement
 Business Sustainability Forum:
An existing committee spearheaded by Economic Development Department
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GAUTENG CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM MINUTES
to engage private business. Business Sustainability Forum is a sub-set of that
vehicle to champion and pursue the environmental sustainability agenda
with business.
7.2. Tshwane Food and Energy Centre Local Climate Change Projects –
Presented by City of Tshwane Municipality
 Project Concept:
 Each beneficiary equipped with a vegetable tunnel, chicken run and
affordable housing
 Central farm to facilitate purchase of inputs and sale of product
 CIRO Food Stations to facilitate retail of agricultural product
 Sustainable service delivery through renewable energy (biogas
plant, PV plant, SWHs) and rainwater/groundwater harvesting
(avoiding reliance on municipal bulk infrastructure).
 Waste-energy nexus – poultry and vegetable waste used as inputs
into the biogas plant.
 Core agricultural activities: Include chicken farming and crops.
 Renewable Energy:
 Developing the project off the grid was achieved through - PV
panels, biogas digester and solar water heaters
 The biogas digester relies on organic feedstock supplied by a
sorghum plantation and agricultural waste.
 Sustainable Water and Sanitation:
 Boreholes drawing groundwater
 All structures equipped with a rainwater tank, solar water heaters
and bio-sceptic tanks.
7.3. Mogale Blue Waste to Energy Local Climate Change Projects_–
Presented by Mogale City Local Municipality
 Explained what is Steam Reforming. It converts any carbon-containing
(carbonaceous) material into a synthesis gas (syn-gas) composed
primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
 Technology:
 Plant is water independent
 Fluid dynamic energy of the pressured gas stream is converted to
useful mechanical energy with an internal efficiency of 84%
 Converts 55 000 tons of waste (unsorted) per year into 68 000MW
of electricity
 How far is this project?
 Finalised SLA and also signed the Power Purchase Agreement
(PPA) with Blue Waste to Energy company
 A positive Environmental Authorisation has been obtained
 Awaiting approval from NERSA
9. Closing – Presented by Basani Ndindani , GDARD
Presentations accessed on the GDARD Climate Change Portal:
http://www.gdard.gpg.gov.za/gchip/Pages/Forum.aspx
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10. Comments/Questions
Q1. How is the biogas supplied to the households?
Answer: The biogas is piped to the households
Q2. Is there any waste matter that remains from the cow dung after it has been
fed into the biogas digester and the gas is extracted, what happens to the
remaining waste matter?
Answer: The slurry from the digester outlet is used as compost for the garden
since it is rich in nutrients
Q3. How much water is pumped into the digester and is it also used for
gardening, and is it sustainable in the long term, since the water scarcity will
further be exacerbated due to drop in groundwater levels as a result of the
drought?
Answer: This is food energy water nexus project, therefore there have been
challenges in areas in Limpopo, but there have been rainwater tanks installed as
part of the project. However when there is no rain the community faces
challenges therefore water extraction from boreholes was needed. When it rains
water is harvested from the tanks and used mostly for the gardens, and some for
own consumption.
Q4. Is the cow dung harvested manually or is there a process used to channel
the cow dung to the digester?
Can chicken manure also be harvested to feed the digester?
Answer: Cow dung is collected by a youth co-operative using buckets or bakkie
vehicles, they are paid to collect the dung and any other organic matter that can
rot (i.e. chicken manure, kitchen waste) and feed the digesters. Women mix the
dung manually with water and feed the digesters.
Comments:
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Interesting to see how the use of cow dung has evolved and now indirectly
contributes significantly to communities livelihoods.
In Brazil chicken output perform better than cow dung since it ferments at
a faster rate.
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GAUTENG CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM MINUTES
11. Action Items
 Presentation on Projects by Department of Health to be presented by Ms.
Azeeza Rangunwala (Department of Health) at the next forum meeting
 Gerson to recirculate climate change portal link to old and new members.
 Agenda Items to be included in the next meeting:
 Working for water fire resistant program
 Flagship Task Team to be formed
Announcements:
 GISP Workshop on the 21st August at Birchwood
 Switch Africa Green Training scheduled for the last week of August
12.
13. NEXT MEETING: 11 November 2016
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