SUNCASA | Resilient Cities. Natural Solutions.

Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) is a 3-year project that aims to enhance resilience, gender equality, social inclusion, and biodiversity protection in urban communities in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Africa.

SUNCASA will benefit 2.2 million people living in high-flood-risk areas in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa). Funded by Global Affairs Canada through the Partnering for Climate program and delivered by IISD and the World Resources Institute, SUNCASA will be implemented in partnership with a wide array of local organizations.

The project’s gender-responsive NbS include the restoration and conservation of upstream watershed areas with agroforestry, afforestation, and reforestation, buffer zone creation, and urban tree planting.

Project Sites

Dire Dawa

SUNCASA will restore the Dechatu River catchment in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, reducing flood risk, erosion, and urban water stress, benefiting over 200,000 people.

Kigali

In Kigali, Rwanda, SUNCASA will restore micro-catchments in the lower Nyabarongo River watershed, mitigating flood risk, landslides, and soil erosion, improving the resilience of 975,000 people.

Johannesburg

SUNCASA in Johannesburg, South Africa, will restore the Jukskei River catchment through the removal of invasive alien species and tree planting initiatives, decreasing flooding and improving water security for 1.045 million people.

What's new

Tackling flash floods, urban heat, and other climate change threats in three sub-Saharan African Cities

A new project will use solutions found in nature to improve the resilience of 2.2 million people in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa).

Press release

May 22, 2024

The New Times | Becoming a city in the forest: Catalyzing Kigali’s climate resilience through nature

By 2026, SUNCASA aims to enhance the resilience of 975,000 Kigali residents while promoting gender equality, social inclusion, and biodiversity protection.

WRI | Three Takeaways on Green Infrastructures and Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Resilience

IISD and ICUN recently highlighted SUNCASA in the fifth installment of the NAbSA Dialogue Series. This series takes an in-depth look at NbS and climate adaptation, covering topics such as how to incorporate gender equality into NbS, the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem evaluation.

Alex News | Canada’s foreign affairs minister visits Jukskei River in Alex

Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Mélanie Joly, visited the Jukskei River on August 22 to view the progress of its government-funded work being done by the Alexandra Water Warriors. The project is significant as it aligns with the city’s water security strategy, which aims to create resilient, liveable, and sustainable urban water environments, and foster a water-conscious society.

Mail & Guardian | Alexandra Water Warriors are reviving Joburg’s Jukskei River

As one of the city’s largest rivers, the Jukskei’s roughly 50km course inexorably marks it as a casualty of Johannesburg’s rapid urbanisation. Its deeply eroded waterways have long been a repository of the city’s sewage, stormwater, litter, industrial waste and building rubble. But through the work of the community-based Alexandra Water Warriors, the healing and restoration of the blighted river is under way. (Photo: Delwyn Verasamy| M&G)

Video: SUNCASA | Resilient Cities. Natural Solutions.

The SUNCASA project is a 3-year initiative aiming to revitalize critical watersheds in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa), by implement gender-responsive nature-based solutions (NbS) such as agroforestry, afforestation and reforestation, buffer zone creation, alien invasive species removal, and urban tree planting.