Making Cities Resilient Report 2012

CHAPTER 4 | What are local governments doing to build resilience
4. Infrastructure Protection, Upgrading
and Resilience
Essential 4: Invest in and maintain critical infrastructure that reduces risk, such as flood drainage, adjusted
where needed to cope with climate change.
Many municipalities are addressing flood risk through infrastructure and engineering projects. Albay
Province and Makati City; Colombo; Mumbai; Bangkok; Cairns; Venice; Santa Fe, Argentina; Thimphu; and
Kisumu all report activities to improve the capacity of drains and control of flood waters. In Siquirres, the
municipality has invested in small-scale yet high-impact interventions--concrete reinforcement of the
creek embankment to prevent flooding of nearby houses and expansion of underground water pipes to
avoid overflow along roads. This has greatly reduced the impact of annual flooding and was completed
with a small budget using resources from private sector and communities (see more in Box 1.1). Santa
Fe, Argentina, has introduced water-pumping technology to improve city drainage and help to mitigate
flooding (54).
In an effort to become more resilient to intense rainfall events, such as the July 2005 storm where the
equivalent almost 35 per cent of annual rainfall occurred in one single day, Mumbai has developed a largescale
multi-action programme to tackle flood risks. This includes infrastructure investment in a storm
water drainage system, widening and deepening existing water channels and causeways, rehabilitation
of old drains especially in the Island City, providing smooth transition for waterways near bridges, the
installation of nine storm water pumping systems and 196 discharge pumps, as well as portable dewatering
pumps for use at flooded spots. There are also major annual investments in de-silting of the system. (See
Box 3.2 on Venice for another example.)
Box 4.7 : Bonn collaborates on climate adaptation, biodiversity and water
quality.
Bonn, Germany was the first city to sign on to the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, when it launched
in the city in May 2010. Since then, Bonn’s Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch, says the city has made considerable
progress in developing its network of partners, raising awareness of disaster risk in communities, and
further engaging with national governments to recognise and support disaster risk reduction. The city is
also participating in knowledge exchange programmes to share experiences, early warning, and disaster
management approaches and solutions to natural hazards and climate change impacts.
Bonn is working with six project partner cities worldwide, including Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Chengdu (China);
Cape Coast (Ghana), La Paz (Bolivia), Minsk (Belarus) and Ulaanbataar (Mongolia). These cities are also
cooperating on climate adaptation, biodiversity and water quality projects.
Locally speaking, effects of climate change in Bonn—heat waves and heavy rains—have been minor.
The city’s primary challenge, disaster-wise, is flooding from the Rhine River. The municipality has a very
strong role and responsibility—and a legal obligation—to mitigate and reduce flood risk. The Building
Department is responsible for the technical aspects related to Rhine floods and heavy rains, while disaster
management is in the hands of the fire department and cooperating national governmental organisations.
Measures to upgrade flood-protection in Bonn-Beuel may serve as an example. In total, €6.5 million were
invested to protect a 1,000-meter-long section of the river. The state government (North Rhine Westphalia)
provided €3.6 million of these funds.
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