THIS CITY WORKS FOR YOU
Biannual Environmental Newsletter of the City of Cape Town
Published by the City of Cape Town Environmental Resource Management Department, in
partnership with City Transport, Spatial Development, Solid Waste, Town Planning and Parks.
Volume 2/08
December 2008
1
1–2 Putting policy into practice
2 Message from Councillor
Marian Nieuwoudt
3 Message from Piet van Zyl
Message from Osman
Asmal
4–5 News and staff
6–7 Local Action for
Biodiversity (LAB)
8 Urban spatial planning
9 Environmental
Management Systems
10–11 Transport
12 Solid waste
13 Air quality
14–19 Environmental education
20 Event greening
21 Sustainable livelihoods
22–25 Biodiversity
26–27 City greening
28–30 Energy and climate change
31 What’s new on our website
32 New publications
Cape Town has its own social,
economic and environmental
challenges, and sustainable
development in our unique context means
development that delivers environmental,
social and economic services to all in
a balanced manner, without threatening
the viability of the natural, built and
social systems upon which these
services depend.
This is why the Department of Envi-
ronmental Resource Management (ERM)
has recommended a new City of Cape
Town environmental agenda, under which
all relevant and appropriate existing
policies and by-laws are to be amended
to incorporate environmental principles,
goals and issues. Core elements of the
environmental agenda are also to be
incorporated into the City’s Five-Year Plan
(IDP), City scorecards, key performance
indicators and annual budgets.
ERM has also recommended that
the city use financial incentives and
disincentives to drive environmental
behaviour change, and make sure that those
who deplete resources pay for doing so.
Cape Town in the long term
We can talk about sustainability, write
about sustainability and even believe that
we set an example of sustainability, but
researchers note that unless the metro
includes the following in its