Sierra Leone: Community-Led Climate Action in Informal Settlements

From 21 to 25 October 2024, Cities Alliance, in partnership with Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), will host a knowledge-sharing workshop on community-led climate action in informal settlements, in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer OBE, will deliver the opening remarks.

Co-organized with the Sierra Leone Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor (FEDURP) and the NGO Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation (CODOHSAPA), the event will bring together SDI affiliates from nine countries—Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—alongside with local governments and urban stakeholders. 

This 5-day learning exchange is designed to promote practical knowledge sharing on scalable, community-led climate adaptation, action, and sustainable construction initiatives in informal settlements. 

The workshop's key objective is to empower communities facing climate-related risks to drive climate resilience and adaptation strategies that can be replicated and scaled in cities globally.

Key themes to be covered include:

• Community climate data collection: Tools for gathering data, such as climate enumerations, with a focus on urban heat mapping.

• Housing justice and sustainable construction: Exploring circular, low-carbon, and affordable construction methods, with input from Cities Alliance’s working group on sustainable construction.

• Climate-proofing solutions for vulnerable settlements: Case studies on using nature-based solutions (NbS) to safeguard informal settlements and basic service provision.

• Community climate advocacy and governance: Enhancing the role of local communities in influencing climate governance frameworks.

• Access to climate finance for the urban poor: Strategies to unlock finance for vulnerable communities to implement climate solutions.

Throughout the week, the agenda will feature presentations, case studies, practical exercises, discussions, and two field visits in Freetown to showcase sustainable construction projects and ecological adaptation methods, including mangrove protection. The goal is to provide participants with hands-on experience and foster collaboration among key stakeholders in the urban poor communities.

This event not only aims to advance the local knowledge of SDI affiliates but also to generate key insights that can inform global advocacy efforts. Following the event, Cities Alliance will produce a knowledge output based on the workshop's outcomes, contributing to a broader conversation on community-driven climate adaptation.

By connecting the local knowledge and experiences of SDI affiliates with global discourses on climate action, this event serves as an essential platform for collaborative solutions, emphasizing the central role of organized urban poor communities in building resilient and inclusive cities.

This workshop is part of the Cities Alliance, Slum Dwellers International (SDI), and Sida-supported programme that promotes community-led urban development in 16 countries. The programme positions organized urban poor communities at the center of long-term sustainable development, focusing on building resilience to the shocks and stresses of informal living, including the impacts of climate change. SDI federations are advancing climate change adaptation, mitigation, and nature-based solutions in informal settlements.

In parallel, Cities Alliance, together with its members and partners, has established a working group on sustainable construction within informal settlements. This group envisions a future where affordable, circular, and low-carbon building materials are accessible to vulnerable communities. As part of its work, the group has published the position paper Can the Urban Poor Afford Sustainable Construction?, which advocates for transformative change in construction practices, ensuring sustainability is both attractive and affordable for the urban poor.