Climate change challenge from CEO

THERE’S no doubt about it, climate change is certainly making its presence felt right here in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Early March 2013 saw weather alerts from the South African weather bureau, warning those - especially in the Eastern Cape region - about high discomfort levels and temperatures. Places like Addo recorded temperatures of up to 39 degrees Celsius while the mercury in places like Uitenhage hit 36, Graaff-Reinet 37 and Grahamstown 35.

But earlier in July 2012 and October 2012, the mercury had plunged and Nelson Mandela Bay was flooded by heavy and consistent rains. Never before had the city been victim to two separate floods so close together. We were barely getting over the flood in July 2012 when we were hit again in October 2012.

The city’s own blue-flag beach at Humewood was damaged, roads were washed away and homes and businesses were waterlogged.

Both roads linking the Bay to the provinces many game reserves and Sunshine Coast beaches were destroyed.
Simply put, climate change is the change in the world’s climate. The effects, to say the least, are devastating and the tourism industry is among the sectors that will be the hardest hit.

Think about it. Tourists base their travel decisions on the weather; it affects tourism seasons, spending, participation in activities, level of satisfaction and safety.

A failure of the tourism sector to respond to climate change is likely to threaten an industry which currently contributes R67 billion or 3% of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The question that begs to be answered is what are we in Nelson Mandela Bay doing about this?

NMBT attended the national tourism department’s Tourism and Climate Change Stakeholder Consultative Workshop in Johannesburg in December. Startling facts on climate change were put on the table and delegates were challenged as to how they were going to respond.

It was suggested to provinces that they first identify risk areas and then recommend mitigation. It is also important for us to assess which key products in the area would be prone to such risks. Addo immediately comes to mind and what happens to the roads in that area when there is much rain.

The provincial Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs that includes tourism is currently busy with a survey from which a strategy will be developed on how we, as a province, are going to tackle climate change and its impact on tourism.

This might seem like a far cry from reality and for us going about our daily tourism business, but let’s consider why there is climate change. Here we need to link responsible and sustainable tourism. We need to consider environmental threats like carbon emissions, energy and water efficiency, the importance of planting trees and being aggressive in preserving our biodiversity as a city. When it comes to climate change there is much we can do and we need to start today!