Namibia’s Mariental Municipality Takes Bold Steps Towards a Resilient Future!
Stakeholders from various sectors met in Mariental, Namibia, from July 29-31, 2025, to begin implementing the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative.
The workshop used the UNDRR's Disaster Resilience Scorecard to assess the city's readiness and set a foundation for disaster risk governance, which is crucial for Mariental as it faces challenges such as rapid urbanisation and climate-related flooding.
Key stakeholder groups, including municipal departments, national government, civil society organizations, academia, among others, gathered from 29th to 31st July 2025 at Fig Tree Hall in Mariental, Namibia, to kickstart a transformative journey towards urban resilience.
The engagement centred around the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative, utilizing the UNDRR’s Disaster Resilience Scorecard. Participants assessed local resilience through the lens of the UNDRR's Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient, setting a strong foundation for proactive, inclusive disaster risk governance.
This milestone is part of the ongoing implementation framework between the SADC Secretariat and GIZ under the Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA), in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
“Without urgent action, these pressures threaten to reverse development gains and increase vulnerability.”
Why it matters:
Hon. Mayor of Mariental, Ms Cherien Kock, indicated that, like many municipalities Africa-wide, Mariental is grappling with rapid urbanisation and climate-related hazards, especially flooding. She highlighted that without urgent action, these pressures threaten to reverse development gains and increase vulnerability. But there’s hope; it starts with commitment from local leadership and community engagement.
The Mariental Municipality has committed to the following next steps:
Establishing a smaller task team to support and inform the broader DRR committee
Conducting comprehensive hazard and risk assessments across all hazards
Exploring avenues for disaster risk financing and sustainable funding mechanisms