In Kinshasa, nature-based solutions are easing challenges from rapid urbanization and climate change

Kinshasa: one of Africa’s largest cities

The capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa, is one of Africa's largest cities. Already home to over 15 million people, Kinshasa is growing rapidly, expanding by about 2,000 people and five hectares every day, according to World Bank estimates.

Much of the city’s growth is informal, sprawling out to the savannah south and east of the capital. Green spaces are being replaced by concrete, metal, and bare earth, ushering in climate challenges like flooding, soil erosion and higher temperatures.

These problems stem from rapid unplanned urbanization. Without sufficient planning, the capital is expanding into areas that lack basic infrastructure and services like drainage systems and solid waste management. Construction on unstable, sandy soil is putting infrastructure, homes and people at risk of erosion. Urban heat is also a challenge, with temperatures in the city recorded up to 8° C higher than outside the capital.

The untapped potential of nature-based solutions

To help tackle these challenges, the City of Kinshasa requested the City Climate Finance Gap Fund (the Gap Fund), a partnership implemented by the World Bank and European Investment Bank, to explore the potential of using nature-based solutions to build urban climate resilience, sequester carbon emissions and provide socio-economic benefits.

The Gap Fund provided US$ 260,000 in technical assistance to help identify, evaluate, and integrate specific nature-based solutions in Kinshasa. Government actors from the City of Kinshasa, the Department of Urban Development and the Ministry of Public Works partnered with World Bank specialists and consultants from Groupe Huit, ARTER and VSI Afrique to implement the Gap Fund technical assistance proposal.

The work builds on the World Bank-financed Kinshasa Multisector Development and Urban Resilience project as well as support previously provided by the World Bank’s Global Program on Nature-based Solutions for Climate Resilience at the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

Pinpointing solutions to design an atlas of plant species

The team used the World Bank’s Nature-based Solutions Opportunity Scan (NBSOS), a digital algorithm that uses high-resolution geospatial data and analysis to help pinpoint nature-based solutions that would support Kinshasa’s three goals: to sequester carbon, reduce natural disaster risk, and provide socio-economic benefits.

The tool helped analyze physical conditions such as topography and soil composition, determine suitable locations, and compile a list of nature-based solutions, drawn from the 14 types outlined in the World Bank Catalogue of Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience. Examples include urban farming, terraces and slopes and green corridors.

For the first time, the NBSOS tool was adapted to the local and hyper-local scale to provide recommendations that were site specific and customized to local needs. Local, indigenous knowledge from people living in Ibi, a village near Kinshasa known for its sustainable agroforestry practices and biodiversity expertise, was integrated in analysing suitable vegetation types. Their input was crucial in choosing native, local and exotic plant species. 

The team also integrated knowledge from the NBSOS tool with data on local vegetation types to create a ‘Vegetation Atlas’ which scored each plant’s ability to reduce vulnerability to floods, heatwaves and soil erosion, sequester carbon and enhance socio-economic development. By linking the Vegetation Atlas to the NBSOS, the team could identify the most effective nature-based solutions and plant species for specific areas.

"The Vegetation Atlas enabled us to know which types and varieties of grass, plants and trees could best meet Kinshasa's challenges and priorities," said Laurent Corroyer, Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank. "Vegetation choices can now be optimized by benefit, such as reduced soil erosion, heat stress, air pollution or flooding. The new tool offers practical insights, locally adapted solutions and clearer guidance for investment opportunities."

Tackling soil erosion and flood risk, and supporting livelihoods

Results from the assessment allowed the city and experts to develop a city-wide nature-based solutions strategy and pilot solutions in Kimwenza, a hilly commune on a slope to the south of Kinshasa owned by the Loyola University of Congo. The area is a large hotspot for soil erosion and home to more than 300 families, many of whom live in basic housing, facing challenges of unemployment, poverty and soil erosion.

The pilot site was divided into three zones – uphill, intermediate and lower – with targeted nature-based solutions for each zone designed to prevent soil erosion, restore soil fertility, create jobs and provide food for local people. These solutions included the layered planting of local species of herbs, plants and trees on terraces, the creation of urban farms and pedestrian pathways, as well as the medium- to long-term maintenance of the site.

The team also trained staff from the university on implementation, including planting techniques and plant spacing. The university is now sharing this knowledge by training and working with people in local communities to implement the solutions.

Lucie Bakajika, Urban Development and Governance Specialist at the Ministry of Public works, said: “[The experts] helped us to define investments in nature-based solutions more specifically on this erosion site [in Kimwenza], which has solutions that will be implemented with the University of Loyola Congo. [They] also helped us to put in place better communication with the beneficiaries and technical assistance in the review. Thanks to this study, we were able to obtain an atlas of plant species, which allowed us to discover local plant species, and will be used on the site and which are not always the same [as those] used previously.”

The Office for Roads and Drainage, the national office in charge of drainage work, also worked with the university to identify complementary drainage solutions for Kimwenza, including building a structure that can hold and channel runoff during heavy rains. This work is due to be completed in 2024.

Impact: an integrative tool that can support nature-based solutions at the local level and in cities globally

The technical assistance provided by the Gap Fund is leading to concrete results and investments:

• The City of Kinshasa developed a nature-based solutions strategy informing the city’s investment program and identifying a long list of local and city-wide investments with an estimated value of US$153M.
• Of that, a selected short list of nature-based solutions investments, estimated at US$4M, will be taken up for further preparation and financing by the World Bank.
• The city’s nature-based solutions strategy is expected to inform dialogue on and help mobilize additional financing for future urban investments financed by the World Bank and other development partners in Kinshasa.

The local and national government have also increased their understanding of the opportunities for nature-based solutions, including potential costs and strategic investments sequencing.

Looking ahead, the team is working with the government to explore scaling up their support to other sites in Kimwenza and Kinshasa that face similar challenges. This work could inspire and inform governments around the world that want to adopt nature-based solutions to help address urban challenges while mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Find out more about the City Climate Finance Gap Fund projects and technical assistance on the Gap Fund LinkedIn page.

This story was prepared by Rajeshree Sisodia, Consultant, World Bank; Laurent Corroyer, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank; Defne Osmanoglou, Consultant, World Bank; Sandrine Boukerche, Senior Climate Change Specialist, World Bank. It was funded by the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with support from the Governments of Germany and Luxembourg.