Page 28 - SDG Report

BIODIVERSITY SKILLS PILOT PROJECT
As part of eThekwini Municipality’s work in the resilience space, a report was commissioned in 2015 to explore a range of social and economic trends in Durban. A key finding was that the City was experiencing a ‘Brain Drain’, i.e. the loss of skilled intellectual and technical labour through the movement of such labour to more favourable geographic, economic, or professional environments. This challenge was also highlighted in the city’s Resilience Strategy, which points to the mismatch that exists between the skills of residents and the job opportunities that are available to them, as a critical factor undermining urban resilience. Skills and developing skills, especially scarce skills such as mathematics and science, has always been one of the focus areas within eThekwini Municipality (ETM) as noted within the Integrated Development Plan’s (IDP) strategic focus on the Building of Human Capital. Practical experience has demonstrated that this skills gap is particularly acute in the biodiversity field and amongst previously disadvantaged communities. The Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department (EPCPD) has been directly affected by the lack of skills in the biodiversity field.
“Practical experience has demonstrated that the skills gap is particularly acute in the biodiversity field and amongst previously disadvantaged communities.”
26 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GOOD PRACTICE