Monday, February 9, marked the start of the Intensive Course on the CityRAP Tool – Planning Actions for Urban and Territorial Resilience, an initiative that aims to empower municipal councils to integrate climate resilience into territorial planning and management.
The opening session was chaired by the Minister of Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, and Housing, Victor Coutinho, and was attended by the coordinator of the Special Projects Management Unit (UGPE), Nuno Gomes, the UN-Habitat Regional Director for West Africa, Mathias Spaliviero, and the President of the National Association of Municipalities of Cape Verde (ANMCV), Fábio Vieira.
On that occasion, Minister Victor Coutinho warned that extreme weather events have been exposing weaknesses in the current land management model, advocating the urgent adoption of new instruments that integrate climate considerations and urban and territorial resilience. The minister stated that it is necessary to rethink the land management model, moving towards new planning tools that are better suited to current challenges.
Victor Coutinho also announced the imminent launch of a tender for the drafting of the new National Spatial Planning Directive, an instrument that will guide the entire national planning system and will involve updating municipal master plans, coastal planning plans, and detailed plans.
The minister also highlighted the training of municipal technicians as one of the central pillars of the strategy, emphasizing their role as key agents in the implementation of public policies on the ground.
In turn, the coordinator of the UGPE, Nuno Gomes, considered the initiative fundamental to ensuring more resilient infrastructure in the country, stressing that resilience and climate change are at the top of national priorities. He reiterated UGPE’s commitment to supporting training initiatives and investments in resilient works, particularly in the blue economy, tourism, and port infrastructure sectors.
Promoted by the National Institute for Territorial Management (INGT), in partnership with UN-Habitat, UGPE, and ANMCV, the course runs for one week and follows recent extreme weather events that have affected the country, highlighting the need to strengthen urban and territorial resilience.
The aim of the training is to create, in each municipality, a technical core capable of leading the application of the CityRAP methodology, from institutional self-assessment and community involvement to the development of the Resilience Action Framework (QAR). The training is aimed at two representatives per municipality—one decision-maker and one technician—and focuses on a participatory approach based on risk mapping.
Following the impacts of Cyclone Erin in August 2025, the government is committed to implementing the City tool.