With a population of 3.4 million, Cape Town is one of the largest cities in South Africa. At the same time the herbal biodiversity of its surroundings is so high, that the Cape Region is specified as of one of the worlds´ six “Floral Kingdoms”. Founded in 1997, the Environmental Resource Management Department’s (ERMD) task is to lead the implementation of the City’s Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy (IMEP) and adhere to the principles of environmental sustainability. Cape Town has committed itself to a range of sustainability targets linked to the UNEP Urban Environmental Accords.

Interns would develop a sustainable city programme, build resilience and promote community wellbeing. In particular, they will work on some of the projects arising out of the Climate Smart Cape Town campaign. Interns can also develop their own projects and get involved in the department’s on-going programs concerning e.g. environmental management systems, energy efficiency, climate change, and environmental education. Their tasks might include desk studies, internet research, interviews and site visits. Potentially the interns could follow up on the projects of the Climate Smart Cape Town campaign and on the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (COP17).  Further potential areas of work include preparing a bid for Cape Town to host the Biological Diversity COP 13.

Knowledge in Urban Planning and Development, Development Studies, Environmental and Biodiversity Sciences, Geography, Political Sciences and Communications is very useful. Interns should possess openness, research and presentation skills and experience in the field of urban environmentalism. They should be familiar to autonomous working. Some knowledge of conducting social surveys would be an advantage.

The scheduled time for the internship is between July and October 2012.Training and preparation seminars prior to the internship will be held in English. The tandem will be formed by a French participant and a German/Swiss participant.