A biofilter was implemented in Vuores to treat urban runoff and runoff from a nearby dog park. The biofilter uses sand as filtering media and the vegetation planted on top of the filter includes plants that tolerate changing moisture conditions. The biofilter is equipped with the information sign explaining the nature-based solution and its functions.
Las Vegas Park in the city of Portoviejo, Ecuador can be considered as an example of the Build Back Better* concept on an urban scale. After the 2016 earthquake struck, the city allocated a part of the funds received from the central government for reconstruction and economic revitalisation to create this large park in the city centre. The park is part of an interconnected system of green and public spaces which the city aims to build along the Portoviejo River to reduce the flood risk. Hence, the city was able to take the challenge of reconstruction and economic revitalisation as an...
The project ProGIreg is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme and will run from June 2018 until 2023. ProGIreg stands for ‘productive Green Infrastructure for post-industrial urban regeneration’: nature for renewal. ProGIreg develops self-sustaining business models for nature-based solutions, based on a scientific assessment of the multiple benefits they provide for social, ecological and economic regeneration.Together, local citizens, governments, businesses, NGOs and universities design the nature-based solutions and make them happen.
Foster sustainable urban planning and management through the integration of ecosystem services in existing decision-support tools, focussing on both the provision and the demand of the ecosystem services.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) participants in the BRIDGE FP7 project identified the primary planning goals for the Central Activities Zone (CAZ)[1] as to: (a) increase green space; (b) improve air quality; (c) reduce the UHI effect (heat island) and (d) prevent flash floods, with climate change adaptation and mitigation seen as a cross cutting issue.
London has a number of plans aimed at addressing these challenges, including:
Quantifying how well Nature-based Solutions can offset anthropogenic climate change impacts is important for adaptation planning but has rarely been done. This report aims to show that a widely-applied Nature-based Solution in South Africa – invasive alien tree clearing – reduces the impact of anthropogenic climate change on drought streamflow. Using a multi-model joint-attribution of climate and landscape-vegetation states during the 2015–2017 Cape Town “Day Zero” drought.
The public perception of ecosystems (e.g. forests, including possibly protecting ones) is strongly worsened following floods with massive wood jams. This case study aims at performing a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a Mediterranean catchment to assess NBS benefits, dis-benefits and co-benefits and ways to optimize them.
Explore how to best maintain existing areas of edible urban greenery - and integrate new ones - into the area, as well as how these green spaces can be used to connect the existing neighbours with the new ones by providing spaces for community gardening, togetherness and knowledge exchange.
The project promotes urban butterflies conservation, thanks to the involvement of fragile people as citizen scientists. It aims to create and connect Butterfly oasis, to allow butterflies to cross the city; and to involve people with mental or physical disabilities, to fight the social stigma
The Volkswagen Group (the Group) is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers. The Group is comprised of twelve brands (Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN), operating 118 production plants in 20 countries across Europe and 11 countries in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
The Group aims to create lasting value for the Company, its employees, and its shareholders, but also for the countries and regions in which they operate. This all-embracing view of sustainability is...
River restoration for flood protection and ecological habitat creation, Tiantangzhai, Anhui, China
The main problem to solve with the implemented NBS measures is the runoff of soil and pollutants from the farmland to irrigation canals and from there to the nearby Lake Massaciuccoli on the Tuscan coast.
Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS two canals (canals Fossetto and Fossaccio) have been modified to improve the hydraulic capacity
To create a development on a brownfield site where Green Infrastructure (GI) is integral to the layout of dwellings and create a sense of place whilst delivering a rich mix of housing tenures with a focus on affordability for local people.
Rio de Janeiro is a coastal city that ranges from 2 m above sea level to forested massifs that divide the city into zones: central, north, south and west. The highest peak is Pedra Branca (White Rock), at 1 024 m high. The city has significant forested areas that cover most of the massifs. The population living in slums in 2010 was 19 % of the inhabitants (last census). The informal occupation of steep slopes and flood-prone areas occur mainly because of the lack of social housing planning, and the laws that protect vulnerable areas where formal occupation cannot occur....
The Skurdalsåa River is one of many steep tributary rivers to the main river Gudbrandsdalslågen. The river has its outlet from an old dam (1870) in Lake Svintjønna. Due to the relatively small catchment, Skurdalsåa responds rapidly to precipitation and snow melt. Roads, houses, a school, a kindergarten, and a sports facility are situated adjacent to the lower part of the river. The infrastructure has experienced repeated flood damage in recent years.
Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS an old dam has been modified in order to reduce the peak flood.
River bank renaturation and stabilization through live staking and vegetated dikes
Riparian afforestation
Phytodepuration basins
Zero-energy flood retention system (no pumping needed)
The project consists of the implementation of two rolling basins connected by an open air ditch and a pond filled with ground water. The basins will be temporarely flooded by Lura river during intense rainy periods through natural inlet from the river bed,...
The three green wedges around the City of Jiaxing aim to regulate urban climate and to provide space for recreation by enhancing the structure and socioecological multi-functionality of the green infrastructure in the city.
Trees as nature-based solutions are promoted for co-development and co-design to alleviate problems of heat, air pollution and noise in the city in a participatory way.
This exemplar aims to: Map and describe existing and potential use and non-use community-held values of the estuary; Elicit community-held preferences and willingness to pay for coastal land use and management on landscape-scale; Test impacts of deliberation on preferences for estuarine land in a workshop setting; Contextualise study findings through institutional analysis; Identify ecosystem values held by land-owners and their attitudes towards coastal realignment; Understand future visions for the estuaries from diverse stakeholders; Test operational potential and impact of valuation...
The environmental condition of Vejle Fjord has been categorized as bad in the inner and outer fjords. For the past 40 years, the Vejle Fjord has struggled to mitigate the runoff from industries and cities around the area, causing eutrophication and biodiversity loss.
The 5-year-project (2020-2024) was initiated by the Nature and Environment Committee and the Board of Directors for Vejle Ådal & Fjord, with a budget of 25 mio. DKK. The project aims to improve the ecological condition of the fjord and strengthen biodiversity by:
Restoring eelgrass beds
In the scope of the REGREEN project, the Aarhus Municipality aims to promote urban liveability, by systematically enhancing and restoring ecosystem services and biodiversity as the basis for Nature-based solutions (NBS):
In this regard, Aarhus aims to improve water quality, water flow management and carbon sequestration.
Further objectives include heat mitigation as well as reforestation and renaturing activities of agricultural land to create urban forests, increase biodiversity sites and allow for open...
The Erasmus+ project „Nature-Based Innovations for Urban Forest and Rainwater Management” supports communities and local authorities in combating climate change through the identification of good practices and the dissemination of innovative solutions and manuals addressed to local authorities, stakeholders, and associations to improve policies and practices to counter climate change from an environmental, social, and economic point of view.
Co-Finding competition to support municipalities in the design, implementation, and funding of green infrastructure projects.
The city of Lorient has developped an urban and local forestry partnership to supply the city in firewood chips and building timber. This project is based on local economy and on collaboration with local foresters to provide a sustainable management of this resource.
Developing a green infrastructure plan in Santiago as a shared territorial strategy and a means of unifying different stakeholders relevant for decision making and implementation at different spatial scales. This was achieved through a participatory approach including multiple stakeholders, workshops, and collective mapping sessions. This approach identified the principal issues, the justification of the plan, the goals, and the key spatial components.
The landscape park aims to fulfil a variety of functions:
The provision of recreation and educational facilities for local residents and visitors, and the encouragement of tourism to the area. Socio-cultural and economic benefits focus on education, culture, sports and history while keeping a sense of place through preserving historic elements of the area.
Another focus lies on water protection (Freshwater storage, management and distribution)
The Landscape Park further aims to regulate micro and regional climate,...
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
The project aims to reconnect green spaces, develop biodiversity and enhance the quality of life in the city. Further objectives include improving the environment for pollination and climate regulation.
Educational services aim at enhancing the ecological awareness of citizens. Another goal is to foster local cohesion by providing a public available urban green space with enhanced biodiversity that allows for social encounters.
Viridian were asked to model an entire lowland catchment of approximately 750 km2 for a basket of ecosystem services, so the client could better understand where to focus effort on the ground, assist with planning, inform stakeholder engagement and influence policy formation.
Approaching the introduction of an innovative planning instruments to balance the costs of sprawl.
The main objective of our BIOVEINS proposal is to use functional diversity (FD) to highlight the mechanisms underpinning the link between GBI, taxonomic diversity (TD) and ecosystem services (ESs) provisioning, and to provide, together with local stakeholders, the ecological and interdisciplinary knowledge to identify the critical features of GBI, to guide the establishment, management and restoration of GBI, and to mitigate the effects of major urban global challenges, like habitat fragmentation, air pollution, and urban heat island.
This main objective will be accomplished by...
In 2005, the UN agency UNESCO approved Kristianstads Vattenriket as a biosphere reserve covering 100 000 ha, and one of 700 in the world. This means Kristianstads Vattenrike is an internationally recognized model for sustainable development. The Vattenrike encompasses two thirds of the municipality of Kristianstad, with the goal to “preserve, develop and support the landscape's values”.
Nature-based solutions have been key for protection against droughts, floods, and preservation of the area, as well as nutrient leakage into the Baltic Sea.
The areas in Vattenriket include...
São Paulo is the capital of the state of São Paulo, and the centre of the largest metropolitan area in South America with 21.2 million inhabitants. The city has expanded over the landscape with the eradication of the original ecosystems, and burying most of the creeks, with larger rivers straightened and canalised. Nature is restricted to some parks, mainly in the peripheral areas. Agriculture is located in the countryside or in the urban fringes, far from most of the population.
The state of biodiversity has been decreased worldwide, and the Finnish Wildlife Service organization Metsähallitus will contribute to solving the challenge. With support from the Nordic Council of Ministers, they will restore the entire watershed area around the Mätäsoja Stream in Finland.
“The establishment of protected areas alone is not enough, and in order to halt the loss of biodiversity, we need to be more ambitious in restoring nature,” says Antti Karppinen, leader of the Mätäsoja Stream and Watershed restoration project in Finland. It is Metsähallitus...
The Finnish River Management Association Virho (Virtavesien hoitohidstys Virho ry), was nominated for the Nordic Council Environment Prize 2022 with the theme of nature-based solutions. The Finnish River Management Association has the goal to revive and secure the living conditions of the entire water ecosystem in Finland. This includes fostering biodiversity and fish stocks in areas of flowing water. Virho has operated for more than 30 years restoring hundreds of kilometers of streams through building fish roads, rehabilitating streams and rapids, and deconstructing dams.
One such...
To create a green, quick, frequent and reliable bus service and improve walking and cycling opportunities which will ultimately help to reduce traffic congestion, noise and air pollution.
Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium. It has 517 000 inhabitants and a surface of 204.5 km². The city is a mix of a highly urbanized central area, with a clear shortage of available green space, some larger important conservation areas at the borders of the city, and an industrial harbour area. Important challenges the city is faced with are flood risks both from tidal and pluvial floods, air quality and heat stress.
The city has the ambition to become greener. To achieve this purpose, a masterplan on green and blue infrastructure was developed, focusing on five “park-...More
Collaborating to halt declining biodiversity: Despite designation as a Marine Protected Area, biodiversity in the Faial-Pico Channel is falling. Our aim: to collaborate with local stakeholders and policy-makers and apply the AQUACROSS Assessment Framework to understand social and ecological aspects of the Channel, and identify actions to efficiently and equitably ensure the Channel’s long-run sustainability, balancing the objectives of commercial and recreational fishers, tourism operators, and other local stakeholders.
The central Uzbek government needed to be convinced that investments in the Amu Darya delta would make social, ecological and economic sense. Ecosystem services of the delta were valued for three situations: the situation before degradation, the present degraded and the potential restored situation.
Enhancing conservation of biodiversity, sustainable management and the utilisation of forest resources by addressing ecosystem services that are central to local livelihoods.
Dongpo Wetland Park aims to allow for the provision of connected multifunctional green spaces and to ensure the sustainable development of the city while retaining the original wetland environment.
It further aims to provide a new green and open leisure space for urban residents. The original wetland has been preserved with the aim to maintain regional biodiversity and to improve the water quality of the area.
This short film introduces Berlin as one of the European cities aligned with the URBES - Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services project. The URBES project was funded as part of the EU's 7th Framework Programme for Research by BiodivERsA, which is a network of 21 research-funding agencies across 15 European countries promoting pan-European research that generates new knowledge for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity.
Connected we're a living city.
To strengthen connectivity between resources in terms of people, space, knowledge, and expertise. To make clear the "What" that exists, to represent the "Who" and reveal the "How" of connecting to resources -creating a more resilient city in which resources flow to communities that require them most.
The Hague is a relatively green city in which green spaces make up to 17 % of the city's surface area. At the same time the city faces serious challenges with respect to public health and quality of life. Therefore The Hague aims to better understand the relation between green infrastructure and public health by combining socio-economic data with data on the greenery gathered through remote sensing. The two key questions are:
Using interactive tools to crowd-source data and ideas on transport in Ljubljana Region.
Through providing a publicly accessible green space that allows for aesthetic appreciation, recreational activities and social cohesion, the Municipality of Bari aims to improve mental and physical wellbeing among the area’s citizens.
With the aim to renovate derelict land, L. Braille public garden was planned and designed to increase biodiversity, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and reduce noise, air and light pollution in the area.
The park’s green infrastructure aims to helps to achieve an e...
Building a vision for Malaga´s Economic Development Model through a strong institutionalised network.
Promoting sense of place through the collaborative celebration of local heritage.
A község a Tisza vízgyűjtő területén fekszik, rendkívül kitett az árvíz, a belvíz, az aszály, a hőhullámok és a heves esőzések kockázatának; ezen felül a terület a jövőben további melegedésre és szárazodásra számíthat. A projekt célja a természetközeli belvíz-visszatartás a szárazság mérsékléséért.
The Urban Resilience project aims to supply flood management, sanitation and water infrastructure, a major resilience and a climate strategy to the most vulnerable households.
To reduce the flood risk, calm traffic and increase community involvement and awareness of sustainable urban drainage systems. To improve water quality in the River Trym.
The wine exemplar seeks to understand how different players in the wine value chain (producers, retailers, consumers) influence wine production and thus the ecosystem services provided by vineyard ecosystems.
The pilot project's goals are, among other things, to develop a strategic comprehensive plan for Holmehave in Assens municipality in Denmark and use multifunctional land distribution for the establishment of afforestation, nature and wetlands. The Nordic Council of Ministers Nature-based Solutions programme has allocated DKK 890,000 for the project.
Assens municipality, VandCenter Syd and Hedeselskabet in Denmark have begun to create a comprehensive plan for the Holmehaven area in Assens municipality. In the project, the aim is to take out approx. 300 hectares for...
Stresstest to raise awareness of threats and opportunities of climate change in the Rotterdam region.
The municipality saw an opportunity in URBiNAT as a preliminary to the Global Project. The two projects indeed share the same general objectives of improving the health and the well-being of the inhabitants. URBiNAT also meets the municipality concerns of the co-creation process: the so-called Citizen Dialogue, that the municipality has enforced as a way of doing since 2014. The integration in URBiNAT also allows going further in the co-creation process already existing in Nantes, with especially the co-evaluation phase. The municipality has therefore chosen to integrate Nantes Nord as a...
Managing socio-ecological landscapes as natural carbon sinks and resources for adaptation is increasingly recognized as a necessary, efficient and relatively cost-effective strategy. Protected areas store 15 % of terrestrial carbon and supply ecosystem services for disaster reduction, water supply, food and public health, all of which enable community-based adaptation. Many natural and managed ecosystems can help reduce climate change impacts. But protected areas have advantages over other approaches to natural ecosystem management in terms of legal and governance clarity, capacity and...
Nicosia is the capital city of the Republic of Cyprus. It lies roughly in the centre of the island in the Mesaoria Plain, flanked by the northern range of Kyrenia Mountains with its distinctive ‘Pentadaktylos’ – the five-finger mountain.
The capital has two distinct faces: the old, original part of the city, surrounded by sturdy Venetian walls over 400 years old, and a busy modern metropolis, which has a population of 200,452 inhabitants (≈16.6% of the country’s total population) together with the suburbs.
As the country's capital, Nicosia is the financial and business...
This project consists in two main areas :
- the northern portion : object of the first phases of extraction ended in 2007
- the southern portion : subject of the cultivation plan and recovery of recent years
The proposed project involves the areas cultivated in the northern part. It forecast an environmental naturalistic recovery and the conclusion of the overall environmental recovery of the entire extractive area.
It aims to include :
• morphological arrangement of the slopes of embankments produced by the extractive area for the future public use;
•...
Niterói is a city located in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, about 20 km from the state capital. The city is divided by the forested and protected Tiririca Massif. The landscape goes from sea level to the highest peak of Elephant Rock at 412 m. The centre faces Guanabara Bay. A new tunnel has been built to enable rapid connection to the ocean region. This connection accelerates the urban expansion to the area where two ocean lagoons are located. The region has been developed as a resort for weekend houses and slums that occupied vulnerable areas. There are several...
Eindhoven is facing rapid population growth. Critical issues for the city, which are exacerbated by climate change, include flooding, urban heat stress, air pollution, and lower quality of life. The rapid urbanisation in recent years has also led to the disappearance of significant blue zones, which has had detrimental consequences to the urban environment and quality of life. The renewed City Hall area features a green roof and a green terrace.
The objective of the Info center, implemented within the proGIreg project, was to create a new community center for Sesvete, the largest neighborhood in the City of Zagreb, where the inghabitants of Sesvete would be able to openly discuss topics that trouble them on a daily basis, but also providing a venue for sharing and acquiring knowledge. NGO ZIPS (Green and Blue Sesvete) is one of the local partners in the proGIreg project with strong ties to the local community, and it has been eager to help develop a habit of involvement and participation among the citizens of Sesvete through...
Managing stormwater risks by bringing multifunctional green infrastructure to tower hamlets.
The overall objective of BEGIN is to demonstrate at target sites how cities can improve climate resilience with Blue-Green Infrastructure involving stakeholders in a value-based decision- making process to overcome its current implementation barriers.
BEGIN’s driving ambition is to substitute traditional ‘grey infrastructure’ such as concrete for ‘blue-green infrastructure’ (BGI) such as parks, rivers, and lakes.
Space for retention of the urban runoff in the times of heavy rain to complement the measures for enhanced stormwater quality and quantity management in the Vuores area. Vegetation is selected from the local species to support biodiversity, including perennials suitable for wet conditions. Additionally, the area is equipped with the information sign introducing the NBS and its functions.
The primary goal of the city strategy (Development Strategy for the City of Poznań 2030) is to improve quality of life for all inhabitants, in such a way that everyone feels that they have a stake in co-creating the city. One of the five strategic objectives of the city strategy – 'A green, mobile city' – sets out NBS objectives, while the other strategic objectives, including 'Friendly housing estates' and 'The spirit of community and social dialogue' contain elements of NBS. NBS objectives are also incorporated in the documents on strategy and additional spatial planning (Development...
SABICAS (SAfeguard BIodiversity and improve Climate Adaptation in catchment areas under pressure: tools and Solutions) aims to provide tools and knowledge needed to quantify the benefits and co-benefits of nature-based solutions. The goal is to facilitate dialogue and decision making among stakeholders and managers. SABICAS will engage with all key catchment stakeholders through several activities, including workshops and living labs.
Enabling more rational farm management and planning space for green corridors in the agricultural land, together with all relevant stakeholders at landscape level. The context of this case study is explained by a short YouTube clip: http://youtu.be/sD0gVUmmwnE
A network of attractive open spaces as a counterpoint to the region's grey infrastructure.
The vision is to create a network of attractive, accessible, welcoming and diverse open spaces that functions as a counterpoint to the region’s grey infrastructure.
Analysing the expression of socio-cultural values in a coastal setting, considering the contribution that ecosystem service approaches can make within the land use or spatial planning arena. People attach socio-cultural values to the natural environment just as they do to other aspects of life. Cultural ecosystem services are strongly influenced by these values and provide tangible and intangible benefits to people when they interact with nature. Often in decision making the less tangible cultural ecosystem services benefits are overlooked and unaccounted when considering the overall value...
The noise barrier wall-system being used in Sachsenheim guarantees an instant green noise barrier wall, from the very first day on: The green noise barrier consists of a scaffold with galvanised steel lattice mats on both sides, filled with a core of plant substrates and then planted with pre-cultivated plant mats. Already at the time of assembly, the walls are at least fifty percent covered and they are completely green after six months.
Starting with a single focus on afforestation, the project aimed at integrating Nature-Based Solutions for limiting flooding, enhancing biodiversity and reducing traffic noise pollution.
Following an integrated approach, further objectives included:
The Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) project aims to reduce disaster risks in the Municipality of Port Salut through a landscape or ridge-to-reef approach.
The city’s Grünlandkonzept (green space strategy) provides detailed strategic indications for local land use and infrastructure planning (Stadt Linz, 2013). Enhancing and protecting urban green areas is seen as a way of increasing the city’s attractiveness, and will also form part of the upcoming transformation of the city harbour area. Linz AG, a holding company owned by the municipality, is planning to position the harbour on the Danube river as an important regional and international business location, inter alia by means of intensive greening for parts of the area...
Climate gas emission will be reduced and carbon sequestration will be stimulated by rewetting this area along the Nørreåen stream in Denmark. This restoration will preserve valuable Natura2000 habitats and endangered plant species, while at the same time making land consolidation efforts to support landowners.
This case study is one of 17 that are part of the EU Horizon2020 project MERLIN.
Püspökszilágy fokozottan érzékeny villámárvíz veszély szempontjából, mindeközben nyáron gyakori az aszály. A villámárvizek és az aszály komoly károkat okoz a településen. A projekt célja a két probléma kezelése természetalapú megoldások által.
The Nature-based solutions in the Nordic region programme has allocated 650,000 DKK to a pilot project in Iceland that aims to increase biodiversity in Reykjavík.
Grasagarður Reykjavíkur is the name of the outdoor collection of living plants located in the capital of Iceland. The park conserves some 3000 plant species in eight plant collections. The collections give an idea of the enormous diversity of vegetation in the northern temperate zone.
Among the staff are Hjörtur Þorbjörnsson and...
Poznań is a city with population of 482,000 permanent inhabitants (City Hall of Poznań, Department of Civil Affairs and Communication Permits, 2016) and area of 262 km2. Although it has a rich and well established green infrastructure that has been well preserved since 1930s their distribution is spatially diversified across the city. At the same time Poznań faces urbanization pressure on open or green spaces and is confronted with a depopulation process. Loss of inhabitants is particularly observed in the central districts characterized by a dense, built- up structure with limited...More
Mapping green and grey structures of Leipzig to understand in which urban structure types land-use pressures on urban green are higher / lower and analysing how political and governance strategies and instruments support the protection of green infrastructure and its ecosystem services.
During the EnRoute project, an assessment of the green infrastructure and key urban ecosystem services was carried out for the city of Valletta and the surrounding urban area. For the EnRoute project, the Valletta case-study area is defined by the boundaries of Malta’s Northern Harbour and the Grand Harbour Local Plan areas. Urban land uses make a significant proportion of the case-study area (Figure 1).
Figure 1 – The Valletta case-study area in EnRoute: Malta's...More
An implementation focused on combining blue and green infrastructure, with predominant use of native species and minimizing maintenance effort.
Key aims:
The Ntakata Mountains Project aims to protect 216,944 ha of threatened forest by developing Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) with local communities.
Designing conservation strategies and adaptive management for the French Alps region. In particular, management options are targeted to support stakeholders and policymakers in making choices.
The project aims at investigating whether and how a scientific knowledge on soil quality can be integrated into urban planning so as to allow soil quality to be taken into account in all its dimensions, which has not been the case so far in France.
Its objectives are:
The urban project of the Sofia Healthy Corridor focuses on building green connections, understandings, co-implementation and use of public spaces. The involvement of citizens in the creation of living public spaces is expected to contribute to overcoming urban fragmentation by removing physical and symbolic barriers to their use, protection of the environment and maintenance of inter-block spaces.
The Healthy Corridor in Sofia is a “green connection” designed as a pedestrian path in the public urban space, that connects the neighborhoods between themselves and the surrounding urban...
In the second part of the 20th century, three major challenges led towards a new thinking and the implementation of river restoration as a nature-based solution at the Isar.
First, after decades of river regulation, water diversion and hydro-morphological modifications, the resulting degraded morphological status and related losses of ecological and social quality triggered serious concerns from civil society and citizens.
Second, the Isar River was very popular for swimming and other water-related outdoor recreational activities as one of the key elements of the local...
RENATURALIZE THE LAGOON AND DEVELOP A NEW MODE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
Assessing how the ecosystem service approach can be used to demonstrate problems in protected areas such as rural abandonment, land-use intensification and social conflicts emerging from strict conservation practices.
The aim is to develop a realistic framework of indicators to evaluate, manage and develop performant Urban Green-Blue Infrastructure (U-GBI) in cities and intensively managed landscapes. UrbanGaia explicitly focusses on analysis of ecological and socio-economic features of the many existing GBIs. The evaluation of one the green axis of the ecological network in Ghent will serve as a case study for the framework of indicators. Furthermore, policy, governance and management practices of U-GBI are analyzed to identify innovative approaches to GBI implementation and usage.
Bátya vízhiányos területen fekszik, a talajvízszint alakulását a Duna vízállása és a beszivárgás/párolgás határozza meg. A települést hőhullámok, aszályos időszakok, ezenkívül extrém csapadékesemények veszélyeztetik. A cél a fentiekhez való alkalmazkodás a csapadékgazdálkodás átalakításával.
With a green and blue framework that supports ecosystem benefits, Utrecht aims to promote healthy urban living through an integrated and systemic approach that combines local climate regulation, noise reduction, recreation and cleaner air. Currently, its main instrument for protecting and improving green space is the 2007 Green Structure Plan.
Green Structure Plan actions aim at sustainable urbanisation: less and slower traffic, climate- and energy-neutral construction, efficient water management and green areas for pleasant and healthy urban living. Utrecht wants...
The above-mentioned challenges are addressed in Oradea’s plan for a green area within a 5 minute walking distance from anywhere in the city, evaluated in its Urban Development Plan 2030. Oradea’s main objective is to improve quality of life for its citizens, including by prioritising the increase of leisure opportunities.
The main objective of the project is to increase the biodiversity of a peri-urban area, re-naturalizing it through the creation of an urban edible forest.
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
The previously stone-covered Clausplein square is located in a dense urban area in the city centre of Eindhoven and is greatly affected by extreme weather events. After reconstruction, the square has become a small urban park with an underground water retention basin.
The main problem to solve with the implemented NBS measures is the runoff of soil and pollutants from the farmland to irrigation canals and from there to the nearby Lake Massaciuccoli on the Tuscan coast.
Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS sedimentation basin have been implemented to prevent runoff of soil and pollutants from farmlands.
The Landscape park Tivoli, Rožnik and Šiška hill aims to enhance health and well-being of citizens and visitors while conserving natural values and landscape diversity.
The urban green infrastructure of the Landscape Park area further aims to regulate the urban micro-climate, improving air quality and reducing run-off.
The aim was to deliver sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) measures on school sites in order to reduce local flood risk, provide benefits for participating schools and educate the pupils and wider community about surface water flooding .
Utrecht is a fast growing and compact city with green ambitions. We have to respond to the challenges that lay ahead of us. We focus on Healthy Urban Living for Everyone, for all citizens because they have to live, work and play in it every day.
Due to densification, pressure on Utrecht’s public green space is increasing. With respect to climate change and quality of life — and within its vision of healthy urban living — Utrecht aspires to optimise and utilise ‘green’ and ‘blue’ (land and water) infrastructure as much as possible both to face the consequences of climate change and...More
The main objective of our BIOVEINS proposal is to use functional diversity (FD) to highlight the mechanisms underpinning the link between GBI, taxonomic diversity (TD) and ecosystem services (ESs) provisioning, and to provide, together with local stakeholders, the ecological and interdisciplinary knowledge to identify the critical features of GBI, to guide the establishment, management and restoration of GBI, and to mitigate the effects of major urban global challenges, like habitat fragmentation, air pollution, and urban heat island.
This main objective will be accomplished by...
The urban dominant model in Spain, which is characterized by the diversification of activities and population increase, has aggravated the urban risks and environmental problems that already existed, such as the high consumption of soil, energy, water, and air pollution. It is also important to highlight the significant difficulties caused by the increase in distances, and the permanent requirement of the use of the car. The strategic line of Valladolid is situated within the frame of the urban city model. Its objectives are to develop an innovative and entrepreneurial culture, and to...
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
The city of Genoa experiences acute densification and lack of public green spaces, making urban heat stress a pronounced challenge. Air pollution and biodiversity loss are among the other challenges Genova targeted to address through NBS implementation.
Several training and scoping workshops with stakeholders guided an assessment of the Taï Park’s multiple ecosystem services, and helped align it to the purpose of drumming-up support for conservation. This case illustrates the importance of intensive initial scoping prior to examining ecosystem services in more depth. Study results are now being used by park authorities to motivate increased government budget allocations, and to interest the international cocoa industry in co-financing the Taï Park – in their own best interest.
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
Az Alföld egyik leginkább elsivatagosodó és az aszálykároknak leginkább kitett részén, a Homokhátságon helyi gazdálkodók tömörültek egy civil szervezetbe, hogy a belvízelvezető csatornák egyszerű elgátolásával segítsék a víz oldalirányú szivárgását a talajban, ezáltal vizet juttatva a környező szántóföldi területek gyökérzónájába. A természetes vízmegtartást széleskörű monitoring és disszeminációs tevékenység kíséri.
Project introduction:
The Changyuanhe river is in Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, in North and Middle China and become the main axis of the project, both by its cultural and ecological important for the country. In the past, there were large areas of marsh wetlands along the river, which can regulate and enrich the ecological diversity with good water power. Today the contrast between the upstream natural area (which is still well preserved) and the downstream area (which is dry for four months of the year) is astonished. The project aims to afforest the 30km river...
The municipality of Pavlos Melas is located in the Northern Greece, in the Region of Central Macedonia, in the northwestern part of Thessaloniki. The municipality faces challenges in addressing issues in environmental, economic and social cohesion section. Through nature-based solutions, Pavlos Melas municipality intends to achieve environmental, social and economic benefits.
The flagship nature-based solution of Pavlos Melas municipality is the creation of Pavlos Melas Metropolitan Park on a former military camp (about 33 hectares) located in the dense urban fabric. Due to its...
Within the EnRoute Project, the challenge of the City Lab of Rome is to apply the urban-MAES framework on a multi-scale progression.
In particular, the following policy questions have been addressed:
Trento is an alpine city of 120,000 inhabitants in north-eastern Italy. The main settlement is located along the Adige River’s valley floor, and hosts around 70% of the city’s population. The remaining 30% lives in small villages spread in the surrounding hills. One of the main objectives of the administration in the last years has been to increase the amount of public green areas, particularly in deprived neighbourhoods, so as to improve equity in distribution and access. Recently, most of the efforts have focused on peri-urban areas, by creating new parks and launching activities aimed...More
The restoration of peatlands is part of the LIFE Elia-RTE project 1. The main objective of this project is converting forest corridors of the high-voltage power lines into ecological corridors by restoring stable natural habitats that will require minimal intervention in the future. These actions undertaken onsite are real opportunities for nature, local stakeholders, and RTE.
The project’s objective is to restore peatlands located under overhead power lines to encourage the return of specific plant and animal communities of these ecosystems and restore their functional components....
The floodplains of the River Thames are characterised by high land prices and intense urbanisation, with few options for creating extra flood storage. A number of tributaries of the fluvial Thames suffer localised flooding in urban reaches, affecting local inhabitants, businesses, property and infrastructure.
Recently there has been UK government investment in natural flood management (NFM) and there is growing interest in how land management such as Conservation Agriculture can provide water management for storing flood water as well as biological benefits....
To provide an open forum for people in Thamesmead to discuss nature and the natural environment.
To act as a first step towards creating a more bottom up governance and decision making model.
With the aim to enhance the management and utilisation of Urban Forests as Natural Heritage in Danube Cities, the URBforDAN Interreg Danube project fosters innovative and participatory approaches to build recreational infrastructure that also serves an educational value.
The management of the Urban Forest area also aims at providing regulating ecosystem services.
Promoting community energy schemes and user participation in a new community.
On September 2021, the mayor and the District Planning Secretary presented the proposal for the Territorial Ordering Plan (POT ) 2022-2035. This POT responds and involves the Sustainable Development Goals in land use planning. Based on these areas, the plan incorporates on four pillars, including sustainable mobility, greening, a care system for women and sustainable economic economy.
The aim of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project is to restore a previously deforested area and contribute to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Green Growth Initiative. Two approaches of protected natural regeneration and planned afforestation were set in motion. Moreover, the project aims to support livelihoods, encourage eco-tourism, community engagement and generate jobs through conservation.
The city of Genoa experiences acute densification and lack of public green spaces, making urban heat stress a pronounced challenge. Air pollution and biodiversity loss are among the other challenges Genova targeted to address through NBS implementation.
In Rio de Janeiro the population living in slums (favelas) in 2010 was 19 % of the inhabitants (last census). The informal occupation of steep slopes and flood-prone areas occurs mainly because of the absence of social housing planning, inducing low-income people to use protected areas that the formal real-estate market cannot occupy. The climate is tropical, with extremely high temperatures especially in the northern zone where there are almost no green areas and where the low-income population live in extensive slums (favelas). The temperature can reach over 60 °C in...
Biotope City is an integral concept of the Biotope City Foundation Amsterdam based on the integrative combination of Flora + Fauna + Humans to realise the dense city as nature.
World's first official climate-resilient district and world's first constructed Biotope City in Vienna with 2/3 affordable social housing and climate adaptation by the support of GREENPASS - the world's first Software-as-a-Service for climate...
This study aimed to use a semi-natural meadow as an ecological restoration tool for the optimisation of ecosystem services and landscape attractiveness of river revetments. River revetments combine bank reinforcement with greening and can resist flood washing and provide waterfront space for human activities; thus, it has become a key functional unit in riparian ecosystems used to foster ecosystem services such as the interception and filtration of polluted surface water, habitat for organisms and aesthetic beauty.
Herbaceous species that naturally occur in habitats with infrequent...
One eye on the future, the other on the past.
The commons managed by the Università Agraria will be permanently conserved for future generations because they generate sustainable socio-economic opportunities today.
Szeged’s urban development concept and integrated urban development strategy aim to improve the quality of green areas and to restore natural habitats and ecological corridors for social and recreational purposes and to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Due to the required structure for integrated urban development strategies and related financing mechanisms, there are separate objectives and plans for most urban districts (Liget, Mórapark, Makkosháza, Odessza, Roosevelt square, Tápé, Tarján, Stefánia, Vértó). They are called action areas and are developed in relation to the general...
The project aims to establish a long-term mangrove payment for ecosystem services scheme to reduce deforestation and degradation, and restore mangroves in the Bay of Assassins in Madagascar.
Freshwater ecosystems in the Swiss plateau are threatened by multiple stressors that deteriorate water quality and hydromorphology. This is the result of channelization, dams, wastewater, and agriculture, among other causes. To restore these ecosystems and stop the biodiversity decline, multiple management measures will be implemented over the next decades. We propose methods for prioritising the location and timing of restoration measures to maximise their effectiveness, considering many sectors and multiple societal objectives.
Controlling and mitigating the heat island effect in Arará slum, northern Rio de Janeiro, based on the development and monitoring of green roofs, using epiphytes or lithophytes. Given the common uses of cement or metal, tiles required the development of specific techniques and materials to allow for the growth of vegetation while keeping the overall weight low for safety.
To work with landowners to improve habitat management for wildlife and to promote soil management to help mitigate flooding, improve water quality and increase habitat for wetland birds.
To create a riverside park, reconnecting the city centre to the riverside and to mitigate flooding for more than 100 existing properties.
To address these challenges, Budapest has drafted several strategic documents, in which NBS are promoted as a way to improve the environment, sustainability, and quality of life. These documents include:
This project aims to reverse the deterioration of soil fertility and natural resources, contributing to reduce household hunger in the Talensi District, Ghana.
Szeged is a mid-size historic city in the south of Hungary, the temperature is usually higher than in other similar-sized cities in the country. The goal of this project was to reduce the effects of the urban heat island in a very busy street with a lot of cars and shops. The idea was to increase the green area, plant trees, creating a more pleasant space for the pedestrians. The...
In July 2011, in less than two hours, Copenhagen was hit by an extreme 1000-year storm event – or Cloudburst – where 150mm of rain left large areas of the city under up to one meter of water. The 2011 event had been preceded by a 100-year storm in August 2010 and was hit again in 2014. Copenhagen realized that Cloudbursts were not a one-off occurrence; the threat compounds as harbor sea levels are predicted to rise one meter by 2110. In a city where many buildings and services are located below street level and where stormwater and sewage are in a combined pipe system, contaminated...
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
This exemplar aims to identify and communicate areas and management solutions that synergistically support biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, as well as the growing demand to feed an increasing global population, using the ecosystem services concept.
Informing Barking Riverside's green space design by incorporating regional biodiversity.
Strengthening local social capital by gathering and sharing community related data.
Petrópolis is located about 70 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is an important destination in the mountain region known as the Imperial City, named after Emperor Dom Pedro II who used to spend summer in the hills because of the more pleasant climate. It is an important historic site, with many tourist attractions, and is well known as a gourmet and nature-oriented destination because of its surrounding conservation units with impressive and vulnerable landscapes. The city has 82.1 % of its waste water treated, which is higher than the national average of sanitation...
In Manchester, the EnRoute CityLab has been built on the three main ‘policy pillars’ relating to the environment in the city (Our Manchester: A vision for the Future; Manchester’s Great Outdoors: A Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy for Manchester, and the Manchester Climate Change Strategy 2017-2050) and their core ethos of ‘biodiversity innovation and citizen action for nature’.
Manchester’s green infrastructure (GI) has been part of the city’s success for a number of years, but in 2015 the City Council recognised that, as the city continues to grow over the coming decades,...More
The release of an open public space with such dimensions in a densely-built city district offered a unique opportunity to restore the connection among the surrounding areas with a solid green lung. The site was previously a brownfield land that needed remediation. (During the entire remediation operation, approximately 100,000 m³ of land was excavated) However, even the residents of the neighboring areas faced with initial skepticism the usefulness of a park in the specific location.
The idea was to have an economically viable park that would function as social space, a space that...
The city is currently revising its urban Master Plan, which aims to make Bilbao i) an example for other cities around the world; ii) a city in continuous renewal; iii) a sustainable city; and iv) a socially balanced city.
Extreme climate events in the recent – and not-so recent – past have shown that Bilbao is more vulnerable than most other cities. This realisation prompted scientific research into how the city could plan for sustainable development and prepare itself for further climate-change risks.
This resulted in the city authorities drawing up a list of the following...
Converting underused real estate assets into local economic hubs.
The objective of the project is to reduce the areas of impermeable surfacing and develop a connected green network across the campus.
Key aims:
By 2100, under a high greenhouse emissions scenario, the temperature is projected to increase by about 4.5 ºC in comparison to the 1990s. This means that every second summer will be as hot or even hotter than the temperatures reached during the 2003 heat wave which caused severe loss of life across Europe. Extreme precipitation events are likely to increase in frequency and severity. Green roofs were found to offer opportunities to combine energy saving, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity objectives. In densely built-up areas where providing extensive parks and...
To provide 187 new homes for private and affordable housing and refurbish a Grade II* listed Hall, whilst retaining the views of Hanham Hills and achieving the 'Zero' carbon standard.
Assessing the co-beneficiary management of seagrass ecosystems for Blue Carbon around the Balearic Islands. Blue Carbon is the term used to refer to the carbon captured and stored by coastal ecosystems, including mangrove forests, tidal saltmarshes and seagrass meadows.
The city of Genoa experiences acute densification and lack of public green spaces, making urban heat stress a pronounced challenge. Air pollution and biodiversity loss are among the other challenges Genova targeted to address through NBS implementation.
The target area is located in the heart of Budapest. This pioneer project was realized before urban planners would have recognized the importance of urban green spaces. At the same time this project brought measurable market benefits (appreciation of occupied property), also helped to create a neighbourhood community. The project was a succesful tool in mitigating the negative effects of urban heat island, and summer air temperatures significantly decreased.
...
The city’s green and blue areas have a long history, and are even today seen as an important and integrated part of the city of Malmö, as reflected in the recent Master Plan. The ambitions are to create a close, dense, green and mixed functioning city, with densification as a driver, rather than expansion into the outside highly productive farmland. Urban green is a vital component of the future of the city and, in the master plan, is brought forward under such diverse headings as Green City, Green and Blue Environments, Biodiversity, Countryside and Agriculture, Children’s Perspectives,...
Medellín, like many other cities, faces rising temperatures, worsened by the urban heat island effect—concrete and tarmac absorbing the sun’s power, radiating it out as heat and keeping the city warm long after the sun has gone down. It doesn’t have to be that way, as Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín, is showing by embracing nature-based solutions.
With the Green Corridor project, which won the 2019 Ashden Award for Cooling by Nature Award, supported by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program and in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All, Medellín’s city authorities...
The creation of a long-term, sustainable conservation model for white willow (Salicion albae) alluvial forests in Hungary and a more near-natural flow regime of the Danube. A core aim was to eliminate or mitigate the factors that threaten the habitats of community interest.
This case study is one of 17 that are part of the EU Horizon2020 project MERLIN - Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration of freshwater-related ecosystems in a Landscape context: INnovation, upscaling and transformation. Within MERLIN, the project area of the Liberty Island restoration is revisited to learn from...
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
This study assesses the benefits of a multi-purpose nature-based solution for water pollution control in a peri-urban area located in Gorla Maggiore (northern Italy), using an ecosystem service approach and applying an integrated valuation based on MCA for local water management. This solution is compared with the alternative “doing nothing” and with the construction of conventional grey infrastructure. This case study gives an example of integrating different value systems and stakeholders' viewpoints, thus providing hands-on guidance for integrated valuation in ecosystem service...
This study aims to identify and communicate areas and management solutions that synergistically support biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, as well as the growing demand to feed an increasing global population, using the ecosystem services concept.
The Council’s Open Space Strategy of 2011 identified the Drumry and Linnvale area of Clydebank as lacking access to natural or semi-natural green space. 80% of people in the area live within 500 metres of vacant and derelict land, 31% of children are living in poverty and the area has a higher than average percentage of single parent households. This compares with 62% in West Dunbartonshire as a whole and only 20% in Scotland. The Council’s Open Space Strategy of 2011 identified the area as lacking access to green space. This project provides an opportunity to extend open space and...
Employing the Transversal Curatorial Approach to create a future for The Parco Agricolo.
Demonstrating the benefits of incorporating a network of green spaces in the urban planning. This multifunctional "green infrastructure" network supplies ecosystem services and benefits to the city.
Nature Based Solutions management is more than a technical problem: specific design and integrated decision-making frameworks are needed. From a more global point of view, choice of Nature Based Solutions and effectiveness assessment require specific principles mixing pluridisciplinary quantitative and qualitative criteria and indicators. It is important to note that the choice and definition of NBS’ effectiveness indicators highly depend on time, spatial scales and decision-making contexts. La Brague DEMO proposes some pathways to contribute to this objective. It is indeed essential to...
Hamburg was the first major German city to launch a comprehensive Green Roof Strategy. Its goal is to green at least 70 per cent of both new buildings and suitable flat or gently pitched roofs that are being renovated. The Ministry for Environment, Climate, Energy, and Agriculture supports the project with three million euros until the end of 2024.
In 2014 the goal was set to create 100 hectare (ha) green roofs in Hamburg within one decade. Starting from 80 ha we are on track having in 2020 about 168 ha green roofs in Hamburg.* Nevertheless, there are still many roofs in Hamburg...
To reintroduce beavers into the wild and to assess their potential to provide natural flood management, water quality improvements and improved biodiversity.
Genk’s multi-annual strategic plan for 2014-19 is a response to the closure of the Ford car manufacturing company. The main objective of the plan has been to use Genk’s natural and human capital for sustainable value creation. Nature-based solutions are an integral part of the plan, used to create blue-green connections (top-down approach) and promote social inclusion (bottom-up approach).
The overall objectives of the Bari city authorities are to improve urban quality, reduce the urban heat island effect and manage storm water.
Improving green areas and their functions is a crucial part of achieving this goal and is addressed by several plans within Bari’s multi-level planning system. This multi-level planning consists of:
SABICAS (SAfeguard BIodiversity and improve Climate Adaptation in catchment areas under pressure: tools and Solutions) aims to provide tools and knowledge needed to quantify the benefits and co-benefits of nature-based solutions. The goal is to facilitate dialogue and decision making among stakeholders and managers. SABICAS will engage with all key catchment stakeholders through several activities, including workshops and living labs.
Building a sustainable and cohesive community based on environmental principals.
In 20 year’s time, Barking Riverside is an ecologically sustainable neighbourhood that provides a range of tenures from social to owner-occupied housing. Community-managed assets are bound up with informal cultural activities and public spaces, the most prominent of which is the community tended network of unique and ecologically valuable green spaces that include the regenerated riverside.
Green corridors are linear parks that help renature cities by connecting green areas to one another to form urban green infrastructure networks. They are often retrofitted along areas of abandoned traffic infrastructure, e.g. railway lines, or waterways to create interconnecting parks. Green corridors are particularly beneficial for urban biodiversity as well as cooling cities and improving air quality by providing cool air pathways.
The city of Stuttgart took this concept and implemented it on a large, city-wide scale. Located in a valley with low wind speeds, the city is prone to...
Exploring which policy strategies can balance the supply of and demand for mountain ecosystem services in the future? Mountains provide many ecosystem services to both, people living in and outside the mountains. In the Swiss Alps study area, the number of farms abandoned is increasing and traditional farming systems are in decline. Therefore, as in many European mountain regions, the provision of essential services is at risk. At the same time, touristic activities and settlement development enhance local demand for ecosystem services. New and integrated strategies in agricultural,...
This project aims to include :
• transformation of some portions of agricultural land in wooded strips and recovery of some rows, that were not in a good state of preservation;
• creation of a new area for the relocation of the working installations;
• fulfillment of the existing ecological network and hiding/masking of the extractive areas;
• realization of set-aside fauna;
• realization of a cane thicket with the use of lime arising from the washing of extracted gravel and sands;
• realization of areas for activities with canoe
• creation of an...
Restoration of wild pollinators populations (wild bees) by creating shelters, nesting sites and meadows. The overall objective of this project is to protect and provide long term benefits to biodiversity and then to all the network linked in.
The main purpose of the roof is to offer an unique green environment to the residents in the house. In the project every surface, also on the ground below, is maximized with greenery. The greenery offers a range of ecosystem services which also benefits the neighbors and the city.
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
This exemplar aims to: Map and describe existing and potential use and non-use community-held values of the estuary; Elicit community-held preferences and willingness to pay for coastal land use and management on landscape-scale; Test impacts of deliberation on preferences for estuarine land in a workshop setting; Contextualise study findings through institutional analysis; Identify ecosystem values held by land-owners and their attitudes towards coastal realignment; Understand future visions for the estuaries from diverse stakeholders; Test operational potential and impact of valuation...
Founding an association that has the goal to procure suitable land and spaces and to convert them into flower meadows and insect habitats. Focus of this association is the concrete action of procuring the spaces, surveying them with experts, making individual concepts, securing financing for the conversion and making sure it actually happens. The assiciation is taking Naturfelder Issum e.V. as a template.
Schansbroek lies near the source zone of the Stiemerbeek River and near the coal mine of Waterschei. Former mining activities severely affected natural water management contributing to pollution and flooding for local residents. This was partly related to a change in the topography of the area caused by the mining operations. To protect local residences, rainfall and groundwater has had to be pumped into the Stiemerbeek River. The hydrological impact has also caused water shortage for natural wetland areas negatively impacting the biodiversity of these areas.
Riverbank restorations are implemented on a stretch of approximately 800m shoreline of the Danube to increase lateral river-floodplain connectivity and the functioning of the floodplain as an ecosystem. The aim is to reach a good ecological status of the river as well as good navigation status. The case study works with an adaptive management process and adresses multiple pressures (ecological deficits, security of navigation, riverbed deepening, flood protection).
This case study is one of 17 that are part of the EU Horizon2020 project MERLIN - Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration...
Objective was to create an environmental community and movement for an ecological, socially and self-organized city quarter with a lot of green spaces and affordable housing to meet the extremely high demand on living space in the city.
This project is a very good example for a dense green city and a perfect conversion of old military bases. The complete project was from the beginning a participative process to enable the inclusion of the residents...
The project aims to transform an old quarry in a public park. The project foresees the renaturalization of the lakeshore, the realization of a peninsula, the filling of settling tanks created for the extraction activities and the realization weak slope in the nord sector that want connect the lake with the countryside.
Objectives are to create :
• morphological arrangement of the slopes of embankments produced by the extractive area for the future public use
• laying turf
• vegetation reconstruction of marsh and riparian environment
• vegetation...
Incorporating social learning in collaborative decision making processes within which the development of multifunctional, multi-services delivering Green Infrastructure is included in local level planning.
We mapped ecosystem services at different scales in Costa Rica and analyzed the spatial congruence and tradeoffs between biodiversity and several services, by considering the biophysical potential of service provision and socioeconomic demand. We also analyzed tradeoffs over time.
The study also aimed at enhancing the wider understanding of the significance of pollination services to the mountain agricultural economy. Institutional capacities at provincial and national level needed to be strengthened to promote honeybee pollination management.
A BeePathNet projekt keretében a XII. kerületi Önkormányzat által megvalósított Méhbarát Kerület program a biológiai sokféleség fenntartására törekszik.
A beporzó rovarok faj- és egyedszáma csökken, erre a globális kihívásra lokális, városi szinten, egy kerületben is lehet és kell válaszolni.
A Méhbarát Kerület program célja, hogy választ adjon a beporzó rovarokat érintő problémákra azáltal, hogy megfelelő élőhelyeket teremt e hasznos élőlények számára, intézkedéseivel segíti a biológiai sokféleség fenntartását, kampányaival, oktatási programjaival...
The so-colled Border Meuse or "Grensmaas" Project has three main objectives: reduce flood risk, healthier and more diverse nature, and the commercial benefit of both gravel extraction and nature-based economic development.
Implementation of an ecological building (low-energy building) favorable for biodiversity, partial impervious pavement release, green spaces and vegetable gardens creation. This project is also notable for children and educational community consultation in its conception, making them as full stakeholders. The design reinforces the ecological networks at the...
LEAFSKIN® is an ultralight green roof set up over pedestrian streets or squares, in order to create shadow areas in urban spaces.
The tecnhology can also provide interesting implimentation like carring lighting system or advertising on the bottum.
The NBS is composed by three main elements:
The Park 500 Natural Treatment System (NTS) was constructed as a voluntary effort to provide a low-energy, low-maintenance alternative to reducing nitrogen and phosphorus in the process’s wastewater, which is high in nitrate-nitrogen, organic nitrogen and total phosphorus.
The project was initiated to reduce the environmental footprint of the tobacco production facility and help Philip Morris USA meet its environmental sustainability goals. The NTS reduces mass loading to the James River and creates a performance buffer for the existing plant discharge to ensure long-term...
The Serra de Collserola Natural Park aims to regulate urban microclimate, enhance biodiversity and offer opportunities for education, recreation and leisure, sense of place and aesthetic values.
Developing a Twitter dashboard to increase collaboration between stakeholders on green infrastructure.
A Coruña is medium-sized city sited in the Northwest of Spain with more than 244,000 inhabitants who live in barely 37.8 km2. Due to this high population density, A Coruña has a reduced number of green areas (compared to similar European cities), but the existing urban parks are authentic green lungs, which contribute to the improvement of air quality and the fight against climate.
The VEG-GAP Information Platform is a web-based multi-purpose information platform exploiting the final results of the project. The platform uses Atmospheric Modelling Systems outputs. It is a collaborative framework among end-users (which can interact with data analytics), governance (facilitating the knowledge sharing on successful environmental air quality solutions), and citizens (by showing them the effects of the green interventions).
VEG-GAP is a valuable example of transnational collaboration, and of how cities, research centres, businesses and civil society can team up to...
The project will involve the creation of two green-blue infrastructure corridors which will connect to the large Seven Lochs Wetland Park. The green networks will provide communities in the Greater Easterhosue area with a green connection to the larger wetland park but will also provide them with a local greenspace.
Key aims:
In response to the challenges arising from the urban expansion of Medellín and the close association with neighbouring municipalities, the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (AMVA for its Spanish abbreviation) was established in 1980 as a regional public transportation and urban environmental authority. Within this context, the current city government, in co-ordination with other municipalities of the AMVA, focused its development plan (Plan de Desarrollo) priorities on the implementation of actions to improvethe urban environment, including nature-based interventions from the...
Use of vegetation in urban areas in the Mid-Atlantic watersheds of Washington DC, Montgomery County and Baltimore County MD, has reduced flooding and nutrient runoff. The ‘stormwater green infrastructure’ in these municipalities includes green roofs, bioswales, rain gardens and stormwater ponds. By increasing infiltration and groundwater recharge, and/or evaporation, they reduce the volume of run-off that can contribute to floods.
Liverpool, as with many major urban areas in the UK and globally, is facing significant challenges in managing its urban form to pursue economic growth agendas, whilst also providing an attractive city for its residents and visitors. Unfortunately, the social, ecological, and economic dimensions of these political mandates are frequently at odds, creating conflicting visions for how urban areas should be being developed and managed. With further densification of urban form, the re-development or conversion of green space into urban land, and a continuing growth spatially of urban...
The former Deusenberg landfill has been recultivated since 1992 and was opened to the public in 2004. Since then, it has become a popular destination for various leisure activities like walking, jogging, cycling, mountain biking, birdwatching, etc.
Access to the top of the Deusenberg is mainly possible from the northeastern side via several paths and stairs. The other three expositions are “gated” by train tracks (west, north), a fenced maintenance and work facility as well as a fenced lot with a degassing installation for the landfill (south). In the northern area an unofficial...
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
The aim is (i) to provide an assessment of the EcM community and functional group composition of urban trees, and of its environmental drivers, using next generation sequencing techniques; (ii) to relate specific EcM, or functional groups of EcM, to tree health, and tree ecosystem service delivery and resilience, using advanced noninvasive spectral and physiological sensing technology, diameter growth measurements, and urban biophysical modeling; and (iii) to develop and test (in situ & ex situ) a dedicated EcM-inoculum to improve urban tree health, and ecosystem service delivery and...
São Paulo is the capital of the state of São Paulo and the centre of the largest metropolitan area in South America with 21.2 million inhabitants. The city has expanded over the landscape with the eradication of the original ecosystems, burying most of the creeks, with larger rivers straightened and canalised. Nature is restricted to some parks, mainly in the peripheral areas. São Paulo has been called the City of Waters due to the 300 rivers and creeks that were originally in the landscape. Many springs remain active, despite the urbanisation. There is a growing movement...
In response to the social challenges and environmental impacts caused by urban growth, Bogota adopted the incorporation of green and blue infrastructures in several urban planning instruments. The most important action was the implementation of the local concept of Main Ecological Structure (EEP for its Spanish abbreviation) in 2000. The EEP's purpose is the protection and management of ecological networksthat reconcile urban development with the conservation of the structures and functions of ecosystems, as well as their ability to provide ecosystem services.
The Danube-Auen National Park in Vienna aims to multiple ecosystem services combine with trees with regulating services, such as water protection, retention, carbon sequestration, and micro, local, and regional climate regulation.
The National Park fosters an environment providing habitats and biodiversity for animal and plant species to enhance supporting ecosystem functions.
The National Park’s blue and green infrastructure further aims to provide cultural functions by offering open spaces for recreational value, allowing urban dwellers to find aesthetic pleasure, a sense...
Biodiversity conservation and wetland protection programme
To untangle the tracks approaching London Bridge station reducing delays and to achieve net positive biodiversity.
Operatie Steenbreek is a foundation that organizes awareness raising campaigns and offers assistance with regards to greening private gardens. Many gardens and streets in the Netherlands are covered with tiles that cannot absorp the rainwater from heavy rainfall.
The idea behind the initiative is to encourage citizens to remove the tiles and stones from their gardens/backyards and replace it with grass, plants and trees for better drainage and to increase the biodiversity.
Thanks to an app., citizens can be adviced and exchange plants with neighbours. Citizens can...
To create a 3,000 m² food forest – a self-sustaining woodland ecosystem designed for food production –together with the scouts and the members of the St. Urbanus community and the boy and girl scouts from Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG). During several workshops the garden was commonly designed and realized as well as knowledge given to empower people to take care of the garden in the long term. It is intended that people will take over sponsorships for parts of the food forest.
Supporting sustainable land use and water management practices. By identifying the main problems and involving local stakeholders the basis will be laid for the later resolution of the water-management conflicts in the area and the introduction of an ecosystem services perspective.
The main settlement in Ireland is the capital city of Dublin (Figure 1), which has a population of 1.2 million persons, nearly 1 in 4 of Ireland’s population. Dublin is supported regionally by key strategic county towns and an extensive rural hinterland, the population of the Greater Dublin area is approximately 2 million persons.
The Dublin City Region has a wide range of important terrestrial, coastal and marine habitats, extensive green areas and parks (the Phoenix Park in Dublin city is one of the largest walled city parks in Europe at 707ha, the Wicklow Mountains National Park...More
After degradation of the river due to straightening, bank enforcements, navigational use and intensive agricultural land use along its banks, the Zwalm river basin is now to be restored at several sites. The case study aims at restoring the river to a healthy and functioning ecosystem while still allowing navigational use. A focus is on habitat restoration (spawning beds, buffer strips) and passability for fish.
This case study is one of 17 that are part of the EU Horizon2020 project MERLIN - Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration of freshwater-related ecosystems in a Landscape...
Meeting these multifaceted demands on Glasgow’s open spaces is going to be important in ensuring that Glasgow is well-equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st century and to enhance the attractiveness of the city as a place in which to live and invest.
As part of the Connecting Nature project, the City of Glasgow’s ambition was to develop, and begin to deliver, an Open Space Strategy for the city to help address this changing context and the changing demands on open space. The aim was for the Strategy to be used to establish an approach for considering the different ways in...
Leipzig is a growing city with green ambitions. It is one of Germany's greenest cities with an average of 254 m² green space per inhabitant. Leipzig is highly dynamic, so how can the city maintain or even enhance ecosystem services of green and blue infrastructure under the conditions of urban growth, land use pressure and recompaction? To better understand where urban green infrastructure is under pressure, the Leipzig EnRoute city lab mapped the presence of urban green space at high resolution and combined it with detailed population statistics. The mapping exercise provided an...More
Favoring of environmentally sustainable materials and solutions has been the main objective in the construction and services of Village Elves Hideaway. The newest ecological knowledge is integrated with mythology of Lapland in order to produce fascinating stories for guided tours. For this reason the green roof of Wise Elf´s house was built.
The construction was carried out as a part of larger project ‘From forest Baths to Green Roofs’ which aimed at new practices in nature-based services that enhance the wellbeing of travelers.
In the scope of the REGREEN project, the Aarhus Municipality aims to promote urban liveability, by systematically enhancing and restoring ecosystem services and biodiversity as the basis for Nature-based solutions (NBS):
In this regard, Aarhus aims to improve water quality, water flow management and carbon sequestration.
Further objectives include heat mitigation as well as reforestation and renaturing activities of agricultural land to create urban forests, increase biodiversity sites and allow for open...
To regenerate a brown site to develop 150 new homes, an improved park area and a BREEAM outstanding green business park. To deliver high quality jobs, family housing and a better green space.
Developing a planting scheme with the support of the local engaged population. The creation of national institutions and laws that gave the support for the local activism focused on natural areas. In São Paulo, different groups are working to increase the biodiversity and tree cover in the city by planting small forest patches, locally known as pocket forests. These activities are first planned with the local stakeholders, and then the area is prepared for planting, including the eventual removal of pavement, preparation of the soil, among other measures. The act of planting per se is...
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
Campinas metropolitan region represents the second largest GDP (8.92 %) of the São Paulo State, which concentrates the largest population (45.5 million inhabitants, about 21% of the total Brazilian population), and economic activity in the country (32.3 %). Campinas has important industrial, agricultural, and educational areas, and is also a centre of innovation in scientific and technological research. The second cargo airport in Brazil, Viracopos, is located in the city. It is part of the Macrometropolis of the São Paulo State.
The existing...
To deliver an exceptionally sustainable healthcare facility, delivering long term environmental, social and financial benefits for patients, visitors, staff and the local community.
In 2010, WWF-Brazil, Banco do Brasil, the National Water Agency, and Fundação Banco do Brasil joined forces for the Água Brasil Programme. The aim of the project was to increase forest restoration around the watersheds, foster the development and dissemination of sustainable rural production practices and techniques, encourage responsible consumption and solid waste recycling in cities, and enhance the Banco do Brasil’s portfolio of financial products and practices with a socio-environmental focus.
The Programme was present between 2010-2019 in five regions of the country, with...
The aim is (i) to provide an assessment of the EcM community and functional group composition of urban trees, and of its environmental drivers, using next generation sequencing techniques; (ii) to relate specific EcM, or functional groups of EcM, to tree health, and tree ecosystem service delivery and resilience, using advanced noninvasive spectral and physiological sensing technology, diameter growth measurements, and urban biophysical modeling; and (iii) to develop and test (in situ & ex situ) a dedicated EcM-inoculum to improve urban tree health, and ecosystem service delivery and...
Three small-scale NBS projects were awarded innovation vouchers in summer 2019 by the City of Tampere. Two of the vouchers were used to develop garden areas near residential housing. Through this initiative, the city encouraged citizens to take the initiative to plan and implement the NBS that they find useful for their environment.
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
It aims to implement artificial shelters for fauna (nesting box, insect hotels, artificial spawning areas…) and vegetation supports were installed. Wooden terraces were also installed to allow citizens to enjoy and observe biodiversity. This project is both thought for biodiversity and for citizens and finaly allow cohabitation between them.
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
The main objective of our BIOVEINS proposal is to use functional diversity (FD) to highlight the mechanisms underpinning the link between GBI, taxonomic diversity (TD) and ecosystem services (ESs) provisioning, and to provide, together with local stakeholders, the ecological and interdisciplinary knowledge to identify the critical features of GBI, to guide the establishment, management and restoration of GBI, and to mitigate the effects of major urban global challenges, like habitat fragmentation, air pollution, and urban heat island.
This main objective will be accomplished by...
Extensive community engagement sessions were conducted from 2015-2016 by Scottish Canals and Glasgow City Council, including a charrette at Port Dundas which recognised the role green and blue infrastructure could play in regenerating the area. As a result of this, plans to develop the area included extending the path network, re-designing entrances, installing boardwalks, creating picnic areas and building a bridge across the canal to improve access.
The second part of the project is the ‘Smart Canal’ and this forms part of the North Glasgow Integrated Water Management System and...
Glasgow has a Green Space Strategy known as ‘Open Space Strategy’ - https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17192) which aims to achieve the following objectives:
Placemaking
Climate change adaptation
Connectivity (among green spaces as well as to citizens)
Well-being
Biodiversity
At the same time, as a result of climate change (1971-2014) average rainfall in the Glasgow Clyde Valley region has increased by 21%; maximum temperatures increased on average by 1.21°C; the...More
A vertical greening system installed on the facade of an office building built early in the last century and renovated in the 1980’s, owned by INPS (National Institute of Social Insurance) and located in the city center of the Genova neighborhood of Sestri Ponente.
INPS Green Facade is a pilot project coordinated by the University of Genoa (DAD) which aims to quantify the positive effects of the green envelopes in densely built urban environment. Monitoring activities are focused on the evaluation of the environmental benefits, both economic and social, in particular in densely...
Examining management scenarios related to the maintenance of a marina at the Dutch Wadden Sea Island Schiermonnikoog. Identifying how ecosystem services (ES) in a Natura 2000 area would be affected by different ways of depositing the dredging sludge. Gathering stakeholder feedback to advance the ES approach.
The Strategy on adaptation to negative effects of climate change within the territory of Bratislava the Capital of the Slovak Republic (2014) and the forthcoming Action plan for adaptation to climate change in Bratislava 2017-2020 focus on the following goals: assess the vulnerability of the city to most relevant climate change hazards, mainstream adaptation planning into policies, being a climate neutral city, support awareness raising and partnership in climate change adaptation and provide a framework for monitoring and evaluation of the adaptation process.
Climate change...
The White Paper proposes recommendations for action and concrete measures for the next few years through which it will, within its areas of...
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
Høje-Taastrup Municipality is a follower city in the URBiNAT project. The municipality is sharing its urban regeneration experiences with other cities as well as learning best practices that will reinforce the implementation of the ongoing plans. Within URBiNAT Høje-Taastrup wish to explore the likely facilities to be developed and sustained on the ground where a new Community House is to be built, a passage between the Gregersens Quarter and the station and the linkages to a park which will be developed in the coming years during the refurbishments of the area (see photo). The...
Quantifying the links between the ecological status and the provision of ecosystem services for a freshwater lake. Focus is on understanding environmental quality needed to deliver recreation and fishing services provided by the lake, and the value of these two services.
To create a sustainable service station which has minimal impact on its surroundings and is sensitive to surrounding environment of the Cotswolds (AONB).
Padova is a city of around 210,000 in the north-eastern part of Italy. It is the third largest provincial capital of the Veneto region, and the most densely populated (average density 2300 inhabitants/km2). The city is located 20 km west from the Venetian lagoon at the extreme north-eastern border of the Po plain. The morphology of the territory and its key position at the crossroads of the routes that connect Venice to Milan and to Bologna has fostered the development of the city.
Soil sealing is among the main issues in Padova, where 49.3% of the municipal territory is urbanized:...More
Restoring river-floodplains to protect biodiversity: The Danube’s river biodiversity is threatened by changes to hydrology and geomorphology (so-called hydro-morphological alterations), such as disconnection of floodplains. Multiple human activities, including the construction of hydropower plants, expansion of agriculture, and large-scale river regulation measures to increase navigation and flood protection are resulting in an ongoing loss of habitat and biodiversity. Our aim: In this Case Study, we apply the AQUACROSS Assessment Framework to identify how management of...
The objective of the project is to investigate the future possibilities of green area development, by exploring the functionality of green areas on the roofs of apartment buildings and to gain insight into the impacts green roofs may have on housing and the sense of community.
Discovering and sharing information about vacant or underused spaces in Dublin.
Create healthy bee communities and work to preserve the biodiversity. By tracking the beehives and thus gathering information about the bee communities and their behaviour, extreme weather events can be predicted.
Assessing ecosystem service delivery and the options for biodiversity offsetting (compensation measures for biodiversity impacts). Also, the future resilience of offsetting in the context of climate change is being studied.
Challenges
The described situation was an opportunity for the nature based solutions (green wall creation) implementation. Particularly, based on the scientific data available from more than 160 Yerevan kindergartens specific one was identified and selected ensuring the maximum benefits for the kindergarten territory, its sounding and children’s health.
Objective
The testing site - kindergarten was built in former Soviet Union period and did not underwent any reconstruction action. Due to its spatial location the kindergarten is...
The city of Genoa experiences acute densification and lack of public green spaces, making urban heat stress a pronounced challenge. Air pollution and biodiversity loss are among the other challenges Genova targeted to address through NBS implementation.
A Crop Wild Relative (CWR) is a wild species that is closely related to a cultivated crop. It can for example include wild relatives of food crops such as of cereals, vegetables and fruits, or relatives of fodder and forage crops. NordGen has been working with CWRs in two different projects. A possible continuation of the works is currently being investigated. At this project site you can read more about CWRs, why they’re important and how NordGen is addressing the issue.
CWRs are one of the tools that can be used to address future challenges on food security, adaptation to climate...
The objective of the LIFE-EnviFriendly project was to demonstrate low cost, nature based solutions that if used by all farmers within a watershed it will improve the water quality of the waters significantly. The NBS used in this case was a riparian forest restoration coupled with a river bank erosion protection.
All of the challenges identified in the Bristol Development Framework Core Strategy (1) concern areas which would benefit from NBS. Furthermore, the 20:20 plan – Bristol’s Sustainable City Strategy (2) – has identified climate change as one of three key challenges. It acknowledges the potential for green infrastructure, such as trees, green walls and roofs, to minimise and mitigate the urban heat island effect, while Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) are seen as an important part of flood management. Bristol’s Parks and Green Spaces Strategy (3) includes a 20-year investment...
The objective of the catalogue of actions set out in the Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan is to implement a strategy for improving existing green heritage and for preserving and enhancing Barcelona’s biodiversity to provide the inhabitants of Barcelona with many ecosystem services.
Minimising the impacts of dredging and flood bank extension: In 2018/2019, in the Ria de Aveiro two management interventions will have negative unintended impacts on biodiversity: 1) a dredging programme to manage water flow and navigability in Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon, and 2) the extension of a flood bank to stop surface saltwater intruding onto local farmland. The goal of this study is to apply adaptive management and minimise foreseen but unintended management challenges in a Natura 2000 protected area, which crosses fresh and marine waters, in the context of EU...
The Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy will prevent erosion by strengthening slopes and edges with nature-based solutions (NbS). The aim is to improve local environmental conditions and increase water quality and biodiversity in streams and rivers.
In many creeks and streams, both large and small, erosion is a major problem. The problem arises as a result of various types of interventions in nature and is typically solved with stone and concrete - so-called grey solutions. But the grey solutions often have negative consequences on the local environmental conditions, water quality...
Mobilizing the local community and government functionaries for a collaborative Participatory Biodiversity Management plan and the conservation of the natural capital.
The aim of this research was to understand how private sector natural capital investments could be increased and diversified in the Spey catchment. The focus of the study was on businesses that do not primarily manage land, but nevertheless rely on the Spey landscape, e.g. for their supply chain or to attract customers. Specifically, the study tried to answer four questions:
1. How do businesses currently invest in natural capital?
2. What motivates and hinders businesses to invest in natural capital?
3. Is there potential for coordinated business investment in natural...
Installation of sport and exercise devices in the Eastern part of an open public park (Gustav-Heinemann-Park) in Dortmund’s district Huckarde which will be mainly useable for Huckarde citizens and pupils from an adjacent school. Devices will be publicly accessible and shall invite every person who would like to use them. Target groups are teenagers and adults, difficulty levels will range will from easy to sportive.
By installing the devices it is as well intended to increase attractiveness of the park and to create a location to spend more time; currently it is mainly a passing-by-...
Creación de la red de paradas verdes en el Municipio Libertador del Estado Mérida, a fin de desarrollar soluciones integradas para enfrentar los desafíos del cambio climático en la Ciudad.
Reforming organic waste management In Brussels
Testing the feasibility of a green infrastructure, instead of a traditional grey infrastructure, to treat sewage overflows, and investigating the multiple benefits that the green infrastructure provides and its relevance for water management.
After peat extraction in the Komppasuo bog, Finnland, was initiated in 1987, it was stopped in 2021 and restoration projects are aiming at bringing the landscape back to a functioning and sustainable ecosystem. The objective is to establish wetland conservation areas from previously drained peatlands, to set up constructed wetlands for water purification, increasing water quality, increasing the amount of suitable habitats for migratory fish and the endangered freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) as well as increasing the areas suitable for recreation.
This case...
The main objective of our BIOVEINS proposal is to use functional diversity (FD) to highlight the mechanisms underpinning the link between GBI, taxonomic diversity (TD) and ecosystem services (ESs) provisioning, and to provide, together with local stakeholders, the ecological and interdisciplinary knowledge to identify the critical features of GBI, to guide the establishment, management and restoration of GBI, and to mitigate the effects of major urban global challenges, like habitat fragmentation, air pollution, and urban heat island.
This main objective will be accomplished by...
Analysing future land use trajectories and their effects on networks of biodiversity and ecosystem services for the Grenoble urban area. It will offer a better knowledge of mechanisms underpinning ecosystem services as well as analysing trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity, critical ecosystem services and territorial management. Further it will facilitate appropriation of tools and concepts by stakeholders and support the integration of the complexity of ecological functioning into debates on territorial planning and management.
Global urbanization trends have made people move to cities where they tend to have less access to nature. Urban nature is important for human well-being and biodiversity, therefore urban planners are increasingly integrating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects in urban environments.
This research investigated how to support citizen engagement for NbS while evaluating the urban environment, focusing on young people as they are often excluded from decision-making and planning processes.
The research design included a literature review and interviews with city planners, to...
For several reasons, protecting important ecological areas in Lisbon from urbanisation has become difficult. Remnant areas of natural habitat have gained particular importance in consolidating the green corridors network, benefiting from the fact that much of this land is still within the municipality’s property holdings. The “Lisbon Green Plan” published in 1996 set out the approach used in 2008 to implement safeguarding measures to protect the ecological structure under development threat at that point. It triggered an update to the Lisbon Master Plan at a time when climate issues were...
Provision of innovative energy efficient homes within resilient communities.
Our vision for Nottingham is to provide high-quality affordable homes within communities that promote the health, happiness and wellbeing of their occupants and encourage the efficient use of resources as a means of stimulating long term social, physical and economic renewal of urban neighbourhoods in the city.
The Lez river (29 km long) is a small coastal Mediterranean river with a watershed of 746km2. Its spring is the outlet of a large karst aquifer. It then crosses natural and agricultural areas before reaching the plain of Montpellier (with 290 000 inhabitants) and the Mediterranean Sea. The Montpellier plain is characterized by a rapid urbanization with massive land artificialisation and soil-sealing (2920ha decrease of agricultural and natural areas from 1990 to 2012).
The watershed is exposed to a typical Mediterranean weather marked by repeated...
Aquaponics is the combination of raising fish (aquaculture) in tanks together with soilless cultivation of plants (hydroponics) in a symbiotic environment, whereby the fish waste water provides the nutrients needed to feed the plants.
Two aquaponics greenhouses will be built on part of the site of the old coking plant Kokerei Hansa in Dortmund Huckarde as a scientific experiment. Energetic optimization and potential transfer paths of contaminants will be examined.
Karlovo is a small city, rich of surrounding natural forests, but a low level of urban green spaces.
Figure 1 Map of Karlovo (based on Google maps)
The main ecological problems are related to the poor phytosanitary status of urban green spaces, the need for regulation of the local climate and for mitigating flood risk. The city is interested in the services provided by urban green spaces and how they should be maintained so as to...More
Rehabilitation of an existing building by adding, among other rehabilitation measures, a semi-public green space on the roof with a positive influence on the health of users, positive effects on urban climate against the heat island effect and positive effect on water by it storages in the deck space. It also improves the energy efficiency of the building by the insulation provided by the layers of green cover.
Benevides is an industrial city that is part of the Belém metropolitan region (capital of the state of Pará). It is in the Amazon biome, on the equator, with high temperatures and insulation during the whole year. Humidity is high, with rainfall in all seasons.
To treat the Natura cosmetics factory’s industrial and sanitary effluents in a beautiful filtering garden, tackling multiple issues in the same place at the same time.
The filtering gardens are located at the main access point of the production facility and are the focal point of...
Votlendissjóður was established in 2018 with the goal to restore and reclaim wetlands in Iceland through cooperation with landowners, municipalities, the Icelandic state, companies, NGO’s and farmers. The fund provides finances, and in some instances equipment and personnel, to parties interested in restoring wetlands not used for cultivation or forestry. Alternatively, the Votlendissjóður themselves can foster wetlands and carry out restorations through approved methods and professionals. Volunteers monitor the effects of the wetland on birds, plants and other wildlife in the area. ...
The main problem to solve with the implemented NBS measures is to reduce rockfall on the road.
Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS wooden structures designed to prevent the release of rocks and to stop released rocks before they reach too high a velocity have been implemented.
In the framework of "Vision Ljubljana 2025", the city has adopted several sustainability-oriented strategic documents, especially the:
Urban Master Plan (83% of all city development is directed towards renewing existing developed areas and brownfields). This is the most important planning instrument for green spaces in the city.
Environment Protection Programme 2014-20, aiming to protect and enhance the natural environment in the city.
Removing sediment from reservoirs is an important part of the costs of hydro-power generation. Under the “Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services” project (RUPES), an initiative by ICRAF, upstream farmers changed land-use practices for reducing soil erosion and sedimentation load in streams. The sedimentation rate was used as an indicator to measure the effectiveness of the agreed activities. Monitoring sedimentation rate as an indicator for the positive impact of improving land-use practices made the success of the changes in land-use practices transparent and motivated all...
Evaluating how recent and forthcoming EU policy developments affect the levels of ecosystem services (ES) and natural capital (NC) in Europe. Many of Europe's natural habitats and species are in decline. While the EU has a number of policies in place to safeguard habitats and species, losses are ongoing for many habitats, species and associated ecosystem services.
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
The pilot project aims to reduce the impact of climate change on marginalized communities by providing localized, water-sensitive interventions that address issues related to sanitation and water management.
1 Restore a more natural hydrological functioning that reconnects the surrounding hydrosystems (including the lagoons located further inland, the Mediterranean Sea and the Rhône River).
2 Restore the natural ecosystems characteristic of coastal lagoons and sandy coastlines, including dunes, salt steppes and saltmarshes.
3 Maintain or increase the carrying capacity for breeding colonial water birds.
4 Implement adaptive management to sea-level rise, creating accommodation space for water spread.
5...
Design and construction of an eco-district with the ecological networks and biodiversity as starting point. The implementation of this project is based on environmental approach to urban planning. The district is an environmentally-friendly project and favors collective housing to preserve green areas.
This NBS is also combined with other environmental friendly solutions: Bio-sourced materials - Renewable energy system (solar panels, etc.).
To improve an over wide and heavily silted reach of the river Somer running through Midsomer Norton high street, providing a diverse habitat for native fish, particularly wild brown trout, plants and invertebrates.
Designation of public areas: To define stable frameworks within the landscape with public spaces within the urban structure and to distinguish these from non-public or semi-public areas (gardens, grounds, urban blocks, etc.).
Preserving the original level of the terrain
Promoting synergies between enclosed grounds and public space: Opening up banks that are inaccessible or with limited access to pedestrians, cyclists and horseback riders. Freeing Troja of part of the traffic burden.
Connection of the Troja Basin: By public
This study is the first order estimation of urban ecosystem services in France by using i-Tree Eco model.
The aim is to assess ecosystem services provided by trees by characterizing the structure of urban trees in Strasbourg city.
Quantified ecosystem services: Air pollution removal; carbon storage and sequestration
Encouraging collaboration by bringing together diverse perspectives on Dublin and its desired future.
Assessing how current and expected future land use changes affect the synergies or trade-offs between bioenergy provision and other ecosystem services. This will assist Germany in its aim to increase renewable energy provision up to 35% in 2020.
Sharing knowledge and bringing together diverse perspectives on Dublin's future.
The area is poorly connected to green space and in 2013 Glasgow City Council’s open space audit concluded that the site was of poor quality and limited functionality. The towers consist of mainly family flats and over 20% of the population are from an ethnic minority background. The project proposal was developed with community needs considered and 88% of locals indicated they very much wanted to see changes made to the space. There was an obvious need for a functional space which enhanced the quality of life for a community living in one of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in...
The aim of this case study is the creation of ecological flood retention by changing land use, reconnecting floodplains and change of sluice management in summer dikes. Floodplains are reconnected and side channels restored or their creation supported, with longitudinal main channel dams benefitting both shipping and nature.
This case study is one of 17 that are part of the EU Horizon2020 project MERLIN - Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration of freshwater-related ecosystems in a Landscape context: INnovation, upscaling and transformation.
Green engine of development, metropolitan region of knowledge.
The vision was developed by key stakeholders in the process of preparation of the Regional Development Programme for the period 2014 – 2020.The Ljubljana urban region will respect the natural and cultural environment and its carrying capacity and will build its future on knowledge, innovation, creativity and the synergy between all important players and sectors. The region will be a healthy, attractive and safe place for high-quality living. The overhauled transport infrastructure will be in line with...
Installation of sport and exercise devices in the Eastern part of an open public park (Gustav-Heinemann-Park) in Dortmund’s district Huckarde which will be mainly useable for Huckarde citizens and pupils from an adjacent school. Devices will be publicly accessible and shall invite every person who would like to use them. Target groups are teenagers and adults, difficulty levels will range will from easy to sportive.
By installing the devices it is as well intended to increase attractiveness of the park and to create a location to spend more time; currently it is mainly a passing-by...
The building of the Institute of physics of the Humboldt university in Berlin is the result of combining decentralised rainwater management, building greening and elements for cooling and ventilation. All necessary factors, like water and energy consumption,...
To mitigate the development of a 3.2km bypass by building a green land bridge to enable the historic West drive to be reinstated on its original line and provide landscape and habitat connectivity.
Urban redevelopment was an opportunity to adopt solutions and achieve different targets through nature-based solutions. Carta of Milan, the city's strategic environmental plan, recognises ‘green infrastructure’ as the best way to achieve environmental targets, promote social development and improve social welfare. On a wider scale, the Lombardy Region manages the green infrastructure actions for ecological connections and the creation of ecosystems, ensuring continuity between the Alps and the Po Valley (Pianura Padana) and the urban environments within that area...
The objective is to demonstrate how nature conservation can be integrated into practical forest management. Steinkreuz is part of the “European demonstration site network for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management” (https://www.oppla.eu/casestudy/18019).
This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:
Setting-up an agri-business incubator that aids local economy by creating new enterprises, improving competitiveness and responding to local agricultural market.
The aim of this project is to connect two areas separated by a highway by creating a
wildlife passage on an existing bridge in order to reinforce an ecological corridor. This
structure is thought to allow cohabitation between fauna and motorists.
This project is also combined with another environmetal friendly solution:
A climate proof city that is economically strong and attractive.
Through climate change adaptation the city of Rotterdam can improve its social and ecological value.
Berlin has approximately 40 % of green (parks, forests etc.) and blue (rivers, channels, lakes, ponds, etc.) areas within its borders. It aims to create connectivity across the city and a ‘green belt’ as a border boundary for urban growth and a protection against urban sprawl.
Berlin has a specific multi-level administrative structure which determines how different layers of government interact and how competences are distributed. The city of Berlin (Stadt Berlin) fulfils both functions of the municipal and the state level (Land) in the German federal system. It is...
A Coruña is a seaside city located in the Ártabro Gulf, north-west of Spain, with a population of 244,000 inhabitants, stunning landscapes and built on over two thousand years of architectural heritage. A Coruña has a diverse economy, mainly based on the service sector, ranging from tourism to port activities, and together with its metropolitan area it houses the headquarters of several major multi-nationals. It is a densely populated and compact city, with a territory of under 40 km2, and with a scarcity of green areas.
The nature-based solution that the city has been working with...
There were plans for a huge dam for hydro-electric energy production, mainly for export. The study was designed as a standard Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), including environmental costs and distributional impacts. Cost-benefit-analysis was used to assess the value of the project because it is a widely accepted framework and can combine diverse secondary data about the expected consequences. Despite time pressure and relatively poor data availability, conservative estimates about investment costs, likely returns and environmental damage (along with associated loss of natural assets and...
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The present ecosystem services assessment and mapping has been mainly scientifically-driven, with the objective of this study being that of carrying out a first assessment of the capacity and flow of ES in the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean). ES capacity is defined as the potential of ecosystems to provide services appreciated by humans, while ES flow refers to the actual use of the ES and occurs at the location where an ES enters within a utility or production function. Given the insular and urbanised environment, and the dependence on local ecosystems for |
This exemplar examines how changes in the way farmers manage their land in the Mediterranean area lead to changes in sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services. Land management needs to respond to threats such as economic crises, poverty, climate change, changing water availability, increasing dependency on technology, urbanization and pollution. In the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, all of these issues are present. Governments, farmers and land owners are searching for information to make the best decisions possible for the future.
Malaga takes the region's socioeconomic destiny in its own hands.
A robust and sunny coastal economy takes advantages of environmental resources and complements tourism with a range of other opportunities such as community-based businesses.
34 case studies were planned by the H2020 PEGASUS project in different farming and forest systems and along the supply chain in 10 EU countries, to:
