Displaying 1 - 495 of 495



Grün in der Stadt (Whitepaper) - Grünbuch Stadtgrün

  • To place green space topic in urban development on political agenda;
  • Improvement of legal integration of urban green infrastructure;
  • Introduction for targeted support measures;
  • To further develop guidelines and tools;
  • To carry out Best-pratice examples;
  • General communication improvement.

The White Paper proposes recommendations for action and concrete measures for the next few years through which it will, within its areas of...



Komppasuo peat extraction area: healing and new usage strategies

Komppasuo peat extraction site (photo: Jani Antila, Tapio Oy)

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...


Ljubljana: NBS for Urban Regeneration and Wellbeing

Ljubljana

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.



Springs Square: nurturing urban waters

Built pond to collect the water from the eight springs of the Água Preta creek — social ecological benefits in the heart of the city

Context

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...



Dublin: Strengthening connectivity among different urban communities & community capital

Ideas for Dublin

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.




Incorporation of ecosystem services in maintenance of the traditional cultural landscape of Donana in South Western Spain

Analysing the effects of the landscape planning scheme in ecosystem service performance, and exploring the ways in which ecosystem services can be explicitly incorporated in the management of the protected areas of Donana and the surrounding landscape.


Urban gardens in Barcelona: multifunctional green to enhance Nature-Based Thinking in cities

Renaturing Barcelona: various green typologies in the centre of the city. Bellow, on the left: Cover of the government measure “The Programme for Enhancing the Urban Green Infrastructure”. Photo captures: Corina Basnou.

The Programme for Enhancing the Urban Green Infrastructure is an ambitious government measure approved in 2017. It establishes the main strategies for enhancing the quality and quantity of green infrastructure in Barcelona till 2030. Barcelona wants to renature the city and create, in this period, 165 ha of new green spaces, which increases the green spaces/inhabitant ratio by 1m2. As Barcelona is a compact city, there are various strategies to improve, transform or create new green spaces. The actions will take place at various urban scales (street, district or city scale) and...


Environmental recovery of a quarry ATEg20 - Pozzuolo Martesana, Truccazzano

Quarry restoration ATEg20

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;
•...


Owls’ community food garden, São Paulo

Owls’ Square slopes covered with lawn in 2011

Context

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.

Objective

  • Convert a lawn (known as green desert) into a high-performance
  • ...



BIOVEINS - Connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Tartu: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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...



Milan - NBS for urban regeneration

milan-boeri-bosco-verticale-img.jpg

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...


Recreio green corridor

Partial view of the awarded project — the green street with restinga landscape design and ecological features to connect people and biodiversity.

Context

Rio de Janeiro is a coastal city that ranges from around 2 m above sea level in the lower areas to forested massifs that divide the city into zones: central, north, south and west. The highest peak is Pedra Branca (White Rock), 1 024 metres high. The city has significant forested areas that cover most of the mountains. The landscape has been highly altered during the urbanisation process, with massive dismount of hills and creation of land over wetlands, mangroves, the Guanabara Bay and along the coast of Copacabana. Most of the 267 rivers and creeks have been canalised or...


Brazil Water Programme

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...



Complex of Three Parks Foreseen as A Site of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 - Łódź, Poland

COMPLEX OF THREE PARKS FORESEEN AS A SITE OF THE INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION 2024, ŁÓDŹ, POLAND

The development of three parks foreseen as a site of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 aims to serve as an urban green space allowing for urban revitalisation, shaping the urban landscape and using the potential of green spaces in cities especially with regards to the provision of cultural ecosystem services, such as aesthetics, entertainment, heritage and interpersonal integration



Measuring and Improving Urban Tree Vitality and ES Provisioning in Leuven through Inoculation with Ectomycorrhizal Fungi (URBANMYCOSERVE)

Urban trees in Leuven

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...


BIOVEINS – Connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Lisbon: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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 Hague: peacefully green

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:

  • Which set of socio-economic indicators can be identified as a reference marker for the impact of ecosystem services city-wide on human health?
  • ...More

Green Roof and Water Management in Philippines Government Office Building

Quezon City, Philippines

Rapid urbanisation in the Philippines has given rise to many challenges as increasing infrastructure developments contribute to reduced open spaces and increased energy consumption.

Both the public and private construction sectors are responding by reshaping the cityscape and designing building structures that are as environmentally responsive as they are beautiful and compact. Now, buildings should not only be sturdy and spacious, they should also be efficient in energy consumption and adaptive to the changing environment.

LafargeHolcim Philippines (LafargeHolcim) has...



Environmental recovery of a quarry ATEg15 Paderno Dugnano

Quarry restoration ATEg15 Paderno Dugnano

The area is characterized by by the presence of two separate lakes connected by a tree-lined pathway. The first lake is used for the fishing while the second one is characterized by a more spontaneous development of wild flora and is the home of different bird species.
It aims to include : 
• morphological arrangement of the slopes of embankments produced by the extractive area for the future public use
• putting containment elements of the soil in particularly steep points;
• realization of green ramparts and rows of trees to masking/hiding noise and dust deriving...


The restoration of the former saltworks in southern France

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...


Stream and Watershed Restoration in Finland

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...


How to tell your city’s story using the Connecting Nature Framework - Sarajevo

The development of a resilient city pleasant for the life of citizens of all ages and the satisfaction of their needs is one of the goals of the City, but also of other institutions. The City of Sarajevo faces challenges in achieving these goals (often insufficient financial resources, shared competencies, political factors, etc.). These challenges faced the Agency, as well, and they were taken into account in defining the exemplar.

The visit of Osmos in November 2018 identified the main challenges and problems in the city, but also identified and interviewed various stakeholders,...


Landscape and Recreation Value Trade

Kuusamo, Finland

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Introduce a payment for ecosystem services (PES) system in which forest owners are compensated for voluntarily enhancing the provision of landscape and recreational values in their forests.
  • The innovative mechanism (IM) consists of a planning process to select valuable forest areas in terms of biodiversity, landscape and carbon stock and a pilot project to collect and distribute funds to implement forest
  • ...


Cultural seascapes: Social-cultural valuation of ecosystem services in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland

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...



Crop Wild Relatives

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...


Enhancement of Cultural Ecosystem Services in the Park Forest Grmoščica - Zagreb, Croatia

ENHANCEMENT OF CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE PARK FOREST GRMOŠČICA - ZAGREB, CROATIA

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.


Peatlands of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Neretva-Trebisnjica and Hutovo Blato

Peatland sites within carstic catchments in Bosnia and Herzigovina are to be restored through channel restoration and rewetting, thereby protecting these hotspots for (endemic) biodiversity. The case study aims at achieving an amicable transition from the current heavy hydropower usage and peatland extraction to more near-natural, healthy ecosystems. 

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


Exercise Park in Huckarde

Exercise Park in Huckarde

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...


ECO-Park development (Balaton lake) of Balatonfűzfő city

Eco-Park of Balatonfűzfő
  • Development of an ecological park at the lake Balaton

The plans of the municipality and the local civic organzation were to develop a pleasant, ecological park filled with different kind of leisure activities from the neglected gulf.

The objective is a comprehensive reconstruction of the area in Balatonfűzfő, from Fövenyfürdő Beach to Tobruki Beach is enabling the semi-natural utilization of the area near the city and near the lake. This project has two phases:

  1. The first phase a semi-natural promenade with special playground was created
  2. ...

The Santiago Green Infrastructure Plan: towards a green infrastructure system

Inequity in distribution and quality of urban green infrastructure in Santiago

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.


Wetland restoration to mitigate diffuse water pollution entering Rostherne Mere, Cheshire, UK

This project aimed to utilise nature-based solutions to restore wetland habitat at Rostherne Mere, delivering water quality improvements via reduced nutrient loads entering the mere, alongside wider environmental benefits through a habitat that can support a range of species and ecosystem services


Linz - NBS as a motor for urban growth

recreation-area-solarcity-foto-stadt-linzjpg.jpg

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...



Meishan Dongpo Urban Wetland Park - Sichuan Province, China

MEISHAN DONGPO URBAN WETLAND PARK - SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA

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.



Park 500 Natural Treatment System

Tobacco farming, Virginia

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...


Club GREY HORSE – Providing multiple ecosystems services by forest renters

Club Grey Horse

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Develop mechanisms for multi-purpose forest management, introducing the concept of ecosystem services (ES) and multi-purpose forest use into the current forest renting system which currently only provides leases for a single ES.
  • Change management priorities from wood harvesting to multi-purpose forest management.
  • Increase the economic efficiency of forest use while maintaining a balance between all ES by introducing a
  • ...

Creating a legal framework for forest management for ecosystem services in Bizkaia county

Forest in Bizkaia county

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Create a new legal framework for forest and forestry that incorporates the concept of ecosystem services (ES) into regional forest legislation, to improve the provision, valuation and monitoring of ES and to provide the resources to pay for ES provision.
  • Focus on two Forest ES: water quality and quantity, and landscape as social and recreational service. Also research to establish correlation between
  • ...

Farfalle in ToUr

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


River Meuse project

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.



Budapest - NBS for climate resilience and pollution control

budapest.jpg

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:

  • The Budapest 2030 Long-Term Urban Development Concept. This strategic document aims to protect and increase green areas, so as to ensure ecological connectivity and develop walking and cycling corridors. It also promotes greater investment in brownfield sites, the prevention of urban sprawl, and 'smart' city development.
  • The Integrated Urban Development Strategy 2020.
  • ...



Saida School - Ecological and Participatory Approach in a School Refurbishment

Eco-School Saida Entrance
  • Develop a school refurbishment in an ecological and participatory approach
  • Contribute to the sustainable development of the well-being of children and educational community

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...



Berlin - A thriving city embraces its green spaces (URBES video)

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.


Multifunctional Land Distribution in Denmark

Holmehave

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...


ReDuna - Restoration of S. João da Caparica Sand Dunes

ReDuna aerial view

One of the consequences of global warming is the sea level rise. In urban settings along coastlines, rising seas threaten not only houses, but also several types of infrastructures such as industries,  roads, power plants, freshwater aquifers, etc. Rising sea-level also pushes destructive storm surges further inland, posing very high risks for coastal populations, as storm surges can push water kilometers inland, causing extreme flooding far from the coast. 

The Portuguese ReDuna project aims to restore the natural capacity of the Almada sand dune-beach ecosystem to healthily...


Water Haigh Woodland Park, Lower River Aire Valley – Leeds, UK

Water Haigh Woodland Park, Lower River Aire Valley – Leeds, UK

The case study site provides connected multi-functional green space that maximises ecosystem services for the sites and the local communities. Objectives include:

  • The provision of regionally important landscape scale natural habitats, encompassing mixed woodlands, hedgerows, grasslands and wetlands, encompassing the reclamation of UF-NBS (Urban Forests as Nature-Based Solutions) of previously mined industrial land.
  • The provision of unlimited public access via footpaths, cycle ways and bridle ways;
  • The health and well-
  • ...

GIZ ValuES - Intact ecosystems are robust water infrastructure, Mongolia

This case illustrates how ecosystem service assessments can help to catalyse changes in conservation and development policy and management practice − but are rarely the sole factor. In the Upper Tuul example, the intention was to “make the case” for a higher policy and budgetary priority to be accorded to the UpperTuul ecosystem.



Antonio Maria Square: restoration of an urban river

Artist view of the future renaturalised river

Context

Recife is known as the Brazilian Venice, because of its location on the estuary of the two large rivers Capibaribe and Beberibe. The city is a famous tourist destination, with beaches, peninsulas, islands and mangrove remnants. It is a contemporary city, with an important historical and cultural centre. There are many problems with the sewage that runs directly into the rivers. Recife has a plan named Rec500  to prepare for  its 500-year anniversary in 2037. The plan incorporates a project for a 15 km-long park system along both sides of the Capibaribe river. The aim is to...


A Strategy for urban biodiversity , Lisbon’s case study

The Municipality of Lisbon covers an area of 8 km2 and has a population of 506,892 residents (and about 300,000 commuters). The metropolitan area is larger and has a total population of 2,821,697 inhabitants (data from 2011).

As strategy for sustainable land use the main policy issue in the Lisbon Municipality is to establish a coherent and interlinked urban green infrastructure (UGI) not only within the municipality but with the UGIs of the surrounding municipalities

The strong urban character of Lisbon a large forest park of Monsanto with 1000 ha and numerous others parks,...More




Elderberry Walk

Elderberry Walk Street Design - Credit to HAB Housing

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.



NAIAD Case Studies: Brague Demonstration site (France)

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...


Integrated valuation of a nature-based solution for water pollution control. Highlighting hidden benefits

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...


SABICAS - Gausa catchment case study

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.


Brussels Region: Redefining local authorities as bridging organisations to bring economy and environment into symbiosis

Brussels

A grounded economy in symbiosis with the environment at different scales that provides for qualitative jobs anf healthy, inclusive and sustainable lifestyles.

The region will harness local economic opportunities and employment while also addressing environmental challenges. The creation of socioeconomic value will be more closely related to the territorial scale and actively include local stakeholders and assets.


Greening the Sorraia valley floodplain

Sorraia floodplain to be restored (photo: Cláudia Brandao)

Implement the best configurations for greening elements (type, location, spatial configuration),  in the Sorraia floodplain valley, that maximize biodiversity (woody structure, ants, birds and chiropterans) and ecosystem services (biological control, nutrient and sediment removal, pollination, habitat for species) without detriment of economic incomes for farmers.  During the planning stage, a model for optimization will be developed, and different scenarios of agriculture development and global changes tested, together with stakeholders and administration.  

This case study is one...


Promenade along river Danube

  • Develop a concept and implement numerous pilot projects on the riverbank

The main purpose of the project is to design a promande among the Danube quays in Budapest, planting plants, building installations, and awareness rising. The goal is the sharing of the sensation of the Danube in the city, recommending the daily utilization of the river side to citizens.

The project is a good example for the implementation of strategic NBSs, with putting great emphasis on the corporate development and implementation, by creating networks. 

The...


Socio-ecological urban river restoration to mitigate flood risk, improve recreational potential and provide suitable habitats for fauna and flora: The Isar in Munich, Germany

Isar river that flows through southern Germany and cross the city of Munich.

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...


Eső- és szürkevíz hasznosítás a Zuglói Hétszínvirág Óvodában

Víztartály az udvaron

Célkitűzés

Projekt név: Városi Vízkör /CityWaterCircles/ - Városi Együttműködési Modellek a vízfelhasználás és -újrahasznosítás hatékonyságának növelésére a körkörös gazdaság elvei alapján

Az éghajlati válság következtében súlyos probléma a csapadékmennyiség egyenetlen eloszlása: aszályok és villámárvizek sújtják a településeket. Cél hatékonyabban, gazdaságosabban használnunk a vízkészleteinket: ezt szolgálja a Zuglóban megvalósuló esővíz- és szürkevíz hasznosítási mintaberuházás.



The Imperial Island Concept

Imperial Island (Císařský ostrov), Prague
  • 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

  • ...

Agro-forestry in the Slovenian Alps

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.

Enhancing Brussels Ecological Network - Belgium

Enhancing Brussels Ecological Network - Belgium

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.



Biodiversity in Urban and Coastal Areas in Iceland

Hjörtur Þorbjörnsson in the field with caraway growing in the foreground

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...


Middlefield Greenspace

The issues identified at the site were lack of connectivity, safety, vandalism, poor signage and quality of the space due to frequent flooding. Aberdeen City Council has worked with the community extensively, which included conducting a ‘Total Place’ audit of the neighbourhood in 2014, consulting with children at after school clubs and with the local community groups. The result was a funding application which represented the needs of the community: improving the functionality and aesthetics of the park and introducing a flood alleviation scheme. 

Key aims:

  • Reduce the
  • ...

Adlershof Berlin - Combination of Decentralised Rainwater Management, Building Greening & Elements for Cooling and Ventilation

Adlershof-Berlin Quarter (1) - https://www.hu-berlin.de/de/pr/medien/multimedia/bilderservice/gebaeude/campus-adlershof/institutsgebaude-physik/view
  • Based on concept of decentralised rainwater management, building greening and elements for cooling and ventilation
  • To draw up recommendations for optimal and economical management of technical and innovative components regarding sustainable water and energy resources

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,...





Malaga - Urban garden in Lagunillas

The Connecting Nature project in Malaga  is part of developing a new perspective for  urban  planning and in the Lagunillas neighborhood. The implementation of this new perspective can cover the three types of interventions:

The renovation of three public squares  in Lagunillas

  • The renovation of public squares.
  • The development of a green corridor between Lagunillas and the mount Gibralfaro
  •  

Finally, the Connecting Nature project in Lagunillas aims for urban revitalization of this dense neighborhood located in the city center.

Our...


ECOPAY Connect – Forest-habitat biodiversity payment scheme

 Oglio Sud Regional Park

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Set up a partnership between the regional park and local poplar plantations to increase the sustainable management of the plantations while increasing funding for restoration of crucial areas within the regional park.
  • Bring together farmers into a certification group, facilitating certification and reducing costs, while benefitting the natural environment of the regional park.
  • The innovative mechanism (IM) consists of a
  • ...


INVENTORY OF NATURE-BASED INNOVATIONS

Inventory of nature-based innovations

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.







H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 4: Management and impact of Invasive Alien Species in Lough Erne in Ireland

Lough Erne (c) Tim O‘Higgins

The AQUACROSSCase Study examines the implications of the regulation on Invasive Alien Species (IAS) (i.e. non-native plants and animals harming the local ecosystem) for practical management in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, in the context of existing environmental commitments under EU legislation.


Kristianstads Vattenrike - Sweden’s oldest UNESCO biosphere reserve

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...


All eyes on the future; Matching regional supply of and demand for mountain ecosystem services in the Swiss Alps

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,...


Understanding the health functions of peri-urban forests in protected areas and Payment for Ecosystem Services

Activities in Nature Park Medvednica

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Develop several scenarios for payments of forest ecosystem services (FES) - health benefits - and empower future management of the park.
  • Raise funds, monitor all sport events, and ensure that these are held sustainably. The innovative mechanism (IM) consists of one-time concession permits implemented in the Medvednica Nature Park.
  • Raise money for new content and infrastructure to support human health and wellbeing via a second IM consisting of
  • ...



Ruzsa: Alkalmazkodás az éghajlatváltozáshoz szürkevíz visszatartással a Homokhátságon

Célkitűzés:

A kevés csapadék és a magas nyári középhőmérséklet miatt Ruzsát gyakran sújtja aszály, melynek gyakorisága és mértéke egyre nő. Tulajdonképpen egy félsivatagos területen fekszik, ahol a talajvízszint folyamatosan süllyed, a belvízelvezető csatornák az év nagy részében szárazak. A cél az éghajlatváltozáshoz való alkalmazkodás “eldobott”/”használt” szürkevíz-visszatartással.


Using semi-natural meadow vegetation for restoration of river revetments: A case study in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River

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...


H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 6 – Understanding eutrophication processes and restoring good water quality in Lake Ringsjön – Rönne å Catchment in Kattegat, Sweden

The Rönne å catchment (c) Romina Martin

Rönne å catchment area is a river watershed located in Southern Sweden and includes lakes (e.g. Ringsjön), rivers (Rönne å) and marine coastal areas (Kattegatt). The AQUACROSS Case Study looks at the process of eutrophication and restoration of good water quality and their implications for the provision of ecosystem services along the Rönne å catchment.






Removing dams in the Deba River, Spain

Dam removal in the Deba River

The hydro-geomorphology of the Deba River basin in the Basque country will be restored, mainly through dam demolition, restoring river morphology, connectivity and faunal permeability. Stakeholder interaction is being promoted, connecting local communities, institutions and governments. A main objective is to promote environmental education and the conceptualisation of nature-based solutions oriented restoration policies.

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...


Watershed-scale impacts of stormwater green infrastructure on hydrology, nutrient fluxes, and combined sewer overflows in the mid-Atlantic region

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.


Traversing waters : Recognizing Wetland Ecosystems Value in the Lower Danube

Persina Nature Park has high conservation value but is also of importance to local economies through its fish resources, climate regulation and biomass production. However, the societal, economic and environmental value of this wetland is not well recognized by local and national stakeholders and decision-makers. This exemplar aims to explore the link between Danube ecosystems and a range of environmental benefits for local and Danube-region communities, given the application of an appropriate set of instruments to safeguard or improve them.


Restoring Danube floodplains in Austria

Danube estuary Tiergartenarm (Austria) (photo viadonau)

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...




H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 7 - Biodiversity management for rivers in the Swiss Plateau

Revitalisation in Chriesbach © Eawag, Peter Penicka

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.


Stiemer Vallei, Genk

Artist impression of the completed Stiemervallei route

The Stiemervallei provides great potential to re-imagine the natural quality of a stream valley in an urban context and to balance the ecological, environmental, social and economic benefits of such an approach. The City of Genk has been working to integrate the hidden, fragmented, and constricted water and greenery and transform it into a tangible and perceptible valley on the scale of the entire city. A blue-green lifeline that enhances the quality of life of Genk and the resilience of the city. The development of this valley adapts the city for climate change by utilising the natural...




Edinburgh - NBS enhancing health, wealth and sustainability

field-meadow-volunteers.png

Key documents for green space and NBS at local level are the Local Development Plan and the Open Space Strategy. The Local Development Plan seeks to protect and enhance the environment and address the challenge of climate change. This will be partly achieved by using new development projects to enhance the green network. The Plan also identifies areas for conservation, and the different functions and benefits of urban green space are considered in terms of their contribution to the environment as well as their social and economic value.

The CEC’s Open Space Strategy seeks to address...


Measuring and Improving Urban Tree Vitality and ES Provisioning through Inoculation with Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Porto (URBANMYCOSERVE)

Urban trees in Porto

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...


London - NBS for a leading sustainable city

queenelizabetholympicparkbiosolarconnop.JPG

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:

  • The Mayor’s London Plan in which two goals relate to urban green space and aim
  • ...

Heritage zone of Xochimilco: Tlahuac and Milpa alta, Mexico City. The importance of Nature-Based Solutions

Chinampa Atliacac harvest agrochemical-free products in Tláhuac. The chinampa is a cultivation method used by native indigenous groups to expand the territory in the lakes and lagoons of the Valley of Mexico, and they use them to grow flowers and vegetables.

Xochimilco is an important tourist attraction for Mexico City and because of thi,s public policies have been focused in conservation, tourism infrastructure and ecotourism. Therefore there is now a priority to address social and environmental challenges including: the dredging and cleaning of the canals, garbage collection and reforestation of channels, exotic species control, improving the hydraulic infrastructure, Axolotl conservation, Chinampas rehabilitation, and productive projects.

Natural systems or nature based solution have been suggested and implemented in order to reduce...




Environmental recovery of a quarry ATEg30 Pero

ATEg30 - quarry restoration

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...


Bari - NBS for greening the urban space

bari-puglia-italy1.jpg

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:

  • the city itself, which is responsible for statutory land-use planning;
  • the metropolitan area of Bari, which has powers only for strategic planning;
  • the Apulia Region, which is responsible for overarching plans in areas
  • ...


Green corridors: Ventilation corridors network, Stuttgart

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...




Air Quality Analysis Thanks to Lichenology (Lichen indicators)

Lichenology, AAIR-Lichens ®

Creation of a air quality map from the taxonomical diversity and the geographical distribution of lichens by using a lichen index. Lichens are sensitive to pollution and therefore can serve as air quality indicators.

This technology is commercialized by the company Aair Lichens. It offer an integrated solution from the actors consultation to the presentation of the study results , the support of stakeholders and the development of a biomonitoring scenario.


Parkforest Ghent – Belgium

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:

  • Safeguarding agriculture in the long term, by setting aside dedicated areas for agriculture for local farmers;
  • Increasing road safety for pedestrians and cyclists (restructuring crossings, developing links for recreational traffic);
  • Providing opportunities for recreation and play;
  • Safeguarding
  • ...

BIOTOPE CITY - the dense city as nature

Biotope City - the dense city as nature

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...



Floodplain restoration in the Lima catchment, Portugal

Invasive species control in the Lima floodplains (photo: Patricia M. Rogríguez-Gonzáles)

After around 21ha of floodplain area were passively and actively restored under the LIFE FLUVIAL project, an enlarging of the intervention area is now being implemented. The floodplain forest restoration intends to develop/demonstrate an ecological restoration approach for fluvial floodplains transferable to lowlands at the biogeographic region (NW of Iberian Peninsula). The case study also aims at taking local stakeholders on board and reconcile the protection of priority habitats with traditional cattle production. The case study will also integrate an educational dimension and aims at...


Reverse auction for biodiversity protection measures

Danish forest

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to: 

  • Inspire changes to existing public grant schemes for biodiversity protection on privately owned land by demonstrating in practice how a competitive bidding process can improve the coordination of nature conservation efforts, cost-effectiveness, and ownership among landowners.
  • Implement a reverse auction where forest owners respond to a fairly open call by offering biodiversity conservation measures that they decide themselves. In the
  • ...

BIOVEINS - connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Almada: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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...


Kvorning re-wetting

Kvorning area in Denmark

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.


BIOVEINS - Connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Paris: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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...




Bilbao - NBS for dealing with extreme temperature and rainfall events

bilbao-basque-country-pocholo-calapre.jpg

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...


Dresden - NBS for sustainable urban transition

drs-elbsilhouette-mai-foto-chmuench.jpg

The landscape plan, which is currently under development following the incorporation into the city of some surrounding areas, is intended to bring about a compact city, accommodating further development within the existing borders, and including a network of functional green spaces. The draft version, which underwent a public and stakeholder consultation process in 2015, provides detailed indications for future development and also seeks changes to existing planning documents (Dresden, 2017a), with a view to protecting and enhancing green networks and so ensure air and water quality,...


Connection of Huckarde Borough with the Renatured Emscher River and Deusenberg Sites

Connection of Huckarde Borough with the Renatured Emscher River and Deusenberg Sites

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...


Hanham Hall

Hanham Hall from above - credit to HTA Designs

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.



Curitiba: Barigui watershed restoration

Multifunctional park along the Barigui river with retention basin that prevents floods in urbanised areas.

Context

Curitiba is the largest city in the southern region. It is an important regional economic and cultural centre. The meaning of Curitiba in the indigenous language of Tupi-Guarani is ‘land of Araucárias’ (the native pine tree), though these are no longer present in the urban landscape.

Curitiba is a point of reference in biodiversity conservation and enhancement. Since 1972 the city has implemented parks to improve the urban environment. In 1992, after the Rio ECO92, the city started mapping the Barigui watershed with aero-photogrammetry. Curitiba hosted the 8th...


Birds and amphibians support on wet meadows

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.


Prague Riverfront Concept

Prague Riverfront Concept

„The river is a citywide public space.“

„Riverfront throughout the city are a coherent space, and their development, even in sub-sections, must always be addressed in a citywide context.“

The river and its banks are an essential city-forming element, and this is how the city should approach them. Until now, Prague lacked a concept for developing the vast potential of the river and its environments. The Prague Riverfront Concept, approved in 2014, rectifies this situation. Many of the most attractive riverside localities have been neglected, poorly managed...



Nottingham: Sustainable housing in times of climate change and resource scarcity

Nottingham

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.


Assessing and mapping ecosystem services in the mosaic landscapes of the Maltese Islands

...

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


Campinas: ecological strategic plans for biodiversity and water protection

Reconecta metropolitan region ecological connectivity plan

Context

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.

Objectives

The existing...


Community-based urban farming and gardening on post-industrial sites

Community-based urban farming and gardening on post-industrial sites
  • Encouraging the participation of people with disabilities in activities and programs of the City Garden for therapeutic gardening and education with a positive effect on motor, sensory and cognitive abilities and encouraging their spiritual and social potential for harmonious life and health. 
  • Raising awareness and inclusion of people with disabilities of all ages in the community through therapeutic gardening and education.

Volvic Water Catchment Protection

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.

Urban hybrid dunes in Barcelona

Constructing and maintaining semi-fixed dunes on heavily used urban beaches to optimize the flows of ecosystem services, through collaboration with administrations and stakeholders. Dunes play a central role in coastal defence and protection against sea level rise linked to climatic change. Stakeholder mapping and social research will be used to learn how to shape social attitudes to make the year-round intensive recreational use of beaches compatible with the protection of the dunes.


Firth of Forth: restoring a stream and its floodplain

Introducing woody debris into the Forth river

This case study aims at a comprehensive restoration of a river and its adajcents land, including developing sustainable businesses, tourism and transport whilst not increasing carbon emissions or negatively impacting on biodiversity of the area.  River connectivity and water quality are to be improved for migratory fish (eel and Atlantic salmon) and to reduce flood risk in downstream urban areas  Additionally, upland raised bog habitats (peatlands) shall be restored.

This case study is one of 17 that are part of the EU Horizon2020 project MERLIN - Mainstreaming Ecological...



Restoring the Zwalm catchment in Belgium

Zwalm river in Belgium (photo: Marie Anne Forio, Ghent University)

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...



Pan European Policy: Conflicts and synergies across Europe

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.


Ecological Continuities Restoration - Ecological Corridor on Existing Bridge

Grand-breuil Bridge, St Etienne Community
  • Ecological corridor

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:

  • Bio-sourced materials





Climate Proof Glasgow: Nature-based solutions as indicators towards a climate-just transition

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



Forests for water in Catalonia

Rialb water reservoir

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Include forests and forestry in a joint strategic planning tool with participatory design of a local forest fund.
  • The innovative mechanism (IM) consists of a payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme focused on forests and water, strengthening governance for joint forest-water planning and on finding new resources to support forest owners to provide water-related services.

Linderud Community Garden

 Linderud Community Garden

Developing the communal area as a social meeting place for the local neighborhood, strengthening the community feeling and building a sense of ownership of the area. By providing growing space to different local entrepreneurs, the garden supports the local green economy and helps building a network of initiatives with different social impact.


NAIAD Case studies: Lez river basin (France)

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...



Small scale peri-urban mosaic in Montemor-o-Novo

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.

Multisectoral and multiscale articulation for urban regeneration in Medellín and its Metropolitan Area

Medellin's accelerated growth has increased occupation of risk areas such as mountain slopes and has deepened problematics such as air pollution.

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...



Skylark: intensive arable farmers moving towards sustainability

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.

Operationalising ecosystem services in the Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina Natural Park, Portugal

Supporting the design of policies and planning instruments to ensure the sustainable management of natural capital stocks and the delivery of critical ecosystem services in the Natural Park. Engaging local stakeholders and decision makers throughout the process to promote awareness raising and social learning.



Green Noise Barrier Sachsenheim, Germany

Noise Barrier Sachsenheim © Ralf Groemminger

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.


Halfway Community Park

Green Infrastructure Strategic Intervention: Halfway Community Park

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...


Canal and North Gateway

Green Infrastructure Strategic Intervention: Canal and North Gateway

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...


BIOVEINS - Connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Poznan: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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...


Assessing urban recreation ecosystem services through the use of geocache visitation and preference data: a case-study from an urbanised island environment

This national case-study assesses the use of Geocaching data to assess recreational ecosystem service delivery in the small island state of Malta. More specifically, the objectives of the study are to assess:

  1. the influence of the ecosystem type, distribution and accessibility on recreational ecosystem services delivery, and
  2. on the actual use (flow) of this ecosystem service measured using both geocache visitation data and questionnaires with geocachers that allow for a better understanding of their motivation determining ecosystem service flow.

BEGIN (Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation)

Together we can build more resilient and liveable cities

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.



Greening Rome for human and ecosystem health

“Roma as seen from Gianicolo Hill” by Mac9 - licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5

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:

  1. Improvement of air quality at the sub-municipality level (II District – II Municipio) according to the local demand for the service and compared to the metropolitan city context. This area is characterized by high air pollutant levels such as particulate matter and tropospheric ozone (Cattani et al., 2017; Manes & Sarigiannis, 2011), which often exceed air quality
  2. ...More


BIOVEINS - connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Antwerp: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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...


Ecosystem Services Community Scotland (ESCom)

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...


VEG-GAP

LIFE VEG-GAP

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...


Urban Natural Park, Based on Natural, Historical and Cultural Heritage Promotion and Eco-Citizenship

Strasbourg municipality
  • Creation of an urban natural park as a metropolitan governance tool
  • Encourage sustainable territorial development based on natural, historical and cultural heritage promotion, and eco-citizenship
  • Deliver sustainable solutions at a large scale to maximize benefits for society and the environment

The action encourages sustainable territorial development based on natural, historical and cultural heritage promotion and eco-citizenship. The governance is based on a charter included in the Local Urbanism Plan...




Vingis and Verkiu parks in Vilnius, Lithuania (URBANGAIA project)

Location of the two UrbanGaia case studies in Vilnius

The aim of the project is to develop realistic indicators to evaluate, manage and develop performant Green and Blue infrastructure (GBIs) in cities and intensively managed landscapes. UrbanGaia explicitly focusses on analysis of ecological and socio-economic features of the many existing GBIs within a place-based and socio-ecological research framework. The project consists of three main approaches which converge in a transdisciplinary analysis of GBI performance: ecological science, political economic analysis and stakeholder co-creation.


The Nabben Multifunctional Wetland in Åland

A newly built multi-functional urban wetland in the Nabben area, Åland, recently won the Nordic Council Environmental Prize 2022 focused on nature-based solutions. The wetland, which was finished in 2019 and lies adjacent to the coast, aims to increase the biodiversity in the area and contribute to the improvement of the water quality of the Baltic Sea by reducing nutrient runoff. Furthermore, it is used as an area for recreation, social cohesion and education for the city residents. 

There are several components to the Nabben wetland ecosystem. The first separates the microplastics...


Nature-based solutions for cities transitioning towards sustainability: A participatory evaluation through a social and environmental lens

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...


Exercise Park in Huckarde

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-...




Green Wedges - Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China

GREEN WEDGES - JIAXING, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA

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.


Urban forests and promotion of native ecosystems in São Paulo, Brazil

Example of a forest restoration planned and conducted by activists and local engaged population in the city of São Paulo (image courtesy by Ricardo Cardim).

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...


Green roof in the Village Elves Hideaway

Green roof in the Village Elves Hideaway

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. 



Urban Farm Supplied School Canteens, Managed by the Municipality of Mouans-Sartoux

Canteens of Mouans-Sartoux supplied by a sustainable urban farm
  • [Organic] food production
  • Supply school canteen with organic food products
  • Local food network
  • Environmental education
  • 2sd rank objectives: Research/experiment, social dynamic

The project has two complementary components:

  1. An urban farm:
    Vegetable production (surface of 4+2 ha) and food process supply for the school canteens of the city (around 1200 meals) => 85% of the fruit and vegetables consumed
  2. A territorial project:
  3. ...

H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 2: Analysis of transboundary water ecosystems, Green and Blue Infrastructures in the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean (IBRM): Andalusia (Spain) – Morocco.

El Estrecho (c) Alejandro Iglesias-Campos

Protecting areas to protect biodiversity: The IBRM is home to several remarkable protected sites, high biodiversity richness and an important cultural heritage. However, pressures from human activities in the area are threatening these distinct values. Our aim is to use diverse data plus stakeholder input to understand the social and ecological system and design a multifunctional network of  areas – that allow conservation, exploitation and restoration - and identify ideal sites for restoring degraded freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems.



Peri-Urban Forest Ostend – Belgium

Peri-Urban Forest Ostend – Belgium

The peri-urban forest Ostend in Belgium aims to provide a publicly accessible space for recreation, offering educational facilities for local residents and tourists.

Through the afforestation of previous agricultural land and being part of a Green Ribbon (Groen Lint) network surrounding the city core, the peri-urban green space further aims to enhance biodiversity and ecological connectivity.

The afforestation in the coastal and harbour city was planned as a buffer zone between industrial sites and residential areas.


Environmental recovery of a quarry ATEg32 - Gaggiano, Trezzano sul Naviglio, Zibido San Giacomo

Quarry restoration ATEg32

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...



URBES Berlin - A thriving city embraces its green spaces

Figure 1: quantitative assessment of ecosystem services demand and supply in 4 European cities (after Baro et al, 2015)

The URBES project focusses on functional diversity, urban ecosystem services and NBS, institutions, economics and resilience science and worked to translate research insights into principles, landscape designs and applications. It explores the drivers behind loss/enhancement of urban ecosystem services delivered by nature based solutions such as urban green space, monetary and non-monetary valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the urban landscape and what are the most effective mechanisms for the governance of non-marketed ecosystem services.

In the Berlin case study,...



Természetes vízmegtartás civil összefogással a Homokhátságon

Célkitűzés:

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.



Mangrove restoration in Costa Rica

A pilot mangrove restoration project in Costa Rica demonstrating how mangrove planting can benefit habitat and species conservation, whilst boosting the local economy. About 40% of Costa Rica’s mangroves were deforested following the collapse of the country’s banana boom in the 1980s. A vigorous fern species has taken over much of the deforested area, preventing the mangroves from re-establishing. A pilot restoration project of 30 ha of mangrove in a protected wetland was implemented, involving clearance of the ubiquitous fern, planting of saplings, and continued fern removal for a few...


Utrecht - NBS for for urban resilience and citizens’ wellbeing

utrecht-smart-sustainable-district.jpg

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...


Lisbon: NBS Enhancing Resilience through Urban Regeneration

Lisbon

To tackle these challenges, the city has taken a series of measures in the context of the Master Development Plan. The plan sets out guidelines and objectives for specific planning and local development. In particular, the municipal ecological structure takes into account ecological principles and the importance of preserving natural, forest, agricultural and cultural heritage. Together with the Biodiversity 2020 Strategy, the...



Upscaling the Tzipori river restorations in Israel

Tzipori river, Israel

After a decade of restoration measures along the Tzipori stream in Israel, this case study will monitor their success and aims at upscaling measures to the watershed scale in order to create a model for management of stream basin rehabilitation.

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.




Monitoring the success of Liberty Island, Hungary

Liberty Island in the Danube River, Hungary

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...


Izta - Popo - Replenishing Groundwater through Reforestation in Mexico

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

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...


Amsterdam - NBS for greening the city and increasing resilience

amsterdam.jpg

The 2010 city-region plan ‘Structural Vision: Amsterdam 2040’, managed by the Department of Physical Planning, set the investment and project ambitions for the period 2010-2040. The strategy seeks to fulfil the vision of a creative and varied city, with an integrated public transport network, high quality urban planning, and investment in recreational green spaces, water and renewable energies. Water-related hazards, such as floods and storm surges, are managed at all levels - city, regional and national. The ‘Agenda Groen 2015-2018’ (Green Agenda 2015-2018) includes specific ‘...



Favela green roof

Green roof at the Arará community in the heart of a highly built-up and paved area

Context

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...




Climate-proof cities: City of Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and with a population of 451209 people as of 1 September 2018 (Tallinn citizens’ census, 2018 -  Tallinn citizens’census, https://www.tallinn.ee/est/Tallinna-elanike-arv). Tallinn is the largest city in Estonia, inhabiting 34.2% of the total population[1]. Tallinn is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea and covers a territory of 159.37 km2

...More


Yanweizhou Wetland Park- A resilient landscape, Jinhua

Jinhua Wetland Park. Credit: Turenscape Architects
  • Preserve the remaining patch of riparian habitat while providing amenities to the residents of the dense urban center.
  • Identify best approach to flood control (prevention with a high, concrete retaining wall or cooperation by allowing the park to flood).
  • Integrate the existing building into the surrounding environment to create a cohesive landscape.
  • Connect the separated city to the natural riparian landscape to strengthen the community and cultural identity of the city

Processed tomato supply chain of Northern Italy

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.

LEAFSKIN® Green Shady Structure

Green roof LEAFSKIN. Source: https://www.singulargreen.com/el-proyecto-urban-greenup-cumple-un-ano/

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. 

Description of the NBS

The NBS is composed by three main elements:

  1. The facilities room. It is an unused newspaper kiosk, where there will be installed the irrigation system machines. An irrigation pipe is coming from this kiosk to the structures and a duct with the excess water returns back
  2. ...

Dublin - NBS for a more sustainable city by 2030

dublin.jpg

In its 2016-2022 Development Plan the city has set out a vision for a ‘Sustainable, Resilient Dublin based on economy, environment and equity’ (1). The Development Plan’s principles for green infrastructure include sustainable buildings which should use ‘sustainable energy technologies and innovative design solutions such as living walls, roofs as well as solar panels’. NBS could help address climate change, environmental infrastructure, green infrastructure, open spaces and recreation, cultural heritage and sustainable communities and neighbourhoods (1). For example, sustainable urban...


Ljubljana Region: Dealing with flood risk and mobility challenges

Ljubljana

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...


Votlendissjóður - The Icelandic Wetland Fund

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. ...


Municipality of Pavlos Melas

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...


Multifunctional Wetlands in Åland

The Nordic Council of Ministers programme, Nature-based Solutions in the Nordic Region, is financing a project in Åland to improve four multifunctional wetlands for better water quality, sustainable food production, climate adaptation and increased biodiversity.
 
For several years, the drinking water from the Åland lakes and streams was assessed as insufficient and water samples showed a declining quality. This led the water supply company Ålands Vatten in 2015 to initiate research and an urgent new management plan to ensure a sustainable water supply. One study showed that...



Rákócziújfalu: Természetközeli belvíz-visszatartás a szárazság mérsékléséért

Rákócziújfalu tó madártávlatból

Célkitűzés

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.


Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services for Urban Plan in Ferrara city

Green Infrastructure in urban area

Identification of the Green Infrastructure at high resolution, i.e. not using land use cover, with GIS and assessment of the Ecosystem Services through the MAES (Mapping Ecosystem Services) methodology in urban area.

The study analysed also human-environment interactions, according to the resident population and with particular attention to the weaker groups, infants (0-5 years) and elderly (> 65 years). Ecosystem Services (ES) were selected in consideration of the population accordingly the CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) classification. Among...



Scotland: Inner Forth Coastal Realignment

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...



Oslo BiodiverCity - Maintaining ecosystem services in a rapidly developing but biodiversity rich city

Oslo has been one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe (Stange et al. 2018). However the area that is available for development is limited by the protected Marka forest surrounding the city to the north and east, and the fjord to the south. The growing population is being accommodated at the rate of around 3000 new buildings every year and the need for 100 000 new buildings is predicted by 2030 (Oslo Municipal Plan 2015-2030). Oslo has the highest species diversity of any municipality in Norway, with a large number of species found in-between buildings in the built zone....More


Let's Crop the Diversity (LCD)

  • Regenerate abandoned, unused and/or under-used spaces in densely urbanized areas
  • Promote innovative agricultural practices
  • Involvement of citizens and marginalized social classes (Social benefits)

“Let’s Crop the Diversity” (LCD) aims to redevelop urban spaces through the coproduction of solutions based on nature (NBS) to promote resilience and environmental quality of the geographical areas of intervention.

The goal of this project is developing an Urban Agricultural System that, thanks to the...


Naturfelder association

Invitation for the first online information meeting for Naturfelder Dortmund e.V.

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.





Mirafiori Sud Living Lab

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.


CONFLUENCE Project: Creating a Periurban Park in Prague

SOUTOK

The objectives are create long term conditions for a metropolitan periurban park Confluence (Soutok in Czech) and introduce tools for coordinated and sustainable development of periurban landscapes.

The main aim is to create harmony in between supported natural processes, economical interests and the visitors activities. Set conditions for formation of landscapes rich on natural biotop diversity, transparent and penetrable suburban areas with alive flowing river, side by side agriculture, integrated flood protection and management, and economic and sport activities....


Paying for watershed services to cities in Peru

Peruvian lanscape

This case study from the SINCERE project had the goal to:

  • Involve multiple stakeholders in decision-making and share intervention costs and benefits in a fair manner.
  • Provide an opportunity to improve relationships between upstream communities and a downstream water company.
  • The innovative mechanism (IM) consists in a payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme which obliges water users in Cusco to pay an extra fee on the water bill to improve hydrological services.

Poznan - NBS for a friendly, mobile city

parkskwarty.jpg

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...


Green Roof of Aimé Césaire School Complex

Aimé Césaire Primary School: A Garden Home (Source: urbannext.net/aime-cesaire-primary-school)

In 2013, an experimental and educational project, conceived as a garden home for a school, was built at the heart of the green district known as ‘Duke’s Meadow’ on the Île de Nantes. The building’s roof was covered by 2,700 square meters of natural dunes.

The objective is to create a green roof, relying heavily on a phytosociological approach to plant colonization and high biodiversity, but also a site that is easy to manage.

The originality of its green roof results from a co-construction between architects and landscape designer. Its qualities are undeniable, and this...


GIZ ValuES - Cost-benefit-analysis of the Bala dam proposal, Bolivia

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...


Piratininga waterfront park

Plan of the parks with wetlands to filter run-off before it reaches the lagoon and location of various uses and equipment.

Context

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...


Community Garden at the Village of Nagykovácsi (near Budapest)

  • To create a community garden with the target of the collective work, education and the production of vegetables as well
  • Educating people to acquire and/or to improve skills in vegetables gardening

This is a new initiative in a wealthy suburban village near Budapest. Despite of that the people live in a small village, their lifestyle is more urban and they have a little connection to each other. Observing the situation, some local people decided to create a community garden where people can work together, and they have the...


L. Braille Public Garden – Bari, Italy

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...


Heritage Colombia (HECO): Resilient landscapes that maximizes contribution to Colombia´s mitigation and adaptation goals

Heritage Colombia (HECO) is a paradigm changing programme, that through a resilient landscapes approach and a long term financial scheme, will strengthen the adaptation and mitigation to climate change of rural Colombia through the, protection and sustainably management of important ecosystems and ecosystem services, reducing deforestation and degradation in the country’s carbon-rich ecosystems. This programme focuses on 9 landscapes and will deliver verifiable climate mitigation and adaptation impacts through

(1) improving land use planning;

(2) reducing vulnerability of...


Supporting sustainable land use and water management practices in the Kiskunsag National Park, Hungary

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.


H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 1: Trade-offs in ecosystem-based fisheries management in the North Sea aimed at achieving Biodiversity Strategy targets

North Sea wind farms (c) RBINS

The AQUACROSSCase Study aims to improve the knowledge base available to stakeholders to enable a more informed decision-making process toward the achievement of the Biodiversity Strategy targets, including the provisioning of ecosystem services. This includes several existing European marine policy frameworks: Habitats and Birds Directives, MSFD, CFP & IMP.


Operatie STEENBREEK

Operation Stone Break (Dutch wordplay) - Source : Operatie SteenBreek Fondation

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...


Bergamot production system in Calabria

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: 

  • examine the issues faced in ensuring effective provision of public goods/ecosystem services from farming & forest activities; and 
  • find solutions to enable the economic social and environmental sustainability of the EU’s farmed & forest areas.

Application of Eco:Actuary in the Thames catchment, UK: A series of tools to operationalise strategic planning and investment for Natural Flood Management. H2020 NAIAD Project.

EcoActuary: an open-access catastrophe model capable of assessing the impact of green infrastructure on local and downstream assets at risk of flood.

Using the widely used Policy Support System tools at www.policysupport.org as a basis, we built an insurance industry-relevant policy support system called Eco:Actuary. The objective of this project is to to co-develop and test the Eco:Actuary with NAIAD project partners & stakeholders in the fluvial non-tidal Thames as a DEMO catchment in the NAIAD project. 

EcoActuary is an open-access catastrophe model capable of assessing the impact of NBS on local and downstream assets at risk of flood.  It simulates a minimum of 1200 spatial...



Managing urban Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure to increase city resilience in Coimbra (UrbanGaia project)

Urban green space in Coimbra

The aim is to develop realistic indicators to evaluate, manage and develop performant GBIs in cities and intensively managed landscapes. UrbanGaia explicitly focusses on analysis of ecological and socio-economic features of the many existing GBIs within a place-based and socio-ecological research framework. The project consists of three main approaches which converge in a transdisciplinary analysis of GBI performance: ecological science, political economic analysis and stakeholder co-creation.



European demonstration site network for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management

Marteloscope sites

The aim is to establish a network of demonstration sites covering a broad range of European forest types in which integrative forest management measures are being practiced. Having such sites will help train and eventually improve decision making capacities related to integrating biodiversity aspects into managed forests.


Socio-cultural valuation of green space in peri-urban Edinburgh

Place-based studies around peri-urban Edinburgh are working with policy makers to better understand society's socio-cultural values of green space. The exemplar aims to: Understand appreciation of ecosystem services in the Pentland Hills; Understand potential to offset urban development in East Lothian; Identify societal ecosystem services benefits in urban and peri-urban contexts; Assess the socio-cultural values of these ecosystem services; Apply, test and further develop ecosystem service valuation methods.


Püspökszilágy: Alkalmazkodás a klímaváltozáshoz lefolyás-lassítással és vízvisszatartáson alapuló árvízi védekezéssel

Célkitűzés:

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.





Restoring a Healthy Vejle Fjord

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

  • ...

Protected Areas and Resilient Landscapes – Project Finance for Permanence in Colombia, Perú and Bhutan.

Medellin, Colombia

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...


Climate change adaption and the river Seest Mølleå

The center of the city Kolding is frequently under threat from flooding due to heavy or prolonged precipitation events. Located at the bottom of a river valley, the municipality has initiated many climate-proofing projects to mitigate flood risks. One such project, initiated by Kolding municipality and the utility company Bluekolding, concerns the river Seest Mølleå. The nature-based climate adaptation project cost a total of 3,5 mio. DKK, and was inaugurated in November 2021 after 5 months of construction. 

When heavy prescriptions occur in the large catchment area outside the city...



Brasília: Serrinha do Paranoá waters project

Community Planting

Context

Brasília is the capital of Brazil and its third largest city in population. The city was built according to a modernist plan by the famous Brazilian urbanist Lucio Costa, eliminating extensive areas of the cerrado biome (Brazilian savannah), which is being devastated by the spread of urbanisation and by agribusiness.

The city was planned with a core, where the buildings host all federal institutions. The city is zoned for specific uses, such as residential, hotels and businesses. Residents need cars to move around. Low-income housing is located in ‘satellite cities...


Land use legacies: Land use and ecosystem service scenarios in the Grenoble Urban Area

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.


Schansbroek, Genk – brownfield regeneration

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.


Ecosystem services futures for Lochaber

Leanachan forest survey

The aim of my research is to provide evidence to forest planners and policy makers on the effects of alternative woodland management and expansion strategies on the delivery of a range of key ecosystem services, using the public forest estate in Lochaber as a case study.

The lifespan of woodlands and length of commercial forest rotations are long enough that trees planted today are growing into an uncertain future. As a result, forest planners and policy makers are having to make management decisions to increase the resilience of forests to climate change. These management decisions...


The cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa: How to preserve BiodiverCities under the pressure of infill development

Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, Helsinki, 2018, by Leena Kopperoinen Helsinki 2018

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area consists of the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen and it is located in the south coast of Finland. The Metropolitan Area covers 772 square kilometres and contains a total population of approximately 1.1 million. With about 19 per cent of the country’s population in just 0.2 per cent of its surface area, the housing density of the area is high by Finnish standards. Despite the intensity of land use, the area also has large recreational areas and green spaces.

Our EnRoute city lab covers the cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. The tiny...More


Urban Regeneration in the District of Ferencvaros (Budapest)

Közösségi Park - Google Maps
  • Complex development of a run-down part of the district (Refurbishment/ urban renewal)

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.

...




Waldgarten St. Urbanus (Forest Garden St. Urbanus)

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. 


GIZ ValuES - Protecting mangroves for local benefits, Philippines

Protecting mangroves for local benefits, Philippines

Despite legal protection, mangroves were being cleared for shrimp farming by non-local investors. In a multi-day workshop, the ideas was to learn from local community stakeholders and participating scientists about the problems surrounding the conversion of mangrove ecosystems to shrimp aquaculture.

The aim was to develop potential solutions to the problems and communicate results to the authorities to take action. The main questions to be answered were: How to compare the value attached to shrimp farming with the value of maintaining mangroves? How can the economic, social and...


H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 8 - Ecosystem-based solutions to solve sectoral conflicts on the path to sustainable development in the Faial-Pico Channel, Azores

The Faial-Pico Channel, source: Hugh McDonald

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.


How a Green Infrastructure Strategy can inform a Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Dublin City Region of Ireland.

‘Sunrise in Bailey lighthouse Dublin’ by Giuseppe Milo is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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




Cloudburst Management Plan, Copenhagan

Copenhagen. Credit Ramboll

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...


Kampinos National Park

Kampinos National Park (c M.Szajowski & A.Andrzejewska)

The wetlands in Kampinos National Park, Poland, are restored in order to slow water runoff and protect Natura2000 habitats as well as species.

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.




Park Spoor Noord, Antwerp

park-spoor-noord4credit-antwerp-municipality.jpg

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...




Berlin - NBS for urban green connectivity and biodiversity

berlin-clichtschwaermermg7900.jpg

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 green wave of reforestation

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan)

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.






Landscape Park Duisburg Nord - Germany

Landscape Park Duisburg Nord - Germany

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,...



BIOVEINS - Connectivity of green and blue infrastructures in Ghent: living veins for a biodiverse and healthy city

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...



Soil quality assessment for spatial planning in urban and peri-urban areas - Provence Coal Field Case Study UQUALISOL-ZU

Methodology for taking soil into account in urban planning documents: implementation in two municipalities of the Provence mining basin

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:

  1. The assessment of a legal concept of soil that would lead to integrate soils in preliminary studies and preserve economic and ecosystemic functions of soils, by choosing the best adapted uses in land use planning;
  2. The production of a scientifically-sound SQI (soil quality index)
  3. ...

Room for the Rhine branches

flooded Rhine branches in the Netherlands

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.