Case studies

Exploring how ecosystem services can be integrated in a land-use planning process using a real-life planning case. A special focus is on multifunctional green infrastructure and applying new tools to operationalise ecosystem services in the plans in a participatory way.

Enhancing conservation of biodiversity, sustainable management and the utilisation of forest resources by addressing ecosystem services that are central to local livelihoods.

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.

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...

To restore a Victorian cemetery from a state of neglect to provide a community green space, whilst maintaining and celebrating the heritage of the site as well as its conservation and ecological value.

Investigating the feasibility of operationalising a "Payment for Ecosystem Services" (PES) scheme in the sugarcane belt from a political, financial and technical perspective.

Building a vision for Malaga´s Economic Development Model through a strong institutionalised network.

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.

Addressing the steps needed to overhaul the economic development strategy of Málaga.

Collaborating to halt declining biodiversity: Despite designation as a Marine Protected Area, biodiversity in the Faial-Pico Channel is falling. Our aim: to collaborate with local stakeholders and policy-makers and apply the AQUACROSS Assessment Framework to understand social and ecological aspects of the Channel, and identify actions to efficiently and equitably ensure the Channel’s long-run sustainability, balancing the objectives of commercial and recreational fishers, tourism operators, and other local stakeholders.

The objective is to make the Montpellier agricultural systems more resilient to the effects of climate change, such as increasing temperatures or droughts, water and biotic stresses and more extreme events.

Main benefits can be summarized as follow:

INRA (Institut Nantional de la Recherche Agronomique) researchers showed that the production from one hectare of a walnut/wheat mix is the same as for 1.4 hectares with trees and crops separated. This was a 40% increase in productivity, far better than any other innovation introduced by agronomists in the recent past.

...

Mapping green and grey structures of Leipzig to understand in which urban structure types land-use pressures on urban green are higher / lower and analysing how political and governance strategies and instruments support the protection of green infrastructure and its ecosystem services.

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.

This case study is an example where the environment was gradually changed. A river was turned into a chain of lakes, and additional wetlands appeared.  Although the biodiversity is greater than in the first case, the area does not have a protected status, and the greed of real estate investors is a serious threat. Several details follow below.

To build a school that would blend into the surrounding hillside and to ensure that all water would remain on site to prevent flooding of the local drainage system.

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.

Assessing the co-beneficiary management of seagrass ecosystems for Blue Carbon around the Balearic Islands. Blue Carbon is the term used to refer to the carbon captured and stored by coastal ecosystems, including mangrove forests, tidal saltmarshes and seagrass meadows.

Offering collaborative design processes for the design of individual homes.

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
...

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...

Rotterdam aims to be 100 % climate-proof by 2025. This is the goal expressed in the city’s climate change adaptation programme. This means that by 2025 measures will already have been taken to ensure that each specific area is minimally disrupted by climate change both then and throughout the following decades. Furthermore, all urban planning in Rotterdam will take into account long-term foreseeable climate change while allowing for contingencies.

The ‘waterproof city’ is robust and resilient with a mix of paving and vegetation. The focus is on adaptive measures whereby rainwater is...

Assessing how the ecosystem service approach can be used to demonstrate problems in protected areas such as rural abandonment, land-use intensification and social conflicts emerging from strict conservation practices.

One eye on the future, the other on the past.

The commons managed by the Università Agraria will be permanently conserved for future generations because they generate sustainable socio-economic opportunities today.

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...

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
...

• 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,...

Assessing how current and expected future land use changes affect the synergies or trade-offs between bioenergy provision and other ecosystem services. This will assist Germany in its aim to increase renewable energy provision up to 35% in 2020.

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...

Context

Petrópolis is located about 70 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is an important destination in the mountain region known as the Imperial City, named after Emperor Dom Pedro II who used to spend summer in the hills because of the more pleasant climate. It is an important historic site, with many tourist attractions, and is well known as a gourmet and nature-oriented destination because of its surrounding conservation units with impressive and vulnerable landscapes. The city has 82.1 % of its waste water treated, which is higher than the national average of sanitation...

The study also aimed at enhancing the wider understanding of the significance of pollination services to the mountain agricultural economy. Institutional capacities at provincial and national level needed to be strengthened to promote honeybee pollination management.

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...

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.

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  central Uzbek government needed to be convinced that investments in the Amu Darya delta would make social, ecological and economic sense. Ecosystem services of the delta were valued for three situations: the situation before degradation, the present degraded and the potential restored situation.

To regenerate a brownfield site into a vibrant public space and reconnect the city with its waterfront, integrating art and ecology.

The aim is to develop a realistic framework of indicators to evaluate, manage and develop performant Urban Green-Blue Infrastructure (U-GBI) in cities and intensively managed landscapes. UrbanGaia explicitly focusses on analysis of ecological and socio-economic features of the many existing GBIs. The evaluation of one the green axis of the ecological network in Ghent will serve as a case study for the framework of indicators. Furthermore, policy, governance and management practices of U-GBI are analyzed to identify innovative approaches to GBI implementation and usage.

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...

To improve and validate a portable, modular, enery-free, decentralized water treatment system,  the PM-NBSTM, to remediate source water to high quality for resuse, filling a major gap in small agglomerations and remote areas where good quality waters are needed and no other solution is feasible

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...

Context

Rio de Janeiro is a coastal city that ranges from 2 m above sea level to forested massifs that divide the city into zones: central, north, south and west. The highest peak is Pedra Branca (White Rock), at 1 024 m high. The city has significant forested areas that cover most of the massifs. The population living in slums in 2010 was 19 % of the inhabitants  (last census). The informal occupation of steep slopes and flood-prone areas occur mainly because of the lack of social housing planning, and the laws that protect vulnerable areas where formal occupation cannot occur....

• Construction of an eco-district with ecological networks and biodiversity as starting point

Design and construction of an eco-district with the ecological networks and biodiversity as starting point. The implementation of this project is based on environmental approach to urban planning. The district is an environmentally-friendly project and favors collective housing to preserve green areas.

This NBS is also combined with other environmental friendly solutions: Bio-sourced materials - Renewable energy system (solar panels, etc.).

This exemplar examines how changes in the way farmers manage their land in the Mediterranean area lead to changes in sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services. Land management needs to respond to threats such as economic crises, poverty, climate change, changing water availability, increasing dependency on technology, urbanization and pollution. In the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, all of these issues are present. Governments, farmers and land owners are searching for information to make the best decisions possible for the future.

Involving managers and residents in designing an integrated land management plan for biodiversity and tourism. Biodiversity and visiting people.

Context

The climate in São Paulo has changed from light rain and cool year-round, to mostly dry and hot. The city is vulnerable to urban heat-island effect and recurrent severe floods with the strong storms caused by land-cover change. The waters are contaminated by sewage discharge and diffuse pollution caused by storm-water run-off.

Objectives

• Recover ecological functions.
• Introduce native biodiversity.
• Manage storm water to avoid floods.
• Provide urban public spaces.

Quantifying the links between the ecological status and the provision of ecosystem services for a freshwater lake. Focus is on understanding environmental quality needed to deliver recreation and fishing services provided by the lake, and the value of these two services.

Seawalls are usually seen only as flood alleviation structures rather than as having other possible functions to benefit the wide environment. Where new walls are being installed there is opportunity to include more sympathetic “nature friendly” textured finishes to improve or maintain biodiversity. Where seawalls are already installed, retrofit enhancement measures provide significant opportunities. Small alterations were made to the mortar pointing between decorative stone cladding of a section of vertical concrete wall during construction of the Shaldon and Ringmore Tidal Defence Scheme...

The GREEN DEAL Groene Daken (Green Deal Green Roofs) is a cross-sectoral initiative whose ulimate objective is to upscale the implementation of green roofs, whilst at the same time remove barriers that inhibit their implementation . This initiave aims to develop new revenue models and apply them around roof greening. Through the GREEN DEAL initiative, citizens or companies that want to invest in green roofs, receive information about the opportunities invest in a green roof and lead their project when it starts.

Phase 2 has started since 2016. The focus of the initiative is ...

The city of Lorient has developped an urban and local forestry partnership to supply
the city in firewood chips and building timber. This project is based on local economy
and on collaboration with local foresters to provide a sustainable management of this
resource.

• Local production of wood to supply (energy and building timber) the city of Lorient
• Reduce the environmental impacts of importation
• Foster the local economy
• Enhance the city by using abandonned sites for logging

The area surrounding the confluence of the north and south branches of Thornton Creek (Seattle) experiences storm water-related flooding more often than other areas. A cost-benefit analysis, which incorporated ecosystem services values, aimed at identifying the best cost-benefit ratio among three possible options. The assessment results were intended to inform the decision of the choice of a project option.

The objective of the LIFE-EnviFriendly project was to demonstrate low cost, nature based solutions that if used by all farmers within a watershed it will improve the water quality of the waters significantly.  The NBS used in this case was a riparian forest restoration coupled with a river bank erosion protection.

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...

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.

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...

• 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...

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.

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.

Exploring the vision for a former sulphur mine in the context of common land ownership and management in Manziana Region.

Context

Benevides is an industrial city that is part of the Belém metropolitan region (capital of the state of Pará). It is in the Amazon biome, on the equator, with high temperatures and insulation during the whole year. Humidity is high, with rainfall in all seasons.

Objectives

To treat the Natura cosmetics factory’s industrial and sanitary effluents in a beautiful filtering garden, tackling multiple issues in the same place at the same  time.

The filtering gardens are located at the main access point of the production facility and are the focal point of...

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.

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...

To reintroduce beavers into the wild and to assess their potential to provide natural flood management, water quality improvements and improved biodiversity.

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...

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.

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...

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 public perception of ecosystems (e.g. forests, including possibly protecting ones) is strongly worsened following floods with massive wood jams. This case study aims at performing a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a Mediterranean catchment to assess NBS benefits, dis-benefits and co-benefits and ways to optimize them.

Develop and test usable methods for valuation selected ecosystem services at the local and regional level, and promote their incorporation into the spatial planning process and in the broader decision making process in Slovakia.

Setting-up an agri-business incubator that aids local economy by creating new enterprises, improving competitiveness and responding to local agricultural market.

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.

The Strategy on adaptation to negative effects of climate change within the territory of Bratislava the Capital of the Slovak Republic (2014) and the forthcoming Action plan for adaptation to climate change in Bratislava 2017-2020 focus on the following goals: assess the vulnerability of the city to most relevant climate change hazards, mainstream adaptation planning into policies, being a climate neutral city, support awareness raising and partnership in climate change adaptation and provide a framework for monitoring and evaluation of the adaptation process.

Climate change...

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...

Reforming organic waste management In Brussels

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...

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.

Enhancing the effectiveness of the integrated and adaptive management planning and its implementation in the area. This will be done by mainstreaming the improved understanding, using operational tools regarding the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services.

Enabling more rational farm management and planning space for green corridors in the agricultural land, together with all relevant stakeholders at landscape level. The context of this case study is explained by a short YouTube clip: http://youtu.be/sD0gVUmmwnE

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 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...

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...

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...

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,...

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.

A climate proof city that is economically strong and attractive.

Through climate change adaptation the city of Rotterdam can improve its social and ecological value.

Szeged’s urban development concept and integrated urban development strategy aim to improve the quality of green areas and to restore natural habitats and ecological corridors for social and recreational purposes and to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Due to the required structure for integrated urban development strategies and related financing mechanisms, there are separate objectives and plans for most urban districts (Liget, Mórapark, Makkosháza, Odessza, Roosevelt square, Tápé, Tarján, Stefánia, Vértó). They are called action areas and are developed in relation to the general...

The project aims 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)
...

• 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
...

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.

Promoting community energy schemes and user participation in a new community.

• Implementation of vegetated rafts as habitats for local species on a city center river
• Using Bio-sourced materials

It aims to implement artificial shelters for fauna (nesting box, insect hotels, artificial spawning areas…) and vegetation supports were installed. Wooden terraces were also installed to allow citizens to enjoy and observe biodiversity. This project is both thought for biodiversity and for citizens and finaly allow cohabitation between them.

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.

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
...

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...

Discovering and sharing information about vacant or underused spaces in Dublin.

Designing conservation strategies and adaptive management for the French Alps region. In particular, management options are targeted to support stakeholders and policymakers in making choices.

The land was in a vacant and derelict state and safety concerns were raised due to vandalisation, fly tipping, vehicle abandonment and fires. The conversion of the site into a new urban park presented an opportunity to address the anti-social behaviour and make the site a desirable area for positive activities and community development. South Lanarkshire Council provided the match funding for the project and applied for funding from the Green Infrastructure Strategic Intervention (GISI), which was granted in 2017. A ‘friends of’...

Minimising the impacts of dredging and flood bank extension: In 2018/2019, in the Ria de Aveiro two management interventions will have negative unintended impacts on biodiversity: 1) a dredging programme to manage water flow and navigability in Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon, and 2) the extension of a flood bank to stop surface saltwater intruding onto local farmland. The goal of this study is to apply adaptive management and minimise foreseen but unintended management challenges in a Natura 2000 protected area, which crosses fresh and marine waters, in the context of EU...

Sharing knowledge and bringing together diverse perspectives on Dublin's future.

• 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...

• Create pollinators shelters

Restoration of wild pollinators populations (wild bees) by creating shelters, nesting sites and meadows. The overall objective of this project is to protect and provide long term benefits to biodiversity and then to all the network linked in.

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...

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.

Foster sustainable urban planning and management through the integration of ecosystem services in existing decision-support tools, focussing on both the provision and the demand of the ecosystem services.

This study aims to identify and communicate areas and management solutions that synergistically support biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, as well as the growing demand to feed an increasing global population, using the ecosystem services concept.

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.

• Mitigate heat-island effect thanks to the use of NBS
• Priorities pedestrian approach along the very busy street of Kölcsey and at the Reök Palace Square

Szeged is a mid-size historic city in the south of Hungary, the temperature is usually higher than in other similar-sized cities in the country. The goal of this project was to reduce the effects of the urban heat island in a very busy street with a lot of cars and shops. The idea was to increase the green area, plant trees, creating a more pleasant space for the pedestrians. The...

• Rainwater management of a 172ha area in response to a waterproofing construction

This NBS is a construction ex nihilo of a landscaped park as alternative stormwater
management solution to a traditionnal civil engineering management (tubes). It takes
place in a 172ha area in the city of Bézannes (Reims Métropole). This project has been
implemented in response to the waterproofing of this area (strong urbanisation level).

The project is caracterized by an artificial river leading to a permanent lagoon and a
reed bed. Then a...

The objective of the project is to investigate the future possibilities of green area development, by exploring the functionality of green areas on the roofs of apartment buildings and to gain insight into the impacts green roofs may have on housing and the sense of community.

To convert an energy intensive system of heating, cooling and ventilation, which was poorly maintained and controlled into a modern, green, sustainable development while adhering to stringent rail standards.

The Project “Demonstrating and promoting natural values, to support the decision-making process in Romania” (N4D) was developed based on folowing activities: A1. institutional infrastructure development; A2. Development of the ecosystem mapping and assessment framework in Romania; A3. Data analysis and management under the MAES process;  A4. Biophysical mapping and assessment of ecosystems and of their services;  A5. Project promotion; A6. Knowledge exchange with the neighbouring countries and with Norway, as the country providing the Project financing.

A network of attractive open spaces as a counterpoint to the region's grey infrastructure.

The vision is to create a network of attractive, accessible, welcoming and diverse open spaces that functions as a counterpoint to the region’s grey infrastructure.

Activating community based projects in a deprived neighbourhood, Mountjoy Square.

To create a sustainable service station which has minimal impact on its surroundings and is sensitive to surrounding environment of the Cotswolds (AONB).

Informing policy makers at national and EU level about the short and long term consequences of forest bioenergy production and its trade-offs for other ecosystem services.

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...

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...

The objective is to demonstrate how nature conservation can be integrated into practical forest management. Steinkreuz is part of the “European demonstration site network for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management” (https://www.oppla.eu/casestudy/18019). 

This study is the first order estimation of urban ecosystem services in France by using i-Tree Eco model. 

The aim is to assess ecosystem services provided by trees by characterizing the structure of urban trees in Strasbourg city.

Quantified ecosystem services: Air pollution removal; carbon storage and sequestration

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...

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...

To reduce the flood risk, calm traffic and increase community involvement and awareness of sustainable urban drainage systems. To improve water quality in the River Trym.

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...

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.

Assessing ecosystem service delivery and the options for biodiversity offsetting (compensation measures for biodiversity impacts). Also, the future resilience of offsetting in the context of climate change is being studied.

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...

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.

To create a new wetland reserve on a brown field site and agricultural land to mitigate the loss of mudflats in Cardiff Bay and the two designated species that were displaced when the Taff/Ely SSSI was destroyed.

Demonstrating the benefits of incorporating a network of green spaces in the urban planning. This multifunctional "green infrastructure" network supplies ecosystem services and benefits to the city.

Identifying the ecosystem services and their connections to biological diversity and forest ecosystem functioning, to support local communities and their traditional activities.

Encouraging collaboration by bringing together diverse perspectives on Dublin and its desired future.

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.

• Reduce the local heat island effect
• Provide pupils with a healthy and stimulating learning environment
• Educate residents to risk culture on climate change
• Make refuges of freshness available to the most vulnerable populations
• Create numerous meeting spaces to spur conviviality and solidarity

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,...