Case studies

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...

The challenge for Poznań is to improve the quality of life in those areas that do not have equitable access to greenspace due to being very urbanised and with higher population densities. By focusing on nature-based solution approaches to deliver this, it is possible to reverse the city’s trend...

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...

Building a sustainable and cohesive community based on environmental principals.

In 20 year’s time, Barking Riverside is an ecologically sustainable neighbourhood that provides a range of tenures from social to owner-occupied housing. Community-managed assets are bound up...

We analyzed relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services. We surveyed vegetation and monitored soil loss in various land uses to assess, model and map tree diversity, soil erosion control, and climate change mitigation.

Innovative multifunctional green urban space on heavily sealed surfaces of an inner city location.

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...

The Forest Landscape Restauration (FLR) measures will be implemented on the selected site in Gledić, due to the high risks of flood and soil erosion, decrease or complete loss of biodiversity, weak forest resilience, and negative effects on the community livelihood, especially for women and...

A Green Infrastructure Plan of Llanquihue, which includes the Baquedano Wetland Park, was developed through the joint working of the Landscape Architecture Master Program Universidad de Chile and the NGO Legado Chile Fundatio. It is a response to several socio-ecological pressures created by...

The Nature-Based Solutions in the Nordic region programme has chosen to finance a pilot project in Sweden to implement and test a floating system for wetlands to remove excess phosphorus from seawater.

Medellín, like many other cities, faces rising temperatures, worsened by the urban heat island effect—concrete and tarmac absorbing the sun’s power, radiating it out as heat and keeping the city warm long after the sun has gone down. It doesn’t have to be that way, as Colombia’s second-largest...

Several training and scoping workshops with stakeholders guided an assessment of the Taï Park’s multiple ecosystem services, and helped align it to the purpose of drumming-up support for conservation. This case illustrates the importance of intensive initial scoping prior to examining ecosystem...

Floodplain reconnection through modification of river bank protection

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...

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....

This Pondscape is in a suburban area of Aarhus, with 18 ponds and about 10,300 inhabitants. The ponds reduce flood risk and enhance biodiversity, supporting amphibians, birds, and aquatic plants. It also offers walking paths and educates people about nature and environmental protection.

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...

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

 The public-private Coastbusters consortium aims to study and translate desired coastal protection functionality into designs that make use of the capability of ecosystem engineering species. In other words, does ecosystem creation and Nature-based Solutions’ technical design provide a more...

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
...

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.

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
...

Naturfelder Dortmund e.V. was founded in order to convert urban spaces into pollinator friendly habitats. The structure of the association allows long-term existence beyond proGIreg. Main goals of the NbS implementations include:

• Activating interested citizens from the Huckarde and
...

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...

The bombcrater pondscape is located very close to the city of Hasselt and has been created unintentionally in 1944 during World War II. It was designated as a nature reserve in 2006 and became a place for the preservation of biodiversity and for people to enjoy nature closeby to the city .

The project aims to protect and restore the biodiversity of the Duwa and Sutebwo forests and to increase household incomes, contributing to poverty reduction in 41 local communities in the district of Tominian.

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...

The aim of the project “Green City of the Future” is to develop integrated solutions to meet the challenges of climate change and subsequent densification in Munich and to test how these can be implemented in urban planning.

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...

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

The 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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

The main objective of the São Paulo Life-Lab is to fast-forward the urban green transition by harnessing the ecosystem services of urban forests, and while doing so, tackling socio-environmental inequalities through NbS co-creation.

The Life-Lab thus aligns with the wider vision of São...

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...

By 2100, under a high greenhouse emissions scenario, the temperature is projected to increase by about 4.5 ºC in comparison to the 1990s. This means that every second summer will be as hot or even hotter than the temperatures reached during the 2003 heat wave which caused severe loss of life...

• 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...

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

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...

• Adaptation to climate change : Resistance to coastal recession through the restoration and sustainable management of dunes
• For biodiversity : Restoring the biodiversity of dune flora and fauna

Three small-scale NbS projects were awarded innovation vouchers in summer 2019 by the City of Tampere. Two of the vouchers were used to develop garden areas near residential housing. Through this initiative, the city encouraged citizens to take the initiative to plan and implement the NbS that...

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
...

• For adapting to climate change : mitigating the effects of climate change, creating microclimates and stabilising forage yields.
• For biodiversity : creating ecological continuity between the various areas of high ecological interest and developing
...

• For adaptation to climate changes : restore the hydraulic functioning of the fens to enhance flood retention and low water support.
• For biodiversity : restore the hydraulic functioning of the fens and conserve biodiversity.

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...

Implementing floodplain farming systems in multiple sites along the Tisza River, thereby making land use more sustainable and in line with nature conservation efforts.

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: ...

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.

The main objective of URBiNAT in the Municipality of Siena is to identify a Healthy Corridor for the Ravacciano neighbourhood, as a way to develop the neighbourhood as well, and to make the green spaces present more viable and accessible. 

The local diagnostic has allowed the...

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...

Controlling and mitigating the heat island effect in Arará slum, northern Rio de Janeiro, based on the development and monitoring of green roofs, using epiphytes or lithophytes. Given the common uses of cement or metal, tiles required the development of specific techniques and materials to allow...

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

Las Vegas Park in the city of Portoviejo, Ecuador can be considered as an example of the Build Back Better* concept on an urban scale. After the 2016 earthquake struck, the city allocated a part of the funds received from the central government for reconstruction and economic revitalisation to...

• 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...

The Urban Resilience project aims to supply flood management, sanitation and water infrastructure, a major resilience and a climate strategy to the most vulnerable households.

This pondscape of newly created ponds is located in a floodplain meadow on Thames Water's Farmoor Reservoir property, on the banks of the River Thames, near Oxford. It was designed by Freshwater Habitats Trust to maximise freshwater biodiversity and has been closely monitored as a partnership...

• 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
...

Viridian were asked to model an entire lowland catchment of approximately 750 km2 for a basket of ecosystem services, so the client could better understand where to focus effort on the ground, assist with planning, inform stakeholder engagement and influence policy formation.

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.

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...

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...

The Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy will prevent erosion by strengthening slopes and edges with nature-based solutions (NbS). The aim is to improve local environmental conditions and increase water quality and biodiversity in streams and rivers.

In many creeks and streams, both large...

Flooding problems  during heavy precipitation in the Trobekken Creek may affect  a development project to establish 220 family housing units.

Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS the Trobekken Creek has been opened and re-meandered.  A buffer zone is established around the re-opened creek...

Improving the wetland and forest coverage and urban greenspace connectivity and therefore securing important biodiversity;

Providing recreation and educational facilities for local residents and visitors; ...

The objective of the project is to reduce the areas of impermeable surfacing and develop a connected green network across the campus. 

Key aims:

• Createa series of destination greenspaces 
• Develop a connected green network across campus
• Develop an integrated
...

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...

Célkitűzés

Bátya vízhiányos területen fekszik, a talajvízszint alakulását a Duna vízállása és a beszivárgás/párolgás határozza meg. A települést hőhullámok, aszályos időszakok, ezenkívül extrém csapadékesemények veszélyeztetik. A cél a fentiekhez való alkalmazkodás a...

The project will involve the creation of two green-blue infrastructure corridors which will connect to the large Seven Lochs Wetland Park. The green networks will provide communities in the Greater Easterhosue area with a green connection to the larger wetland park but will also provide them...

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

• Develop a new online platform or smart phone application to improve the commercialization of the permits and the pickers’
...

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...

We aim to support regional and national decision-making on landscape management and ecosystem services in Peru, through stakeholder involvement and research on tradeoffs between ecosystem services.

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,...

• 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
...

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...

Given competition of land uses in urban areas, the scarcity of the resource soil endangers urban environments. Contamination, poor chemical, physical and biological fertility and high heterogeneity are common traits of urban soils. Previous and ongoing projects have typified soils, fertility and...

For several reasons, protecting important ecological areas in Lisbon from urbanisation has become difficult. Remnant areas of natural habitat have gained particular importance in consolidating the green corridors network, benefiting from the fact that much of this land is still within the...

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

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.

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...

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
...

INNOQUA is a four-year EU-funded Horizon 2020 project. Bringing expertise from multiple disciplines, the 20 project partners are seeking to demonstrate a novel, modular system for wastewater treatment based on the purifying capacity of earthworms, zooplankton and microalgae, operating under real...

The city of Genoa experiences acute densification and lack of public green spaces, making urban heat stress a pronounced challenge. Air pollution and biodiversity loss are among the other challenges Genova targeted to address through NbS implementation.

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

Water scarcity and low availability of water present a real obstacle to implement and maintain nature-based solutions such as urban agriculture and other peri-urban farming practices. The use of reclaimed water (i.e. treated wastewater) is an alternative water resource with many benefits...

In the scope of the REGREEN project, the Aarhus Municipality aims to promote urban liveability, by systematically enhancing and restoring ecosystem services and biodiversity as the basis for Nature-based solutions (NbS):

In this regard, Aarhus aims to improve water quality, water...

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...

Høje-Taastrup Municipality is a follower city in the URBiNAT project. The municipality is  sharing its urban regeneration experiences with other cities as well as learning best practices that will reinforce the implementation of the ongoing plans. Within URBiNAT Høje-Taastrup wish to explore the...

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...

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

• Test reverse auctions as a way to fund and stimulate the generation of much-needed forest ecosystem services (FES) - wildlife population control, habitat restoration in
...

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...

The aim of the project Orti Generali is to regenerate Cascina Piemonte area,  which is mostly reduced to ruins because of occupations and acts of vandalism, creating new community gardens that will pursuit different goals: education, social inclusion, technological innovation, job training. 

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...

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 (...

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...

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...

Sweet City aims to create the conditions required to improve the quality of life of all the inhabitants of the territory, humans and other species alike, e.g. pollinators, by providing better conditions for them to thrive and, as a result, obtaining a more biodiverse, comfortable, clean,...

The Anchor Project of Reunion Island region is the Biological corridor of Mare Longue Nature Reserve of the municipality of Saint-Philippe located in the southern area of the island. The MAES process has been undertaken to map Ecosystem Services, especially cultural benefits and services...

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...

Greening Milan and creating an innovative and sustainable urban environment by implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the city's neighborhoods, buildings and infrastructure, together with the citizens, was the main objective of the CLEVER Cities project in which Milan participated....

To create a community allotment that anyone can visit and is accessible to people with physical and/or mental ill health.

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...

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
...

A fővárosi zöldinfrastruktúra fejlesztését és fenntartását meghatározó Radó Dezső Terv kiemelt prioritása a klímaadaptáció erősítése és a biodiverzitás növelése, mindezt a Fővárosi Önkormányzat a lakossággal szoros partnerségben kívánja elérni. A biológiai sokféleséget, a klímaadaptációt és a...

For almost 30 years, until 2022, the Emscher river, flowing through Germany's larges metropolitan region, the Ruhrgebiet, has been restored from a heavily sewage loaded system to a vital river. As the river is located in a densely populated area, dykes and other flood protection structure are...

Informing Barking Riverside's green space design by incorporating regional biodiversity.

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,...

The aim of NatUR-W is to address urban challenges brought about by energy poverty and climate change, in particular extreme heat events and water scarcity. Through this project, the city of Lorca in Murcia is developing and implementing ‘NatUR-W Plans’ to meet these challenges. The proposed...

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...

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...

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...

Identification of the health of the coral reef of St.Eustatius. The reefs are important drivers for dive tourism, they support local fisheries and they protect against storms.

• 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...

• 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...

This pondscape is a NATURA 2000 area. The landscape consists largely of meadows scattered in a dense network of old hawthorn hedges and some forest patches. It contains multiple small ponds, of which several have been recently created as part of a translocation project of Crested newt. 

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.

A market study of regional tourism demand aimed at providing recommendations to government agencies, including the protected area agency. The main question that guided the study was: What are the attributes that attract tourists to specific locations in the study area?

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...

Landscape transformation, through new plants and signposting, to enhance the area of historical-environmental interest (green area adjacent to the ruins of the Castle of Mirafiori and the altar inside the area of the Bela Rosin Mausoleum).

The Council’s Open Space Strategy of 2011 identified the Drumry and Linnvale area of Clydebank as lacking access to natural or semi-natural green space. 80% of people in the area live within 500 metres of vacant and derelict land, 31% of children are living in poverty and the area has a higher...

Promoting sense of place through the collaborative celebration of local heritage.

The very recent interest in Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) from the Peruvian Ministry of Environment MINAM, provides opportunity to strengthen policies and to create synergies between different initiatives to manage the city's water security and climate change challenges; tackling – at the same...

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...

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
...

In Uruguay, rural artificial ponds (tajamares) are primarily constructed to support cattle production and secondarily for the irrigation of crops or other purposes, mostly since the early 2000s. Studies on their environmental impact are extremely scarce and incipient.

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...

The main purpose of the roof is to offer an unique green environment to the residents in the house. In the project every surface, also on the ground below, is maximized with greenery. The greenery offers a range of ecosystem services which also benefits the neighbors and the city. The main...

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. 

...

Application of the 3rd version of the Standard Protocol for the Classification of Cultural Ecosystem Services through Social Media data to the urban parks of Rome, Italy.  The protocol was applied to compile a dictionary for automatizing the analysis of tweets geocoded within the UGS and, on...

Project introduction:

The Changyuanhe river is in Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, in North and Middle China and become the main axis of the project, both by its cultural and ecological important for the country. In the past, there were large areas of marsh wetlands along the river...

Ecological restoration by immersing diverse artificial reefs to provide shelters and habitats to marine species. The aim of the project is to diversify and regenerate marine natural resources in order to both make local fishing durable and ecological restoration.

• Protect and
...

The objective of the catalogue of actions set out in the Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan is to implement a strategy for improving existing green heritage and for preserving and enhancing Barcelona’s biodiversity to provide the inhabitants of Barcelona with many ecosystem services.

Maintaining a CSA initiative with 80 members with a special discount for low income households and social initiatives.

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...

• For adapting to climate change : creating an urban cool island and improving the management of rainwater on the site.
• For biodiversity : strengthening the urban green network and maintaining ecological continuities.
• For the local
...

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...

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...

Nicosia is the capital city of the Republic of Cyprus. It lies roughly in the centre of the island in the Mesaoria Plain, flanked by the northern range of Kyrenia Mountains with its distinctive ‘Pentadaktylos’ – the five-finger mountain. 

The capital has two distinct faces: the old,...

The objective is to foster butterfly populations and diversity in Turin by creating a network of green areas. Proper management and the presence of suitable plants (food plants and nectar sources for the life cycle) allows butterflies to cross the urban area while involving people with mental or...

The NbS addresses societal and environmental issues that improve living conditions inluding:

• Creating an ecosystem path to redevelop areas that lacked character
• Implementing NbS in an area with risk of „heat island effects“
• Fostering processes of citizen engagement
...

To restore approximately 10,000 acres of bog within the area of concern, which covers approximately 60,000 hectares of land within Scotland's Cairngorms National Park.

Meeting these multifaceted demands on Glasgow’s open spaces is going to be important in ensuring that Glasgow is well-equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st century and to enhance the attractiveness of the city as a place in which to live and invest.

As part of the Connecting...

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...

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 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...

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
...

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.

The Bogotá Life-Lab focuses on the challenges faced by urban-rural transition zones in the Southern and Northern borders of the city, whose settlements and strategic ecosystems have been negatively impacted by urban expansion processes. These territories grapple with an array of challenges...

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...

Creating a liveable and resilient community by bringing together technical expertise.

Promoting the improved management of the "montado" multifunctional ecosystem, reconciling resources use with conservation interests. This will be achieved by bringing the ecosystem services and natural capital concepts into practice.

A vertical greening system installed on the facade of an office building built early in the last century and renovated in the 1980’s, owned by INPS (National Institute of Social Insurance) and located in the city center of the Genova neighborhood of Sestri Ponente.

INPS Green Facade is a...

In the scope of the REGREEN project, the Aarhus Municipality aims to promote urban liveability, by systematically enhancing and restoring ecosystem services and biodiversity as the basis for Nature-based solutions (NbS):

In this regard, Aarhus aims to improve water quality, water...

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

• Explore how managing forests for use as spiritual forests could benefit both the forest and the forest owner.
• Raise awareness of the importance of
...

• 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
...

The city of Genoa experiences acute densification and lack of public green spaces, making urban heat stress a pronounced challenge. Air pollution and biodiversity loss are among the other challenges Genova targeted to address through NbS implementation.

• Uses conversion of building
• Develop new governance model

Objective was to create an environmental community and movement for an ecological, socially and self-organized city quarter with a lot of green spaces and affordable...

To improve the public realm of a neglected and poorly accessible square.

The overall objective is the long-term conservation of Natura 2000 habitats and species of a delta coastal lagoon, by means of an integrated management that exploits, instead to contrast, the dynamism of the lagoon and its constant sedimentary deposit.

The project aims to establish a long-term mangrove payment for ecosystem services scheme to reduce deforestation and degradation, and restore mangroves in the Bay of Assassins in Madagascar.

Célkitűzés

A projekt céljai a következők voltak: a lehető legjobb gyepgazdálkodási módszerek feltárása és tesztelése; a gyepgazdálkodás ökológiai és gazdasági fenntarthatóságának biztosítása; és a gazdálkodási információk hozzáférhetőségének biztosítása a szakemberek számára.

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...

• Protection of forest coverage and urban greenspace, maintaining the status of urban forests and providing better conditions for forest naturalisation;
• Fostering health and wellbeing benefits gained through the use of the recreation facilities;
• Providing educational
...

The main problem to solve with the implemented NbS measures is the runoff of soil and pollutants from the farmland to irrigation canals and from there to the nearby Lake Massaciuccoli on the Tuscan coast.

Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS sedimentation basin  have been implemented to...

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...

A biofilter was implemented in Vuores to treat urban runoff and runoff from a nearby dog park. The biofilter uses sand as filtering media and the vegetation planted on top of the filter includes plants that tolerate changing moisture conditions. The biofilter is equipped with the information...

Célkitűzés

Célunk  az esőkertek létrehozásával a városi villámárvizek problémájának kezelése, amellyel egyben enyhíteni tudjuk az időszakos csapadékhiányból adódó zöldfelület fenntartási nehézségeket. Az egyes mintaterületeken megvalósult fejlesztések az alábbi célokat...

PROAmazonia is an ambitious, five-year collaborative initiative to transform the agriculture and forestry sectors in the Amazon region to more sustainable management and production practices. It is an inclusive, cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder initiative seeking a just transition to...

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...

One of the activities foreseen by the Uforest project is researching innovative Urban Forestry initiatives across Europe. For this reason, the Uforest team has selected and analysed some of the most interesting urban forestry projects in the continent, with the aim to illustrate...

The municipality saw an opportunity in URBiNAT as a preliminary to the Global Project. The two projects indeed share the same general objectives of improving the health and the well-being of the inhabitants. URBiNAT also meets the municipality concerns of the co-creation process: the so-called...

Resilient growth of peripheral settlements.

 SUPPORT FOR CONCENTRATED DECONCENTRATION. Sofia General Master plan with timescale 2030 has as one of its major goals to alleviate the investors’ development pressure to the capital City. It creates spatial preconditions for...

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 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...

In the framework of "Vision Ljubljana 2025", the city has adopted several sustainability-oriented strategic documents, especially the:

Urban Master Plan (83% of all...

Removing sediment from reservoirs is an important part of the costs of hydro-power generation. Under the “Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services” project (RUPES), an initiative by ICRAF, upstream farmers changed land-use practices for reducing soil erosion and sedimentation load in...

This pondscape is located in a farmland near Leicester. All waterbodies in three upper catchments have been monitored since 2010. The results show an underlying  landscape-wide decline in freshwater plant biodiversity of 0.5-1% pa. However doubling the number of clean-water ponds turned the...

The main problem to solve with the implemented NbS measures is the runoff of soil and pollutants from the farmland to irrigation canals and from there to the nearby Lake Massaciuccoli on the Tuscan coast.

Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS buffer strips have been implemented to prevent...

The Finnish River Management Association Virho (Virtavesien hoitohidstys Virho ry), was nominated for the Nordic Council Environment Prize 2022 with the theme of nature-based solutions. The Finnish River Management Association has the goal to revive and secure the living conditions of the entire...

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...

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
...

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...

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

Vigie-Nature École is a biodiversity monitoring program focused on multiple groups of organisms. The primary goals of this data collection is to provide data to researchers in urban ecology and provide education to children in all the subjects related to biodiversity that we can cover. Our last...

The NbS aims to improve environmental, spatial and social issues in the Mirafiori district:

• improving the urban quality and quality of life in otherwise neglected areas,
• stimulating the active participation of citizens in the processes of urban transformation,
...

The urban project of the Sofia Healthy Corridor focuses on building green connections, understandings, co-implementation and use of public spaces. The involvement of citizens in the creation of living public spaces is expected to contribute to overcoming urban fragmentation by removing physical...

The Serra de Collserola Natural Park aims to regulate urban microclimate, enhance biodiversity and offer opportunities for education, recreation and leisure, sense of place and aesthetic values.

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...

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
...

Create healthy bee communities and work to preserve the biodiversity. By tracking the beehives and thus gathering information about the bee communities and their behaviour, extreme weather events can be predicted.

The project proposes an integrated people-centered approach, with a particular focus on women, to address the triple crisis – poverty, climate change, and nature – at the local level. 

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/...

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.

The ReDuna project aims to restore the natural capacity of the Almada sand dune ecosystem to healthily respond to natural drivers, enhancing its resilience to sea level rise and storms, and providing an excellent teaching tool to demonstrate, in a practical way, the benefits of nature-based...

Vestdijk has been transformed from a busy grey street mostly used by cars into an urban boulevard - creating more space for pedestrians and cyclists, targeting urban heat and air quality. The street now features more green areas such as street trees, rain gardens, and green strips with...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

Restoring river-floodplains to protect biodiversity: The Danube’s river biodiversity is threatened by changes to hydrology and geomorphology (so-called hydro-morphological alterations), such as disconnection of floodplains. Multiple human activities, including the construction...

The Kaunertal concept case is an innovative research project with the aim of revegetating barren slopes in high alpine areas, such as those left by road construction or ski slope development, devoted to reducing erosion from these slopes.

Through the H2020 project PHUSICOS the stabilizing...

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...

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...

One of the eight pilot projects that have received funding from Nordic Council of Ministers programme on nature-based solutions is the Danish project “More Nature - Less Waste” lead by Renosyd. They have set out to build 21 fences in Denmark in collaboration with local schools in two...

This case study was delivered as part of INTERLACE: an EU-funded project to strengthen urban ecosystem restoration in the European Union and Latin America.

The INTERLACE project activities in Metropolia Krakowska focused on the 14 smaller...

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...

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...

• Disseminating the social, economic, environmental and ecological benefits of the co-design on urban infrastructures. 
• Enhancing the innovation potential of local small businesses to transfer the science and technology behind the NSB to economic profits and social responsibility for
...

Societal challenges : 
- For adaptation to climate changes : soil erosion mitigation and flood prevention.
- For biodiversity : facilitating the recovery of biodiversity.  

To create a green, quick, frequent and reliable bus service and improve walking and cycling opportunities which will ultimately help to reduce traffic congestion, noise and air pollution.

The aims of the Green Lungs of the City Project are to build a big botanical garden for the city, create a forest-wetlands park and develop an agricultural park for citizens. GLCP uses urban forest and trees, as well as wetlands as Nature-based Solutions to promote the sustainable development of...

The main objective of the project is to increase the biodiversity of a peri-urban area, re-naturalizing it through the creation of an urban edible forest.

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,...

Quantifying the impacts of traditional forest management on biodiversity and ecosystem services values and developing new forest management strategies using the retention capacity of the forest.