An introduction to urban forest strategic planning

Event posted by Coline Laurent
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 - 9:00 to 10:30 (Europe/Brussels)
Online (Brussels/Europe)

This event is the first of a new webinar series proposed by the EU-funded project CLEARING HOUSE​.

About CLEARING HOUSE

Clearing House addresses a global challenge that unites European and Chinese cities in their quest to develop more resilient cities and liveable societies in order to improve human wellbeing. Its main focus is on tree-based green infrastructure which is the basis for “urban forests as nature-based solutions”. Urban Forests as nature-based solutions (UF-NbS) are a subset of nature-based solutions that build on tree-based urban ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing ecosystem services for human well-being and biodiversity benefits. UF-NbS include peri-urban and urban forests, forested parks, small woods in urban areas, and trees in public and private spaces.

About the webinar series

Based on the thematic guidelines developed by CLEARING HOUSE experts to assist stakeholders across Europe, China, and globally in implementing Urban Forests as Nature-Based Solutions (UFNBS), four webinars are being delivered on November 15, 17, 22 and 24. 

Each webinar will be available in English and Mandarin with live translations. Target audience for the webinars include professionals and practitioners spanning policy, planning, and practice.

Webinar 1 

Planning of urban forests should primarily focus on an ecosystem-based and human well-being approach. In this regard, an urban forest strategic plan for urban forests (whether new or pre-exiting) is a key element for managing trees in urban environments and thereby realizing the potential of trees as a sustainable nature-based solution. What elements should the strategic plan include? What methodology should be followed to develop the strategic plan? Who should participate in its creation?

Keynote speech by Clive Davies, Chairperson at the European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF)

Case studies examples

  • Beijing Plain Area Afforestation Programme (BPAP) (Beijing, China) presented by Jiali Emily Jin, Research Associate at the Research Insititute of Forestry from the Chinese Academy of Forestry. 
  • Gelsenkirchen, Germany – TBC

Moderation by Wendy Y Cheng, Editor-in-Chief at the Urban Forestry & Urban Greening Journal