Sequester and store carbon

IKEA opened its doors in Budapest in 1990. This was the very first store in Hungary. Twelve years later, the store announced that it would install a green roof. The main purpose of the green roof was to compensate the locals for the loss of green space. The green roof was intended to create a biologically active surface that fits in aesthetically into the suburban landscape and provide a home for animals such as pollinators. The green roof, built in 2002, was covered with a Sedum carpet. In 2014, when the original Sedum vegetation died out, the green roof was completely removed. Then, during the autumn 2014 planting, four types of Sedum shoots were seeded. This was followed in the spring of 2015 by the seeding of herbaceous dicots seed mixes, which contained seeds of roughly 50 plant species. The vegetation is regularly monitored by ecologists: in 2021, more than 160 different taxa were recorded, including spontaneously occurring species. The green roof is closed, not accessible to the public, however tours are occasionally organized for professionals [3] [6] [8] [9] [10] [11].

Located in downtown Bandung, with an area of 3.8 hectares, Babakan Siliwangi (more commonly known as Baksil) has been declared The World City Forest on September 27, 2011, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is part of the green belt of Bandung and is a place of recreation for residents and features a canopied walking path. Declaring the forest as part of the urban green belt of the city has not been an easy task for the management team of Baksil as in 2011, there was a plan to build privately-owned multistories building at the site, which would greatly reduce the environmental quality of the area. In response to this challenge, the team initiated a series of awareness actions as well as a planting campaign to raise the profile of the forest, as well as to address several environmental challenges such as emissions reduction, noise pollution, soil degradation, and fauna and flora conservation. The intervention proved to be very successful as it established the Baksil forest as a new public space that enabled people to get to know and better appreciate their city forest. Several communities have been holding events in this area to activate the idle space, while inviting more people to interact with the forest, making it to be invaluable for the local community and the city of Bandung. (1,2,3,4,5)

Indonesia’s peatlands are among the most vulnerable ecosystems on Earth and also have significant potential as carbon sinks (1,2). Fire risk in Sumatra's peatland areas is high due to canals that were dug for logging and plantation development (1,2). The Sumatra Merang Peatland Project was thus launched to restore the area as the massive forest fire in 2015 destroyed thousands of hectares of biodiverse tropical forest (1). This project includes restoring more than 22,900 hectares of peatland rainforest in the Merang region, located within Musi Banyuasin Province, South Sumatra in Indonesia (1,2,3). The project targets the Merang biodiversity corridor, one of the largest and deepest peat swamps in South Sumatra, which protects an area more than 3.5 times the size of Manhattan (New York City) (1,2,3). This project is a part of the Althelia Climate Fund and was implemented on the ground by Indonesian Companies named PT Global Alam Lestari (GAL) and Forest Carbon (1,2,3,4,5). The project aims and contributes to climate change mitigation and ecosystem resilience by peat rewetting and reforestation, protecting biodiversity and working with local communities to build and improve livelihoods (1,3).
The first stage of the project is considered completed and is considered to achieve positive impacts already, but it still aims to upscale certain activities until 2025 (3,4,5). The total lifetime of the project extends to 2062 (4).

In 2010, to revamp the Raja Musa Forest Reserve (RMFR), a rehabilitation project was initiated by the Friends of North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest Association (a local NGO) in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. As part of the largest peat swamp forest complex on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the Raja Musa Forest Reserve (RMFR) is an important home to many threatened species, as well as a valuable ecosystem in the fight against global warming. Despite this, over the years the forest has been subjected to fires and illegal encroachment which severely reduced its area (1). The project was considered unique as it was an innovation aimed to enhance and strengthen the capacity of the local community in peatland water management and forest rehabilitation works (3,5). Activities included among others rehabilitation of the degraded peat forest through the plantation of new seedlings, demonstration of, and provision of a documentary model for community-based peat swamp forest rehabilitation, as well as the creation of an awareness programme with the local community and dissemination of educational materials (2).
The importance of the intervention consists not only in the implementer's approach in regard to nature-based solutions but also in its aim of documenting a "model of low-cost hydrologic restoration of peat swamp forest" which ultimately should be replicated in similar conditions but in various locations (2).

In 2017, the city of Jakarta initiated a peri-urban farming program under its Urban Agriculture Program that aimed to achieve sustainable agricultural production, rural economic sustainability and long-term environmental sustainability (1,4).
South Jakarta is one of the five administrative units that form Jakarta is a prosperous city with more than 2.2 mils. inhabitants. Industrial production as well as urbanization developed quickly in the city, leading to a steep increase in population. Meanwhile, the city experiences a reduction in agricultural land converted into settlements and industrial land, as well as soil deterioration. The city needs agricultural land for production and to establish food security. Furthermore, it needs to improve air pollution as well as oxygen provisioning. As such a solution had to be found (1).
To implement the program a total of 12 communities in the South Kebayoran Lama subdistrict of South Jakarta participated in implementing and operating urban farms. One of these communities has been the Kebayoran Lama Selatan Urban Village managed by Seruni Indah Farmers Group (Kelompok Tani Seruni Indah) which is a very successful example of sustainable organic urban farming supporting more than 3500 residents. The engagement consisted in using vacant and private yard land for horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants), spices, medicines, herbs etc. through hydroponic and conventional practices that could benefit the community and the general public. 15 gardens have been implemented with funding provided by the Indonesian government (3, 7).

The Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve is a forest located 10 km west of Kuala Lumpur in the state of Selangor and is the oldest managed forest reserve in Peninsular Malaysia. As the reserve was threatened over the years by plans for clearing and housing development, the community located in the township close to the forest sprang into action to salvage the forest. As early as 2003 an organization called Friends of Kota Damansara was formed to lead a diverse group of concerned individuals, organisations and communities to rally together to vocally defend the forest (2, 3). Efforts to protect and conserve the forest focused on a series of activities such as the development of a biodiversity management plan, awareness-raising activities, educational activities, building capacity activities, and the creation of an ethnobotanical garden to showcase Temuan (local indigenous people) knowledge of plants (1). These efforts were funded with the help of the UN's GEF's Small Grants Programme and led to the reserve being officially gazetted as of 18 February 2010 (Sel GN 398/2010) and being classified as amenity forest, education forest and research forest, making up 3% of land area in the state of Selangor (1, 2). Nowadays, the Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve Trails is a popular weekend destination for mountain bikers, trail runners and casual hikers (3). Furthermore, the KDCFP has become much more accessible and utilizable by visitors from various categories of societies, besides researchers discovering and documenting a number of species of flora and fauna unique or endemic to the park (1).

To address the mismanagement and illegal deforestation in the Changa Manga forest, the Punjab Government in Pakistan initiated strict actions with the help of the Forest Department between 2014 and 2017. Activities included planting new trees and taking action against illegal deforestation. Over the years, mismanagement and illegal deforestation decreased this woodland by 75% (measured in 2012) (2). The Government of Punjab approved the “Afforestation in Blank Areas in Changa Manga Plantation” project for the duration of three years from 2014 to 2017 aimed at the afforestation of a total area of 200 acres on flow irrigation during 2014-15 and maintenance of afforestation during the two subsequent years (2015-17) (4). Changa Manga Forest is one of the world’s oldest hand-planted forests, dating back to 1866 in Chunian City. It spreads over about 5065 hectares and hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna. The forest is home to 14 species of mammals, 50 species of birds, six species of reptiles, two species of amphibians, and 27 species of insects (1). Some exquisite tree families, such as Sheesham (rosewood). white mulberry and Kikar trees are found in this woodland (2). It also includes a wildlife preserve, which was launched in 2005 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan to protect white-backed vultures and ensure their captive breeding in the forest (3). Currently, Pakistan is losing forests at thrice the rate of the other South Asian countries. One of the major benefits of the Changa Manga Forest afforestation project was that it increased honey production by 70% in the different areas of the forest park (5).

Clifton Urban Forest was initiated by an individual named Shahzad Qureshi after Karachi witnessed its first “official” heat wave in 2015. More than 2000 people died in the region when temperatures reached over 120 degrees Fahrenheit in Karachi (Ref: 1,4). The major culprit for this heat wave was the ‘Urban heat Island’ effects, resulted from the congested concrete build-up and less green cover. At that time everybody started realizing the non-existence of green cover in the city is the reason behind the city being very hot. Qureshi saw a TED talk about the Miyawaki Method, a quickly growing dense urban forest and decided to give that a try. He believed that the Miyawaki Method, which promised a fast and sustainable forest within three years without using any pesticides and chemicals, could transform Karachi (Ref: 4,7).

Therefore, in December 2015, he and his team planted the first pilot forest covering about 300 square meters based on Dr Akira Miyawaki’s Methodology in a city-owned site in the Clifton area of Karachi. The area previously was used as an open dumping site. The project landscape design was developed by a German-trained landscape architect on 3 acres area and turned into an urban forest park (Ref: 6, 9). When the project became successful, they expanded the forest to the whole park, which is almost 12,000 square meters. The current project envisions increasing the green cover to restore Karachi's degraded environment by creating evergreen and sustainable forests. It targets to feature 50,000 trees, more than 50 native species, 1.2 km of nature walkways, vegetable gardening, community composting, a butterfly garden, a children's natural playground, a fruit forest, a central lake and a skywalk (Ref: 2, 4).

The created forest is self-sustaining with recycled wastewater. It has an organic vegetable garden that provides food for the community, a natural playground for kids, a lake for excess water storage, and a composting and recycling area that absorbs waste from 100 households around the park. Multiple school field trips have been arranged in the park to create awareness among the children about biodiversity and the natural ecosystem (Ref: 5, 6). Moreover, people have been actively visiting the Urban Forest and enjoying the interaction with native plants, and biodiversity and spending some peaceful time for relaxation and leisure (Ref: 9).

The project has received a lot of national and international recognition and funds from Sugi Projects, the Rotary club and crowd-sourced from various corporations and individuals (Ref: 7). Since then, Qureshi and his team have created 24 more forests in Pakistan (Ref: 5, 6).

In order to prevent the damage to mangrove forests that occurred over the last few decades or more, a project was started in the Penang region aiming to raise public awareness regarding the importance of mangroves for their continued conservation and protection through active community participation (community resilience) (1). The project closely relates to the GEF Focal Area on Biodiversity Conservation operational programme (OP) 2 on Coastal, Marine and Fresh Water Ecosystems and is led by the Penang Inshore Fisherman Welfare Association (PIFWA). The project aimed to regenerate mangrove forests by planting up to 11,000 saplings in order to rehabilitate the once degraded mangroves as they are able to ultimately improve the wetland ecosystem and its biodiversity and thus sustain the livelihood of fisher communities (1).
Mangrove forests are an important part of the Malaysian coastline. Besides their contributions to the biodiversity of the Malaysian coast, mangroves also help greatly with protecting the coastal strip from erosion and providing a means of living for the communities located close to the forests. Stabilising the shoreline and reducing soil erosion, mangroves are also home to myriad species of plants and animals, they provide timber and non-timber forest products, and they support fisheries (1,2). Due to their importance, their disappearance is greatly noticed. From 2000, within a period of 15 years, 25,500 hectares of mangrove forests disappeared, mostly due to industrial-scale logging, clearance for shrimp farming, tourism or firewood (5).

As part of the Green Pakistan Programme (GPP), the Ministry of Environment of Pakistan initiated a plantation drive on the Margalla Hills, threatened by climate change, droughts, floods and deforestation. Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) is a national park of Pakistan located in the capital city, Islamabad. It was established in the 1980s with a total area of about 173 square kilometres constituting Margalla Hills, Shakarparian Park, Rawal Lake and the Cultural Complex (2,5). The primary purpose of GPP was to protect the environment and revive forests, as Pakistan is a forest-deficient country having 5.01 per cent of its total area under forest cover. The park is under the supervision of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) which ensures the management, maintenance and preservation of wildlife and other species in the park vicinity. The campaign was set to take place over 5 years between 2017-2022. Furthermore, as part of the same program, an awareness campaign was started to generate knowledge about plants and make Islamabad green and beautiful. Thousands of people visit the national park daily to enjoy the natural environment and healthy recreational facilities and relax by looking at the serene landscape and natural viewpoints of the city visible from the different trails of the park. (1,2,3,4,5)