Increased protection against flooding

A 7-hectare pilot public project, the Tebet Eco park is located in South Jakarta in a neighbourhood that is densely populated. Previous to the intervention the park was in an acute state of deterioration and prone to floods as well as ecological degradation, as the park is streamed by a river which made it only more susceptible to heavy rains. As such, the municipal authorities of Jakarta planned to revitalize the area by " increasing the hydraulic capacity of existing canal, improving site-wide pedestrian connectivity, and adding new recreation program". This meant that the park was transformed by planting and conserving new and older trees, as well as using vegetation and natural embankments. Furthermore, the implementer planted riparian vegetation to improve water quality by filtering and cleansing surrounding runoff, which also enhanced the site's biodiversity. Besides these elements, a thematic garden, a forest buffer, and a community garden were implemented complementing the entire eco-design that the park aimed for. The park's rehabilitation focused greatly on the human element as it was paramount to provide maximum benefits for park users, the surrounding natural habitats and species, as well as increasing the land value of the area. (2,3,7)

The Rajakori lake rejuvenation project aimed at reviving an existing lake using a natural and sustainable treatment system, the "Scientific Wetland with Active Biodigester (SWAB)". SWAB technology uses a two-step process involving (i) a sedimentation tank equipped with a biodigester and (ii) a constructed wetland system. The untreated sewage waste is passed through this two-step process that uses microbes and plants to reduce pollutant levels. The project also involved redeveloping the public space around the lake for community use (Ref 1,2). Before 2017, the lake was overfilled with sewage and waste from nearby neighbourhoods due to a lack of proper sewage management. Initiated by the Delhi Government, the project aimed at using low-cost natural methods rather than conventional techniques involving concretized bases and chemicals to treat water (Ref 1, 4). Due to its success and cost-effectiveness, this project now serves as an excellent example for other projects within Delhi (Ref 5).

In 2008, Mahidol University in Thailand announced its revised five-year Green Campus master plan titled 'A Promised Place to Live and Learn with Nature' for its main Salaya Campus. The scheme aimed to promote a green conscience and lifestyle for its students and faculty through sustainable campus developments that consider social and environmental aspects. The university's objectives were to achieve energy conservation, environmental sustainability, and social cohesion and well-being. The main features of the master plan included the creation and maintenance of green open spaces covering at least 70% of the campus premises, optimization of land use, transformation of infrastructure to encourage cycling, creation of outdoor learning, recreational and research areas, and enhancement of local biodiversity. The master plan also covered guidelines and targets for energy consumption, waste, and water management in the campus buildings. The Siri Ruckhachati Nature Park, the university's arboretum, was also redesigned with green and blue areas playing a role in flood management. Following the 'Green Campus' master plan, Mahidol University developed its existing mission further and became an 'Eco University' in 2012 and a 'Sustainable University' in 2021. These two missions focus primarily on reducing energy consumption and waste management.
(Ref.1,2,3,12)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners collaborated in 2018 to develop an ecosystem restoration project in the Rohingya Camps of Ukhiya, near Cox's Bazar. The main objective of this project was to mitigate the increased risk of landslides, slope instability, and flooding caused by flash floods and the vicinity of the Bakkhali River. The intervention included the planting of quickly growing native trees, shrubs, and grass species. Additionally, the project encompassed other measures such as vegetable cultivation on stream beds, biological soil stabilization methods, and plant-based wastewater treatments. To ensure the sustainability of the project, a network of future practitioners from the Bangladeshi and Rohingya communities was created. Moreover, environmental education and awareness activities were undertaken to complement the efforts of the project, with a particular focus on engaging young people from both the host and refugee communities to maximize its impact. The area where the project was implemented has been significantly affected by land and forest degradation over the last few decades, which has been exacerbated since the arrival of Rohingya refugees in 2017. Therefore, the project also involved other stakeholders such as the International Center for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Danish Refugee Council, the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration, and the Bangladesh government, each contributing in various capacities to achieve the project's objectives. (1,2,3,4)

Vinh is the biggest city in north-central Vietnam and is the hub for economic and cultural development in the region. As of 2018, the city has a population of approx. 500,000 inhabitants and is located on the Ca River delta, 160 miles (260 km) south of Hanoi. Flooding and poor environmental sanitation are major impediments to the development of Vinh City. The drainage system of the city is comprised of four catchment basins connected to Rao Dung, Ke Gai, Vinh and Lam Rivers. Among the four, the Vinh River is flowing through the central wards and communes of Vinh City and is one that becomes sensitive to severe flooding events frequently (2,3).
Recently (in 2021), with support from the World Bank, the government initiated a program, the Vinh City Priority Infrastructure and Urban Resilience Development Project (VPIUR), which is expected to bring a new look to the river, reduce the risk of flooding in urban areas and strengthen urban management capacity to adapt to climate change. This project has several sub components and one of them is a river rehabilitation and upgrade under the form of riverbank green, sanitation, and flood risk management (1, 3).
The implementation includes a comprehensive set of structural and non-structural interventions, including flood control systems and nature-based solutions, wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure, and key transport links. The project aims to transform it into green public spaces which are to be constructed under the project. The project also aims to invest in developing green public spaces along the Vinh riverbank and a new regulation lake. (3)

The "Urban Forest" project focused on the establishment of the Mongolian-Korean Friendship Forest on a 40-hectare land in Dambadarjaa, Sukhbaatar district of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. Previously known as the Forest Research and Development Center Arboretum Park, this area has a river running through it. The project, with a total cost of over 8 million EUR, was designed specifically to reduce air pollution in the capital, to create a healthy eco-environment for Ulaanbaatar residents to spend their leisure time and to raise awareness of the importance of forests and the benefits of trees in Mongolia. In total, 55,000 trees and shrubs of 36 different species were planted so far and the park boasts five different types of coniferous trees that thrive in Mongolia, including larch, pine, abies, cedar, and spruce, as well as deciduous trees such as birch, aspen, willow, lilac, and maple. The Urban Forest park also includes several facilities, such as a visitor information center, a playground, sport facilities, a natural arboretum and a ground fountain. The park will be operational and accessible to the public in 2023. The project was implemented between 2017 and 2022, as the second phase of the Korea-Mongolia Greenbelt Reforestation Initiative jointly developed by the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the Korea Forest Service (KFS). The Green Belt initiative was created with the overall aims to mitigate desertification, combat climate change, and reduce yellow dust and sandstorms in Mongolia.
(Ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

The Bakhawan Eco-Park is a 220-hectare mangrove forest located in Kalibo, Aklan province, Philippines, that started as a reforestation project in 1990. It was a joint project of the local government and a non-government organization, Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association (KASAMA), with the aim of reforesting the muddy shoreline of New Buswang district to protect the community from floods and storm surges [1,2]. Aside from preventing floods, the eco-park also provides locals with livelihood opportunities, mitigates the effects of climate change, and serves as a habitat for various mangrove tree species, birds, and marine life [1,2]. The project's success is largely attributed to the active involvement and support of the local community, with some families playing an integral role in the reforestation program. [2] Notably, the involvement of local women in the NBS initiative has contributed to the success of mangrove conservation. Some women have also taken on the task of policing the mangroves to prevent illegal tree-cutting by trespassers [4]. Today, the eco-park is acknowledged as one of the most successful mangrove reforestation project in the Philippines [1]

18 km southwest of Karachi City (Sandspit area), the World Wildlife Fund Wetland Center (an NGO subsidiary of the WWF) started a project in 2011 called Nurturing Young Sapling with a grant from the Mangrove for the Future organization. The project aimed to increase the mangrove forest cover near Karachi as to restore the ecosystem and improve the habitat for local and migratory birds, crabs and other fauna. In this way, the project sought to improve biodiversity and therefore the availability of livelihood resources to the local community, as well as to enable ecotourism. It also focused to enhance the awareness of school children on the importance of a mangrove ecosystem and advocating for its sustainable use (1).
The project benefited local fishing communities, school children and their families as well as local and international visitors to the Sandspit area. The project resulted in the mangrove plantation at 4.5 hectares area, the establishment of a mangrove (Avicennia Marina) nursery, the plantation of 5000 mangrove saplings, awareness raising of 200 school children, two-day awareness conference, the celebration of significant environmental days at the Wetland Centre to promote conservation awareness among school children (1, 2, 3).
After the successful completion of the project in 2012, WWF Pakistan has been actively involved in the management and plantation of mangroves in the Sandspit area. Multiple campaigns and awareness-raising programs for coastal protection are conducted by WWF in their Sandspit office with multiple partnerships to plant and educate students and communities about the importance of mangrove trees. (5)

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lumpini Park in 2025, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration initiated the extensive renovation of the park. Lumpini Park was the first public park in Thailand. It was first opened in 1925 and had been renovated once 50 years ago. The new Lumpini Park aims to enhance the history of the park, to provide space for people holding different cultural backgrounds and to create space for modern recreational activities, designed for everyone within the framework of 'climate action park' - a green area that has the ability to restore itself, promotes urban farming while also contributes to climate change adaptation through water management, air quality improvement and more. The project will promote high engagement with local people about their vision and concern for the park which will be integrated into the new design plan. The project is divided into three phases. The first phase involves renovating main infrastructures such as roads and water management systems. The second phase involves the construction of green and learning areas such as the resilient park, forest park, urban farming, learning centre and other recreational spaces. The third phase involves the development of underused areas. (Ref. 1,2,4,5,6)

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).