Technological

Beirut RiverLESS, a project initiated by OtherDada, aims to address the deterioration of the Beirut River and its negative impact on the surrounding communities and environment by developing a holistic response plan for the Beirut River Watershed. The river runs east to west, then curves north, separating the city of Beirut from its eastern suburbs, primarily Bourj Hammoud and Sin el Fil. The goal is to bring the Beirut River back to life by following a Landscape Ecology approach and by enabling local governance, leading to innovative ecological interventions. Throughout time, the river has been used as a water resource for drinking and irrigation. It also once had an important role as a space for recreational activities. In 1968, the river was transformed from a natural, healthy and performing ecosystem to a canalized infrastructure, becoming an open sewer of domestic and industrial wastewater, highly polluted and posing numerous health risks to its neighbours. The river also lost its recreational and social function as people no longer had access to it. (1)

Al Shaheed Park is the largest park in the country. The park was designed to include besides its green spaces, several buildings (museums, parking) populated with green roofs and an artificial lake. The size of the park with all the mentioned grey and green elements stands at 20 ha. The park is viewed as an encompassing part of a green belt that surrounds the city of Kuwait. From an environmental point of view, the park was built to protect the city from sandstorms and to reduce air pollution. From a cultural point of view, the park and the museums are providing the public with high-quality programs, events and spaces, and part of their mission is to spread awareness and educate the public on the importance of the country’s land, history and environment, in addition to the encouragement of international and regional exchange of arts. In addition, the park is meant to commemorate the victims of the first Gulf War. (1,2,3)

To mitigate environmental pressures, including air pollution and urban heat island effects and to improve urban resilience, the municipal government in Beijing has launched the largest afforestation Programme in 2012, Beijing Plain Area Afforestation Programme (BPAP). The aim was to create huge forest patches, develop urban forest park clusters and optimise the large-scale forest patterns. By 2015, BPAP has created green strategies with nine green wedges, multiple green belts, and green corridors around Beijing's old city centre. More than 70,000 hectares of forest (more than 54 million trees) have been planted, and the survival rate has exceeded 95%. BPAP has been considered one of the most ambitious projects for a high-density urbanised area like Beijing. [1, 5]

Extensive and low-lying, Suriname’s coastal region has been identified as highly vulnerable to climate-induced sea-level rise (Ref. 1). "Momentarily the most endangered community by sea-level rise in the whole of South America and the Caribbean", the Suriname Building With Nature project has seen "wooden, water penetrable dams...being built to trap sediment and replant mangroves" (Ref. 1). Prior to the implementation of the Building With Nature project, no mitigation measures had been undertaken to protect the area, and "human interference ha[d] converted mangrove areas to agricultural land, fishing ponds and settlements", with the loss of stabilisation provided by the mangroves meaning that "the coast has become susceptible to flooding and erosion, losing up to 27 meters of land in one year" (Ref. 1). It has caused "displacement of local habitants and loss of livelihoods, [with]...the local population...and its fisheries, farms, and important religious and cultural sites [being] at risk to frequent flooding and land degradation" (Ref. 1). The Building With Nature approach is touted as being "essential for mangrove and biodiversity conservation and the enhancement of the quantity of the blue carbon sequestered in coastal areas" (Ref. 2).

One of the first public institutions to rise to the climate change challenge in the Philippines is the LLDA, which unveiled a two-wing, four-story green building in Quezon City to mark its 48th anniversary in 2014.
Reflecting the critical mandate of the LLDA to protect the country’s largest freshwater lake, the LLDA building features its own water treatment facility, material recovery facility, and a rain collection system that can hold 60,000 gallons of water. In order to be certified by the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence, several greened areas have been installed in the building: two “pocket gardens” on intermediate levels and a green roof (Bio Roof) which covers an area of 208 m2. The Bio Roof is integrated within the building’s structure. Its vegetative layer protects the waterproofing membrane from climatic extremes, which allows for the reduction in maintenance and the reduction in the size of stormwater handling facilities. [1]

Climate change has become a constant topic for the administration of Israel, mainly due to the country's exposure to the effects of climate change. These include water shortages and pollution, the shrinking of the Dead Sea, waste production and disposal, air pollution and increased population density. Haifa is no stranger to these changes and the administration of the city is trying to align itself with international organisms that can help it to overcome such critical situations. The City of Haifa’s leadership strives to join the capitals of the world, share knowledge and establish operative cooperation. In December 2020 it joined the Paris Agreement, and in July 2021 signed the Urban Nature Declaration pledging a greener and more sustainable city with the 40C Cities Climate Leadership Group, an international organization of about 100 major cities worldwide. On a local level, the city initiated Haifa2030, a program that aims to prepare for global warming and to develop strategies for urban resilience. Among the actions taken into account by the municipality refers to green roofs, which the city intends to transform into an overall city program. Two demonstration roofs have been erected on municipal buildings, and additional roofs are planned. (2,3)

Kibera is Nairobi's largest slum/informal settlement. Kibera houses about 250,000 people and is the biggest slum in Africa and one of the biggest in the world. The Government owns all the land in this settlement. 10% of people are shack owners and many of these people own many other shacks and let them out to tenants. The remaining 90% of residents are tenants with no rights. Most of the inhabitants confront themselves with a food crisis. The project at Kibera is a recent initiative of the National Youth Service (NYS), a government agency that promotes youth affairs through the ministry of devolution and planning. The approach is seen as a cheap and healthy solution to food insecurity and runaway unemployment in Nairobi’s slum. The project also addresses climate change as food insecurity is related to an intense period of droughts: longer periods of drought (likely a result of climate change) in sub-Saharan Africa, meant the farmers had to depend on rainfall to water their crops. From a biodiversity point of view, the project will help with the urban biodiversity restoration (1,3)

A green wall of 73 square metres was constructed on the building of the Federación de Entidades Empresariales Privadas de Cochabamba (FEPC, the Federation of Private Business Entities of Cochabamba) (Ref. 1). The vertical ecosystem comprises over 3000 plants of 35 species and is considered the first vertical garden to have been created in Bolivia (Ref. 1). The green wall is considered to have 'beautified' the city of Cochabamba, but is also considered to "contribute... effectively to the preservation of the environment" (Ref. 2).

As part of the "Urban Forest Policy", the first Miyawaki urban forest was created in an area of 2,850 square meters in Lahore, Pakistan. The initiative was a result of a public-private partnership between Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Restore Green. The project was carried out under the PM Khan 10 billion tree plantation drive. Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, which helps build dense, native forests. The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual. It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years. [1, 2, 3]

As a solution to the increasing population, pollution and high energy consumption, the municipal government of Shiraz has launched the Green City project in 2008. The main aim of this initiative is to reforest the city's periphery and encourage citizens to plant gardens on rooftops and the private sectors to adhere to the city’s development plan with all construction projects. [1]