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The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC) is a bilateral project between Singapore and China with a large scale private-sector involvement with the objective to "transform the 34 km2 barren, non-arable land and polluted wastewater ponds into ... a thriving city which is socially harmonious, environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient – a model for sustainable development for 350 000 residents. (1,2). The Eco-Valley is an S-shaped, 11 km green spine that runs through the whole Eco-City connecting its centre with sub-centres, all four residential districts, community spaces, multiple parks, commercial zones, and waterside areas as a scenic park providing a place for connectivity, transit, leisure and recreation for residents (1).

The 'Step Garden' is a 14-tier green roof atop the Asian Cross Roads Over the Sea (ACROS) Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall in Fukuoka, Japan (Ref. 2). The Hall itself is a centre of international, cultural and information exchange, and sits amidst the Tenjin Central Park (Ref. 3). As the building displaced a plaza, the architect, Emilio Ambasz, created the “image of a mountain" through the design and installation of the roof terrace (Ref. 2), "want[ing] to give back to Fukuoka’s citizens all the land the building would subtract from the city" (Ref. 3). In combination with the Central Park, the rooftop garden is considered to be the only open green space in the city centre (Ref. 4), and since its inauguration in 1995, has been open to the public, accessible via two entrances on the park side of the building (Ref. 1).

A combination of green and grey coastal infrastructure is being developed off the coast of Semarang, Indonesia in response to the increased risk of coastal flooding as a result of sea-level rise (Ref. 1). Due to its geography as a coastal city, "Semarang deals with various physical challenges...such as tidal flooding, erosion, land subsidence and rising sea levels" (Ref. 1). Tidal flooding is becoming increasingly worse as a result of climate-induced sea-level rise and increasingly extreme weather events (Ref. 1 and 3). Coastal protection which was historically afforded by naturally occurring mangrove systems has been reduced as a result of the mangroves being largely lost to urbanisation, fish farming and other forms of agriculture (Ref. 2). One proposed sub-project of the Integrated Protective Coastal Zone, Coastal Balance Project 01: Coastal Balance Pilot in Genuk/Sayung, will focus on the northeast of Semarang. Using the 'Building with Nature' approach, it will leverage nature-based solutions through the deployment of green infrastructure, primarily focusing on mangrove restoration (Ref. 3). Mangrove restoration is hoped to stabilise the coastline, therein reducing erosion, encouraging sedimentation and increasing resilience against sea-level rise (Ref. 3).

Having been awarded the LEED Gold certification, the President Place building is considered the greenest building in the city. The building has been designed to create an exceptional balance between work, life and the environment. The 9th and 13th levels of the building have green roofs and terraces. President Place selected climate-tolerant plants that can survive on natural rainfall, and thus the green roof system does not require a permanent irrigation system. Effective practices were considered during the installation of the green roof, such as mulch for trees to conserve moisture, choosing plant species that can easily adapt to the site and need less irrigation. Trees have also been planted on the ground level. Additionally, the building is surrounded by permeable paving to help rainwater percolate easily. The aim was to create a visually appealing office building that leads the way in environmental, design-led construction in Saigon. [1, 2]

The revitalization and conservation of the Butuah Wetlands work started in 2020 by a Ghanian NGO, called Friends of the Nations, in collaboration with some public institutions and an American charitable foundation that makes small grants to grassroots environmental causes around the world. In the past, the wetland has been a major flood reservoir that channelled excess water from different parts of the metropolis into the sea as well as a beacon of biodiversity. The weak monitoring regime of this wetland has led to massive encroachments by both private and industrial developers, therefore, causing biodiversity depletion and contributing negatively to climate change. (1)

The wetlands to the east of Kolkata are well known over the world for their multiple uses. The locals are using the naturally occurring wetlands for wastewater fisheries and vegetable farming on garbage substrate & effluent irrigated paddy cultivation. In the process, the wetlands treat the wastewater and have saved the city of Calcutta from constructing and maintaining a wastewater treatment plant. Currently, encroachment has deteriorated the wetland ecosystem significantly. This intervention is about the management of the degraded wetland to recover it the best way possible. The goal of management planning is to „maintain East Kolkata Wetlands in a healthy condition to enable the delivery of its full range of ecosystem services and sustain biological diversity values’. [1, 2, 3]

The Nyashishi wetland is located on the western side of Lake Victoria some 15 km from Mwanza, a port city of the lake. The area is characterized by a double maxima rainfall, with heavy rains occurring during October to December. The wetland is traversed by the Nyashishi River, which is an intermittent river draining stormy waters and domestic waste water into Lake Victoria. Increased human socio-economic activities in Mwanza, such as horticulture, overgrazing and discharge of industrial effluents, have degraded the Nyashishi wetland. As a result, vegetation specifically elephantiasis and papyrus that used to flourish in the wetland and provide fish breeding grounds have disappeared. The crocodiles, large lizards and a host of other creatures that used to populate those areas cannot be seen today. Since the wetland and the river are part of the Lake Victoria Basin, both have been subjected to floods and droughts, impacting livelihoods, public health and the environment. The root causes of floods are irregular seasonal and year to year variability in rainfall patterns, combined with mismanagement of land and water resources, leading to soil erosion and increased run-off. Therefore restoration efforts in the area are much needed. (1, 5)

The city of San Salvador was built at the foot of a volcano and down its slopes, it is prone to droughts, floods and landslides. In 2020, Tropical Storms Amanda and Cristobal struck the city with torrential rainfall and gale-force winds triggering landslides and floods, causing damage to homes, infrastructure and roads, and with severe impacts on topsoil depletion affecting the fertility of economically and environmentally central coffee plantations[3].
To meet the economic and environmental challenges caused by such events, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) together with El Salvador’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, local organizations and coffee growers launched an project focusing on the Arenal Monserrat watershed located on the slopes of the volcano [3,4]. Through the integration of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) the initiative aim to address the effects of climate change by restoring coffee plantations and forests and digging infiltration ditches to be used as sponges to reduce flood risks for 115,000 people by 2022 [1,4,5]. The project was launched as part of the multi-city CityAdapt Project of UNEP and GEF, aiming to provide tools to local governments plan for adaptation and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from their cities while conserving their ecosystems.

The green roof pilot project is part of eThekwini Municipality's Climate Protection Programme, initiated in 2004, it was focused initially on understanding the vulnerability of the city of Durban to the impacts of climate change. A strong emphasis has been placed on identifying climate change adaption projects that will improve the resilience of the city to future developmental, social and environmental challenges. Basically, the green roof pilot project is a response to the higher temperatures and increase in the frequency and severity of floods and droughts that are expected as a result of climate change. From an urban environment perspective, these changes will exacerbate the already high temperatures experienced as a result of the Urban Heat Island effect and the high levels of surface run-off and flooding that result from the hardening of permeable surfaces. (1,3)

Taru Leading Edge initiated a lake conservation project in Indore with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Indore Municipal Corporation as part of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN).
Urbanisation and the increase of impermeable surfaces reduced the capacity for groundwater recharge. The climate change risks indicate increasing rainfall variability and more intense and/or more frequent storms as well as an increase in dry periods. With less permeable soils the city needs to optimally use existing lakes to capture runoff, creating buffer supplies and helping to increase groundwater recharge. The main objective of this project was “ensuring availability of local water resources during emergencies”, through developing a replicable model for peri-urban lake rejuvenation and conservation. The expected outcomes of the project include a stakeholder-managed process for stabilising/improving the water quality of the restored lakes and generating interest among multiple stakeholders to conserve urban lakes. TARU has restored and worked on 2 water bodies, demonstrating methods and processes required to revive lakes that have co-benefits of groundwater recharge, aesthetic enhancement of the area, cool microclimate and possible livelihood restoration. The names of the lakes restored are Khajrana talab and Lasudiya Mori talab. [2, 4]