Voluntary work opportunities

Kampala called ‘The Green town’ its capital and the most important city in Uganda. The town nearing the Lake Victoria into the South, depicts both colonial and contemporary architecture and has a population of approximately 2 million people, spread over 21 slopes. The city also has a continuous flux of human capital (caused by the effects of climate change- e.g. droughts, erratic rains) from the country's rural regions which puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the environment, through inefficient resources and unstastainable settlement patterns. As a response, the city of Kampala tried to address climate change mitigation by initiating a large tree planting project in Kampala and its outskirts. (1,2) The plan identified “proper management of urban natural assets” and the planting of 500,000 trees as ways for Kampala to become a lower carbon and more climate-resilient city. One of its desired impacts was “increased green spaces and trees in households for improved health and income”. (3)

The Urban Micro-Lungs is an Urban Living Lab project in the East of Amman, Jordan that applies the Miyawaki methodology for afforestation to create new green spaces. As part of the project special urban forests were created with the aim to improve the quality of life in dense and deprived urban areas, tackle climate change caused problems such as the urban heat island effect while also supporting local biodiversity. The project was initiated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and the Greater Amman Municipality, TAYYUN Research Studio (1,3,4). While the project was just completed in 2021, "the Urban Living Lab has shown the feasibility of creating green spaces even in adverse conditions characterised by dense construction, high degree of surface sealing and lack of open spaces." (1)

The intervention targeted a section of the Dominguez Creek for restoration, with the aim of achieving a "multi-benefit project [which] creates passive and active recreation opportunities for park-poor communities, reestablishes native riparian plantings and captures stormwater before entering the channel along the Dominguez Creek in cities of Gardena and Hawthorne" (Ref. 2). Previously being characterised by the local community as a “Triple U” (Undesirable, Unsafe and Unusable) area, the project aimed to support a variety of environmental, sustainability, and humanitarian activities (Ref. 1). The nature-based solution interventions which were implemented as a result of the project mainly pertained to the planting of in situ trees, shrubs and groundcover plants; restoration of the riparian habitat; temporary installation of a "mini-urban forest for a shaded respite from the harsh downtown streetscape"; aiding in stormwater capture; conservation of water resources through using native plant species; and creating "watershed awareness" (Refs. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8).

Senegal, like many other West African countries, is in an unprecedented position when it comes to the threats climate change poses. Climate scientists predict that the country will likely experience increased temperatures, decreased annual rainfalls, a rise in sea levels, and an increased frequency of heavy rainfall events. Automatically these events will change drastically the social and economic structures of the country and are reasons for concern for the people of Senegal and their government. For example, the city of Thiès is in an area where environmental degradation is very advanced. The tree cover is in a situation of extreme fragility due to tree ageing or abusive tree cutting. To address many of these concerns, the city of Thies is trying to become sustainable through the development of green spaces that are expected to restore the city's ecological dimension and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and the improvement of the living environment. (1,2)

Campinas is a fast-growing city and like many cities in Brazil, it confronts itself with many climatic incidents linked to a hotter and drier climate. In Campinas, in spite of the good performance of the city and the region in economic areas, there is a historical lack of urban landscape planning that integrates adequate social housing and areas that should be protected, such as riparian corridors, ecosystem remnants and other relevant green areas that offer ecosystem services in the urbanised context. Campinas has developed plans, projects and programmes to tackle regional, municipal and local issues related to environmental quality and offer green areas to the least privileged residents. Ecological corridors are being designed to connect forested fragments and/or relevant ecological areas to enable the genetic flow. The municipal green plan adopted the concept of a connectivity line to promote ecological corridors. (1,2)

Under Sustainable Development Goal 11 (make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) in 2017 a coalition of stakeholders including the Municipality of Asuncion started the implementation of an initiative focused on improving the quality of life in the Metropolitan Area of Asunción through green infrastructure in a sustainable and resilient city framework. Why Asuncion? Cities and metropolitan areas are fundamental centres of economic growth: they contribute approximately 60% of world GDP. However, they also account for around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and more than 60% of resource use. Asuncion makes no distinction - it is a city with a high flow of cars and transportation, irregular flooding (the sewerage system there has already been exceeded for some time), and urban growth. Trying to respond to some of these challenges, the present intervention has been proposed with a duration of 5 years. (1,2)

Resilient Islands is a project thought and directed by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 3 Caribbean island nations. It is a project at the intersection between conservation and disaster risk reduction and it comprises actions implemented in the Dominican Republic, Granada, and Jamaica. The negative impacts of climate change are already affecting people, homes, businesses and infrastructure in Caribbean nations. In response to increasingly dangerous hurricanes and rising vulnerability, Resilient Islands will address the need for urgent action by developing adaptation toolkits, best-practice models and access to funding. Caribbean nation islands are the world's most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Coastal flooding and erosion caused by hurricanes and severe storms threaten lives, homes, jobs, and infrastructure. Grenville is a coastal town, the second largest town in Grenada, with a population of around 2,400. It is highly susceptible to flooding and has seen increased coastal erosion in recent years due to the degradation of the fringing reefs, its first line of sea defence. Since 2017, TNC and the IFRC have collaborated with governments, communities, and partners in Grenada and Greenville to develop national plans for a more sustainable future through nature-based disaster risk management and there this is how this intervention was born. (1,4)

Around 90% of Guyana’s population lives in an area that is below sea level, with many inhabiting flood-prone areas along the coast. The coastal plains are also home to about 75% of the country’s economic activities, including almost all of Guyana’s agricultural production. Over the years, degradation and loss of mangrove forests have resulted in increased coastal flooding and saltwater inundation of agricultural land. Mangroves contribute substantially to sea defence in Guyana by damping wave action and reducing wave energy, trapping sediments and stabilizing shoreline substrates while playing an important role in carbon sequestration.
The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project was executed during 2010-2013 under the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute. Following completion of the Project phase and given the importance of mangroves to Guyana’s coastal defences, mangrove restoration and management were integrated into NAREI (the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute), a national institution that promotes climate-smart agriculture and resilient citizens. (1,2)

Peru has seen a sharp increase in major flooding, prolonged droughts and water scarcity of supplies in the dry season, negatively impacting agriculture, migration, conflict and economic growth in recent years. As 71% of the world's tropical glaciers are found in Peru these climatic changes affected the country profoundly leading to a decrease in the glacial surface and creating unstable lagoons also causing natural disasters such as alluvium landslides and deadly flash foods. Glacial melt is also disrupting water flow and quality, posing a threat to the flora and fauna that rely on freshwater environments. Unsustainable management of fragile glacier ecosystems is causing environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. To counteract many of these challenges and to safeguard the communities that are in peril, in 2011, the Government of Peru together with a number of stakeholders, initiated an intervention to sustainably manage more than 200 new lakes that affect directly populations in different cities in the Ancash, Cusco and Lima regions, Huaraz being one of the cities targeted. The project benefitted downstream communities and protected fragile high-altitude freshwater ecosystems. (1,2)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s coastal zone stretches 40 km and comprises the towns of Muanda, Banana and Nsiamfumu. The problem of coastal erosion has intensified since 1980 with the significant retreat of the coast in the Banana-Muanda segment, this retreat has been estimated as much as 2,300 meters. According to the report of the second national communication on climate change (2010), the Democratic Republic of Congo’s coastal zone, with a coastline of about 40km, is facing coastal erosion due to a combined effect of topography, sandy nature of the soil and ocean dynamics (height and direction of the swell, tide height, current velocity, storms etc.). With the rate of shoreline retreat that is likely, it is expected that the road between Banana-Muanda will be completely lost between 2050 and 2100. The proportion of lands lost to encroaching sea will double (200 m around Nsiamfumu and 100 m between Muanda city and Banana). In total, DRC can expect to see the reach of its coastal zone reduced from 50-100 m by 2100. To respond to some of these complex challenges the Department of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, Democratic Republic of Congo implemented the present intervention partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). (1,2)