Local government/municipality

The Central Forest Corridor surrounds the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, and provides various ecosystem services to the population, with a particular emphasis on providing water for communities within both the corridor and Tegucigalpa (Ref. 3). However, limited access to water is common across Honduras, attributed to the degradation of watersheds as a result of deforestation and pollution of both ground and surface water (Ref. 1). Climate scenarios further "indicate that existing water scarcity will be exacerbated by climate change and increasing variability"... with "the main urban areas (Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula) and several agricultural areas (Patuca basin)...fac[ing] increased water scarcity in the near future" (Ref. 1).

Mérida city developed a Municipal Green Infrastructure Plan (Plan Municipal de Infraestructura Verde), in order to "strengthen the green infrastructure system through planning, design and implementation of urban strategies at different scales of actions and projects that contribute to enriching ecosystem services in the public and private space of the Municipality of Mérida" (Ref. 1). The plan has four axes, providing a comprehensive and transdisciplinary approach to integrating nature-based solutions into city planning and the design of public spaces in order to provide climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits (Ref. 1).
The Mérida Green Infrastructure Plan shares strong ties with a state-wide strategy, 'Arborizando Yucatán', which promotes reforestation efforts across the 106 municipalities of the state in order to "help reduce the effects of climate change, have more areas green and a better climate for the benefit of current and future generations of Yucatecans" (Refs. 3 & 4). At both the municipal and state level, the relevant administrations (Mérida City Council and the State Government, respectively) have signed an agreement (Declaration for Mérida 2050), whereby both pledged to plant at least 200,000 native trees in the City of Merida, running alongside both the Mérida Municipal Green Infrastructure Plan and the Aborising Yucatán Strategy (Ref. 2).

In April 2021, the Kochi City Corporation in collaboration with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and ICLEI South Asia inaugurated the Subhash Bose Park after a thorough renovation. The project was part of the overarching project "INTERACT-Bio" by ICLEI South Asia and the KAWAKI initiative by the WRI (part of the Cities4Forests movement in Kochi). The initiative was launched to demonstrate the application of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for climate mitigation in Kochi. The project aims to develop urban grooves similar to the traditional grooves that once existed in Kerala. Additionally, with this project, ICLEI South Asia aimed to address the problems of climate change through mainstreaming biodiversity objectives across the city. The park plays as a major carbon sink at the heart of the city that is home to over 300 species of native trees and many more species of native plants. Furthermore, the Kochi City Corporation is focused on increasing native biodiversity and communicating the importance of this biodiversity to residents in order to ensure long term conservation efforts. This was a key motivator for the city in the conceptualization of the garden which not only improves the native biodiversity of the city but also serves as a demonstration site for nature education. The park also includes a newly built pollinator garden that has augmented the pollinator base in the city. [1, 4, 7, 10]

"Siargao It Up" is the mangrove conservation programme in Del Carmen, Siargao Islands of the Philippines. The municipality of Del Carmen hosts the largest mangrove forest in the Philippines – consisting of 4,871 hectares as of 2018. This mangrove forest is the habitat of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna both in marine, wetland and terrestrial areas. This ecosystem helps maintain the island's ecological balance by providing rich breeding grounds for aquatic lives. Furthermore, the forest plays a key role in capturing and storing carbon and helps the Philippines to meet its goal of carbon emission reduction. In addition to creating habitats and storing carbon, the forest also protects the community from the inevitable effects of climate change disasters. Recently, in December 2021, it was able to protect the residents from the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. [1, 2, 3]

Droughts are one of the most serious threats to water availability, food security, and local livelihoods in the semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Drought condition is coupled with a rainfall deficit and poor rainfall distribution. In Tanzania, drought conditions are observed more frequently in the country's northern and central portions (Arusha, Manyara, Shinyanga, Simiyu, and Dodoma). This consideration was paramount when in 2019, the Municipality of Dodoma, alongside ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, erected a new garden positioned in a square in the centre of the city. Nyerere Square in Dodoma used to be an open, concrete space with the statue of Julius Kambarage Nyerere the only attraction apart from the informal traders scattered along the main walkway. Nyerere is the former prime minister and president of Tanganyika, as Tanzania was known before, and subsequently president of Tanzania. It would prove challenging to sustain such an initiative in this drought-prone city. To ensure the park outlived the project, the team installed a greywater system to irrigate the new garden and ensure there was always sufficient water to help the plants flourish. (1,2,3)

In order to promote Urban and Periurban Agriculture and Forestry (UPAF) as a municipal strategy to deal with negative climate change effects, Bobo-Dioulasso local authorities have identified, using a participatory approach, city greenways as experimentation sites for local climate solutions. The intervention consists in transforming vacant land belonging to the city into green corridors (greenways) through market gardens and forestry, retaining the benefits of urban agriculture. Urban agriculture, when planned and managed properly, can contribute to climate change mitigation efforts by lowering the ecological footprint associated with food production. At the same time, urban agriculture can enhance climate change adaptation efforts by increasing vegetation cover and reducing surface water run-off, while at the same time conserving biodiversity. (1,2,3,4)

A new nature sanctuary was unveiled at the Kingfisher Wetlands, Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore in 2021. Before the sanctuary was created, the original site was a popular bird-watching spot for the birding community and nature photographers. However, it was isolated and "often missed by the general public". The new Kingfisher Wetlands was thus developed with the aim of enhancing and enriching the Gardens, as well as providing new nature areas for visitors to explore. The place is a new hotspot for the flourishing diversity of exotic flora and fauna. Furthermore, the project helps in mitigating climate change through mangrove plantations. Over 200 native true mangrove trees and mangrove associates have been planted, contributing to sustainability by storing “blue” carbon. Additionally, the project actively supports research into blue carbon science. This contributes to the country's effort to transform Singapore into a City in Nature by weaving nature more intensively into the urban fabric. [1, 4]

The Rioni River basin is the second largest in Georgia, originating in the Greater Caucasus range and flowing into the Black Sea, traversing the town of Samtredia. Samtredia has been affected directly on many occasions by floods that have become a current occurrence in the Rioni River basin as of late. The underlying causes of vulnerability to climate change in the Rioni basin can be categorised into 1) physical factors –direct manifestations of climate change, 2) factors caused by anthropogenic intervention – those related to the harmful ways in which humans have and continue to interact with the environment which has exacerbated vulnerability and 3) Institutional factors – related to the legislative/regulatory barriers placed by government and other institutions, as well as limited capacity (human and resources) to manage climate change vulnerability. Flooding has been harmful not only to the local population but also to the biodiversity of the area, which suffered losses and an ecological imbalance and a disruption in the habitat patterns of local fauna. Many of these issues became the focal point of an activity developed by the Adaptation Fund alongside the Georgian government as early as 2012. The intervention stretched for 4 years and involved several localities in the Rioni River Basin, including Samtredia municipality, consisting of creating bank terracing, vegetative buffers, and tree revetments in order to address floods related to the Rioni River basin and the localities it traverses. (1,2)

Rising temperatures, longer dry spells, more intense heavy rainfall and sea-level rise, make Tanzania the 26th most vulnerable country to climate risks. Dodoma, the country's capital, is a city with a rapid rate of urbanisation and uneven population growth. The near-central business district, peri-urban and urban parts of the city, have grown very fast as a result of intensified urban planning and surveying of land. A way of addressing these stringent issues was developed by ICLEI, an international NGO, which focused on the relationship between nature and urban planning and initiated an intervention in the form of a community farm in Dodoma.
This project aims to develop, 15 km from Dodoma's city centre, a community farm that will focus on producing enough food for the inhabitants of the city and its surroundings. The farm is the first in a project that will try to establish foodways. Foodways include customs of food production, preservation, preparation, presentation, gathering, marketing (both buying and selling), uses of food products other than for eating and food folklore.”The project dates back to the beginning of 2020, and it is still ongoing. (1,2,3)

The Ras Mekonnen Urban Park is part of a larger intervention developed by ICLEI (an international NGO focused on the promotion of sustainable development) with the Addis Ababa municipality alongside the Shega river that crosses a nearby neighbourhood. The location of the park was initially used by locals as a dumping site affecting not only the quality of life of the inhabitants but also contributing to the environmental degradation of the area. As more and more people discarded their waste here, the small river running through the site, a tributary of the Shega River, became increasingly overgrown and inaccessible, resulting in a derelict, run-down space in an otherwise vibrant urban area. As such, action was needed, which eventually resulted in the rehabilitation of the river and the creation of the park, which now can be enjoyed by all the inhabitants of the Ras Makonnen neighbourhood. (1,2)