Local government/municipality

The city of Algiers initiated in 2010 a project in order to establish a green belt around its areas and some northern municipalities. The project aims to create agro parks, allotment gardens as well as parks as a strategy for reintegrating the concept of the green belt into the Algerian territory. Through this intervention, the municipality aims to put into practice environmental values ​​linked to improved quality of life and social well-being, for the benefit of the local community. The intervention plans to introduce different species of trees and include for the first time in Africa agro parks as spaces which are designed to reconcile urban and agricultural functions in a win-win strategy. The action was thought to respond to the impacts of climate change in the country, which faces rain events that are less frequent but more intense, and droughts that are more common and longer. (1,2,3,4)

The Orbital Forest of Tirana is an innovative urban forest that as a green belt forms a natural growth boundary for the City. Tirana has experienced rapid development in the past decades that led to population growth challenging municipal services and infrastructure, while climate change also posed extensive pressures to the urban area with intense flooding, precipitation, urban heat and degrading environment (1, 4). The Orbital Forest is a ring on the periphery of the City that connects 14,000 ha of Tirana’s parks, agricultural fields, and forests, maintaining the ecosystem and supporting biodiversity. (3, 4) The NBS aims to increase urban greenery through the plantation of 2 million trees that fit well to the existing ecosystem while also creating a natural boundary to halt urban sprawl (1,4,5). The afforestation of the Orbital Forest has been done through the “Donate a Tree For Tirana” campaign started in 2017 where citizens, businesses and international organisations can plant a tree adding to the green belt. As of 2021, more than 440,700 trees in the framework of the "Donate a Tree" campaign are also bringing urban nature closer to residents (3).

Kaysone experiences severe flooding events on an annual basis due to its location to the banks of Mekong river, as well as periodic storms, and past responses to these threats have focused on the Savanxay Market and the Southern Flood Gate, but with limited success (Ref. 1). This intervention focuses on the development of an integrated adaptation plan for the area around the market and adjacent to the Mekong canal. This plan includes NBS-specific components considering how the market's parking area provides an important opportunity for bioengineering and green cover, and that there is "an opportunity to use adjoining land as a constructed wetland and park for recreation, flood retention and storm water treatment" (Ref. 1). The adaptation plan comprises seven points overall, focusing on wastewater recycling, walking paths, proper drainage and green space in addition to an educational component related to climate change and its impacts (Ref. 1).

Mauritius is a biodiversity hotspot, which has been declared by IUCN as a “Centre of Plant Diversity”. 39% of plants, 80% of non-marine birds, 80% of reptiles, and 40% of bat species on the islands are reported as endemic. (4) Nevertheless, human activity keeps threatening this endemicity in Port Louis, a port city and the capital of Mauritius. The city is surrounded by a semicircle of mountains on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. In 2006 a local NGO started implementing an initiative that focused on restoring native vegetation to the hill that harbours the capital and it's also the place of an important historical heritage, the Fort Adelaide. (2)

A multi-purpose green belt (12 km in length of Batticaloa Municipal Corporation coast) was established to protect the lagoon and coastal areas, restore mangrove ecosystems and improve coastal biodiversity. The project comes under activity 1.3 of the overarching project Climate Resilient Action Plans for Coastal Urban Areas in Sri Lanka (CCSL). The project focuses on the most urgent and immediate needs of the Sri Lankan coastal cities in adapting to climate change, and mitigating risks and the severity of impacts through Disaster Risk Management (DRM). The green belt plantation was done with Casuarinas plantation in 400 ha (out of which 75% by Mandru and 25% by the Forest Department), mangrove forest redesigning and protection of the existing vegetation. [1, 2, 6]

The Gangxia 1980 green roof, a pilot of the Green Cloud project, was launched by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in collaboration with key partners, including: Zhubo-AAO; Glocal Estate Management; and Urban Planning & Design Institute of Shenzhen (UPDIS) [1]. Located on an old building in Gangxia village in Shenzhen, the project utilizes three-dimensional light steel structures that are simple to construct and have the capacity to hold over 420 plant containers, filled with plants mostly native to Southern China [1, 2]. The original concrete rooftop is transformed by vegetation, which is capable of absorbing and preserving rainwater, creating a nature-based stormwater management system for the residential building, achieving a 65% of run-off control rate [1, 2]. As a result, a living “green cloud” is formed on a rooftop of Gangxia village, showcasing “a model to improve the urban village’s stormwater management system and its living environment” [1. p.33].

Hatirjheel area development project is a wetland restoration project that explores the possibility of reintroducing water edge elements into the city of Dhaka. The project includes both engineered infrastructure and NbS. The restored jheel (wetland) and Begunbari khal have improved storm-water management of Dhaka and made aquatic biodiversity better. It also increased green and open space in the busy capital. The intended objective of the project was to create a bridge between the densely developed old part of the city on the south and the new organised north part of the city. Spreading over 311 acres, this project has endeavoured towards improving connectivity between major urban corridors as well as acting as a retention pond to mitigate the flash flood-prone densely populated part of the area. [1,2]

The Kok River which runs through Chiang Rai City is in the process of being ecologically restored (Ref. 1). Having previously been a "lifeline for the city and various communities along its banks", sections of the river ran dry 20 years ago due to the construction of a large scale diversion channel and dredging by a major hotel (Ref. 2). In addition to reestablishing the river flow, restoration efforts are focusing on the opportunity to provide additional water storage, flood reduction and urban greening (Refs. 1 & 4). These improvements are considered particularly important given that the city of Chiang Rai is "expected to be affected by climate-induced drought as a result of changing rainfall patterns; rain which may also be heavy at times leading to excessive runoff into such channels; and flooding" (Ref. 4). To date, wetlands have been restored, and community benefits, such as a walking path, created (Ref. 3).

Improved water circulation and quality are further going to minimise the occurrence of breeding grounds for disease vectors (Ref. 4). Whilst already recognised as a problem, vector-borne and waterborne diseases are anticipated to become more prevalent due to increased temperatures associated with climate change (Ref. 4).

In anticipation of the organisation of the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, the Sidi Mohammed Benabdellah University (USMBA) of Fez has launched an operation to plant 1,000 trees of different species. This intervention was part of a series of scientific, cultural, artistic, sporting and environmental actions undertaken by the University for the Climate, with the cooperation of other partners. Students and faculty as well as NGO representatives were present and implemented the action which ultimately led to the creation of green areas within the campus and around the faculties and universities. Founded in 1975, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University is named for a 18th century Sultan of Morocco, the nation in which the university is based. The main campus is located in the northern city of Fez, a World Heritage Site and historically the last stop on the famous gold trading route from Timbuktu. (1)

The Krubong landfill site has been proposed to undergo a "thorough and safe environmental rehabilitation program[me]" so that the site can be developed as a public park (Ref. 1). Following completion of a feasibility study, it is envisaged that significant rehabilitation work to address environmental degradation and restoration of natural habitats will be required, after which the site will be developed into a public park (Ref. 1). The programme remains in its planning stage, but seeks to address Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) 11.6 and 15.1 through protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of ecosystems and reversing land degradation and/or biodiversity loss; and reducing the environmental impact of cities by paying special attention to waste management and providing access to safe, open public spaces (Ref. 1). At a more local level, the programme intends to complement additional programmes laid out in Melaka's Resilience strategy document, including promoting both cycling and pedestrian networks and reshaping public spaces in the city (Ref. 1).