Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)

The marshes in southern Iraq, formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, are home to one of humanity’s oldest cultures, once the third-largest wetlands in the world. The Eden In Iraq wastewater garden project started as a humanitarian project that has developed as a necessity for the people of Al Chibaish and the localities surrounding the town. This water remediation project holistically looks at wastewater, trying to include this type of water and its nutrients in a sustainable form by using it to create green spaces. The Eden project in Iraq regards human waste as a valuable source of nutrients and freshwater, which can add to local greenery and landscape beauty if properly treated close to its source. From a climate change point of view, the project focuses on the creation of a wetland with wastewater that can support a garden within the marshes of Iraq. Marsh restoration is a powerful tool against warming temperatures and loss of vegetation, especially in arid areas such as Iraq. From a biodiversity point of view, the project bares a great deal of significance as marshes support a myriad of rare wildlife and rich biodiversity. (1,2,3)

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]

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]

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)

The Sustainable Residential Complex project was a measure taken by the city of Dubai, one of the largest city ecological footprints, with a goal to reduce it to the smallest ecological footprint by 2050. For the past two decades, the UAE government has made an effort to lower its own dependency on fossil fuels, shifting toward more environmentally-friendly sources to power its cities. The sustainable residential complex development project is one of the few initiatives taken by the city administration of Dubai under Vision 2021. Located just outside Dubai the area is the first operational net-zero energy residential complex in Dubai. [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)

Uruguay is highly vulnerable to climate change and its cities particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme events such as droughts, floods, heat and cold waves, strong winds, tornadoes, hailstorms, frosts, heavy rains and severe storms. According to the latest census in Uruguay, more than 93 per cent of its population lives in urban areas. Montevideo is one of Uruguay's cities most affected by the changing weather. In 2014 most of the city has been left underwater after suffering its worst flooding in 50 years so much so that the city was declared a multi-hazard risk zone. Thousands of homes and businesses have been damaged in the process. This has been described as the worst flooding in almost a century. In 2018 the municipality developed the idea of rain gardens to counteract heavy rains and flooding effects. Initially, it was adopted in a number of neighbourhoods but over the years it has been extended to the entire area of Montevideo (1,2,3)