Green Urban Infrastructure in the municipality of Beira

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Beira

Region

Africa

Short description of the intervention

The Green Urban Infrastructure in the municipality of Beira project aims to increase Beira’s resilience to climate change and flooding (Ref. 2). It is a two-part project that consists of rehabilitating the Chiveve River and constructing a public park along the river (Ref. 1). The river rehabilitation was completed at the end of 2016 and restored the natural flow of the river, enabling better flood control (Ref. 5,6). The public park was completed at the end of 2020 and serves as a recreation, catchment and overflow area through three basins of the river (Ref. 1,2).

Address

Beira
Mozambique

Location

The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).

Area boundary

POINT (34.835468 -19.82599)

POINT (34.834395 -19.826515)

POINT (34.837271 -19.834387)

POINT (34.846026 -19.841209)

POINT (34.848429 -19.839715)

POINT (34.847699 -19.83584)

POINT (34.84285 -19.835679)

NBS area image

Source of NBS area image

Ref. 6, Ref. 8

Total area

45000.00m²

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Industrial

Residential

Website of the intervention

https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/969931585303089862/pdf/Lessons-Lear…

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

2012

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

2015

End date of the intervention

2020

Present stage of the intervention

Completed

2. Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

The Green Urban Infrastructure project in the municipality of Beira project aims to:
- Improve natural drainage and retention (Ref. 2,6)
- Increase Beira’s resilience to climate change (Ref. 2)
- Protect the city centre from flooding caused by heavy rain and tidal waves (Ref. 1,2)
- Restore the riverine and wetland ecosystem (Ref. 6)
- Improve living conditions for the inhabitants of Beira, especially within the poor informal community of Goto, which is vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Ref. 1)

Quantitative targets

Phase I:
- Preservation of at least 1 line of mangrove trees along the margin of the river (Ref. 6)
- Plant 2,200 mangrove trees and guarantee their survival for the first two vegetation periods (Ref. 6)

Monitoring indicators defined

Recording of precipitation and Chiveve Water Levels (Ref. 6)
# of plants planted (Ref. 6)
# of plants survived (Ref. 6)

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)

Climate change adaptation

Water management (SDG 6)

Flood protection

Stormwater and rainfall management and storage

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Habitat and biodiversity restoration

Green space creation and/or management

Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)

Environmental and climate justice

Economic development and employment (SDG 8)

Employment/job creation

Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?

Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities

Build resilience

Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?

Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature

Restore wetlands and/or coastal ecosystems to dissipate the effects of flooding and/or storms

Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)

Renaturalization of rivers and other water bodies

What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?

Ecosystem-focused

What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?

Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems

Restore ecological connectivity

Implementation activities

Phase I: River Rehabilitation
- Opening the river & connecting it to the estuary (Ref. 6)
- Dredging of Chiveve riverbed at fishing port (Ref. 1,11)
- Clearing of waste and sediments in shoreline vegetation (Ref. 1,5,6)
- Restoration of riverine and wetland ecosystem (Ref. 5,6,11)
- Mangrove reforestation (Ref. 1,6,11)

Phase II: Public Park
- Construction of a public park that extends through three basins of the river (Ref. 1,2)
- Establishment of new urban park administration (Ref. 1)
- Planting of native species (Ref. 1)
- Planting of over 7000 trees (Ref. 4)
- Establishment of the botanical garden (Ref. 1,4,5)
- Installation of panels along park pathways that provide information about the park’s ecosystem and how to protect it (Ref. 1)
- Wetland restoration (Ref. 1,4,11)

Type of NBS project

Creation of new green areas

Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas

Ecological restoration of ecosystems

3. NBS domains, ES and scale

NBS domain and interventions

Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented

Grey infrastructure featuring greens

Riverbank/Lakeside greens

Parks and urban forests

Large urban parks or forests

Blue infrastructure

Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries

Coastal wetland, mangroves and salt marshes

Green areas for water management

Sustainable urban drainage systems

What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?

Medium / High: sustainable urban drainage systems which include water storage and diverts water flooding

Vegetation Type

Grass

Shrubs

Trees

Please specify how many trees were planted

7000 (Ref. 4)

Amenities offered by the NBS

Benches and drinking water stations

Playgrounds

Sports areas and equipment

Educational or biodiversity trails

Cultural (museum, concert areas)

Complementing infrastructure (bathrooms, café)

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Regulating services

Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)

Flood regulation

Water purification / filtration

Habitat and supporting services

Habitats for species

Cultural services

Aesthetic appreciation

Recreation

Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)

Social and community interactions

Scale

Spatial scale

Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level

Beneficiaries

Primary Beneficiaries

Local government/Municipality

Citizens or community groups

Marginalized groups

Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Non-government actors

Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches

Citizens or community groups

Financial institution (e.g. bank, insurer, pension fund)

Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative

AIAS (National Administration of Water and Sanitation Infrastructure): implementing agency (Ref. 6)
Beira Municipality: project operator (Ref. 6)
KfW: co-finance for Phase I & II of the project (Ref. 5,6)
World Bank: co-finance for Phase II of the project (Ref. 1,2,5,6)
CES/ Inros Lackner; TPF Consultores; CHICO Construction: Private Sector Consultants (Ref. 6)
ADEL: local NGO for reforestation measures (Ref. 5,6)
Citizens: involvement in decisions affecting the park, including deciding park logo (Ref. 1)

Key actors - initiating organization

National government

Local government/municipality

Financial institution

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

Multilateral organisation

National government

Local government/municipality

Non-government organisation/civil society

Private sector/corporate actor/company

Financial institution

Citizens or community group

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used

Dissemination of information and education

Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Policy drivers

NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy

NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan

NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan

Yes

Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"

Beira’s Masterplan 2015-2035 (for river rehabilitation) (Ref. 11)

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Unknown

Enablers

Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify

World Bank IDA through its Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (Ref. 1), under the Strategic Climate Fund (Ref. 6)

Co-finance for NBS

Yes

Co-financing governance arrangements

Yes

Co-governance arrangement

A fund / grant

Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?

Set up for multiple NBS interventions, including this one

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?

30 000 000 euros (Ref. 6)

What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?

Unknown

What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?

Unknown

Please specify cost savings

Unknown

Please specify total cost (EUR)

Total: 30 000 000 euros (Ref. 6)
Phase I: ~13 million euros (Ref. 11)
Phase II: ~17 million euros (Ref. 2, 6, 10)

Source(s) of funding

Public local authority budget

Multilateral funds/international funding

Type of fund(s) used

Earmarked public budget

Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Business models

Risk reduction model

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Public actor (e.g. municipality)

5. Innovation

Type of innovation

Technological

Infrastructural innovation

Social

Governance innovation

Cultural innovation

Please specify technological innovation

‘When looking at flood and erosion protection infrastructure the use of nature-based solutions is still a new concept’ (Ref. 6)
‘The first green infrastructure development of its kind, in the city of Beira’ (Ref. 9)

Novelty level of the innovation

Unknown

Please specify novelty level of the innovation

Unknown

Replicability/Transferability

Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)

Please specify Replicability/Transferability

There is potential to replicate/ transfer the initiative (at the very least, lessons learned from the initiative) to other cities in Mozambique, including Nacala and Quelimane (Ref. 5).

6. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Climate change

Lowered local temperature

Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters

Environmental quality

Improved air quality

Water management and blue areas

Improved water quality

Increased protection against flooding

Improved stormwater management

Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems

Green space and habitat

Increased green space area

Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems

Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales

Description of environmental benefits

Achieved Impacts:
- Restoration of the river to natural function as a tidal river (Ref. 1)
- Improved river flow to protect the city from flooding (Ref. 1)
- Less flooding (Ref. 4,6) – during a ‘one-in-ten-year’ rainfall event in 2017 and a ‘one-in-50-year flood’ in 2019, the project area did not have any major flooding; when Cyclone Idai struck in 2019, the project area received less flooding than other parts of the country (Ref. 11)
- Improved drainage (Ref. 6)
- Ecosystem restoration via mangrove reforestation in Phase II (unsuccessful in Phase I) (Ref. 6)
- Increased ecological connectivity by connecting river and estuary (Ref. 6)
- Increased biodiversity – establishment of shrubs, one of which is an edible plant species (Ref. 6); planting of over 7000 trees (Ref. 4)

Expected Impacts:
- Lowering temperatures (Ref. 6)
- Filtering air and rainwater (Ref. 6)

Economic impacts

Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)

Generation of income from NBS

Description of economic benefits

Achieved Impacts:
- Creation of new jobs (Ref. 1,6)
- Creation of additional income for the city (Ref. 1)

Expected Impacts:
- Improved mobility of fishing vessels (Ref. 1, 6)

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts

Achieved impacts

Indicators

Environmental: water levels (Ref. 6,11)

Analysis of specific impact categories

Job creation: The NBS created ...

Paid employment positions

Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...

Improved access to green and/or blue spaces

Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?

Yes

Please specify the negative impacts

There were some negative feedback registered from merchants previously selling in informal market & car wash businesses next to the river, since they had to be moved during construction works (Ref. 6)

COVID-19 pandemic

Unknown (as of Sept. 2021)

Methods of impact monitoring

Process of recording NBS impacts

Conduct a baseline survey before and after NBS implementation

Collection of monitoring data continuously throughout the project to aid evaluation

Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS

Interviews

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

Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.

https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/969931585303089862/pdf/Lessons-Lear…

Evidence for use of assessment

Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports

Yes

Link to monitoring/evaluation reports

https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/969931585303089862/pdf/Lessons-Lear…

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Impact assessment mechanism

Name of any specific impact assessment tools

- Climate Change Assessment (Ref. 6)
- Hydrological Analysis (Ref. 6)
- Run-off and Flood Modeling (Ref. 6)
- Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (Ref. 6)

Use of GIS in mapping impacts

Yes

Citizen involvement

Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation

Yes

Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment

Interview

Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment

Unknown

7. Sources

References

Documents relevant to the intervention

Attachment	Size
Ref. 1 (218.26 KB)	218.26 KB
Ref. 2 (340.74 KB)	340.74 KB
Ref. 5 (7.11 MB)	7.11 MB
Ref. 6 (7.51 MB)	7.51 MB
Ref. 11 (1.85 MB)	1.85 MB

List of references

1. KfW Development Bank. (2021). Project information: Urban development – Mozambique. KfW Development Bank. Retrieved from: https://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/PDF/Entwicklungsfinanzierung/Projektinformationen/Subsahara-Afrika/2021_Projektinformation_Mosambik_Stadtentwicklung_EN.pdf [Document provided].
2. TPF Consultores. (n.d.). Green Infrastructure Park in Beira City. TPF Consultores. Retrieved from: https://www.tpf.pt/en/green-infrastructure-park-in-beira-city-c-2071-5-206-45-110-6.html [Document provided].
3. World Bank Group (WBG). (n.d.). Cities and Climate Change. WBG. Available at: https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P123201 [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
4. World Bank Group (WBG). (2018). Helping Mozambique Cities Build Resilience to Climate Change. WBG. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/06/05/helping-mozambique-cities-build-resilience-to-climate-change [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
5. CES Consulting Engineers Salzgitter GmbH and Inros Lackner SE (CES). (2020a). Task 5 – Knowledge Note: Upscaling Nature-Based Flood Protection in Mozambique’s Cities. Retrieved from: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Upscaling-Nature-Based-Flood-Protection-in-Mozambique-s-Cities-Knowledge-Note.pdf [Document provided].
6. CES Consulting Engineers Salzgitter GmbH and Inros Lackner SE (CES). (2020b). Task 1 – Lessons Learnt from Beira: Upscaling Nature-Based Flood Protection in Mozambique’s Cities. Retrieved from: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/969931585303089862/pdf/Lessons-Learnt-from-Beira.pdf [Document provided].
7. KfW Development Bank. (2016). Mozambique: Rehabilitation of the Chiveve River is improving the quality of life of Beira’s residents. URBANET. Available at: https://www.urbanet.info/river-rehabilitation-mozambique/ [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
8. Earthworks Landscape Architects. (2017). Chiveve River Beira Mozambique. Earthworks Landscape Architects. Available at: https://www.elastudio.co.za/project/chiveve-river-beira-mozambique/ [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
9. Carvalho, R. (2020). Mozambique inaugurates largest urban park in Africa. Further Africa. Available at: https://furtherafrica.com/2020/12/20/mozambique-inaugurates-largest-urban-park-in-africa/ [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
10. Club of Mozambique. (2020). Mozambique: Nyusi inaugurates Beira Green Park – Watch. Club of Mozambique. Available at: https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-nyusi-inaugurates-beira-green-park-watch-180545/ [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
11. Dicker, S, Unsworth, S, Byrnes, R. & Ward, B. (2021). Saving lives and livelihoods: The benefits of investments in climate change adaptation and resilience. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science. [Document provided].
12. Infraestruturas Verdes Urbanas – Beira. (2021). Facebook page. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/Infraestruturas-Verdes-Urbanas-Beira-104123950929813/ [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
13. Empresa Municipal Do Rio Chiveve. (2021). Facebook page. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/emrichbeira/?hc_ref=ARRcSJLg6IIjV56qISWcb_NoatEJfdsYfMA1G8TpIevjrS0nKFddIY7PQVOVHlmB-oU&ref=nf_target&__tn__=kC-R [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
14. ADEL Sofala. (2020). Facebook post. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=4007694459302548&id=1619278224810862&comment_id=4019717874766873&reply_comment_id=4073391462732847 [Accessed: 11 September 2021].

Comments and notes

Additional insights

The project was not initially a GI project, especially in the early planning stages for Phase I. The need for incorporating NBS/ GI came later on in the process. Overall, the project is a mixed green-grey infrastructure project. (Ref. 6)

Public Images

Beira Urban Park 1

Source: Ref. 9

Beira Urban Park 2

Source: Ref. 10

Source: Ref. 10

Source: Ref. 14

Source: Ref. 14

Source: Ref. 14