1. General information Location and description of the intervention City or FUA Belgrade (FUA) Region Europe Native title of the NBS intervention Za šumu u tvom kraju Short description of the intervention For a Forest in Your Neighborhood" is an afforestation campaign by the DDOR insurance group, launched in 2022 as part of their Environment, Society, and Governance (ESG) commitments (Ref. 1). Site selection was based on online votings, with thousands of votes being casted from 188 towns across Serbia (Ref. 2). In the end, the fifteen most popular cities were selected for project implementation. As a result, hundreds of trees were planted, including 25 trees along the promenade of Belgrade’s Ušće Park in 2023 (Ref. 3). Ultimately, the initiative aims to create and enhance urban green spaces, to improve air quality and living conditions in Serbian cities (Ref. 5). The success of the campaign encouraged DDOR to extend the campaign in 2024, financed through their eco-insurance schemes (Ref. 4) Website of the intervention https://www.ddor.rs/en/ddors-campaign-for-a-forest-in-your-area-continues-with-… Principal problems Environmental Degradation Air pollution Implementation area characterization Climate Temperate ( Humid subtropical, Hot-summer Mediterranean, Warm-summer Mediterranean, Warm-temperate with dry winter) Ecosystem Urban or built environment Address Belgrade Serbia Location The NBS area is spread over a linear space, the GIS coordinates serve as points along a line (e.g. along a river) Area boundary (map-based) Area description Other urban area outside city center (e.g. another municipality in the FUA, commuting zone) Type of area before implementation of the NBS Public Greenspace Area Timeline of intervention Start date of the intervention (planning process) 2022 Start date of intervention (implementation process) 2022 End date of the intervention ongoing Present stage of the intervention Completed 2. Objectives of the intervention Objectives of the intervention Goals of the intervention Goal 1) Plant 25 new trees in Serbia in 2023 to enhance urban afforestation for the benefit of public health, especially air pollution (Ref. 1,3) Goal 2) Allocate funds from each contracted eco-policy insurance towards the project of 100 dinars. (Ref. 4) Goal 3) Act on Corporate Social Resposibility strategy by implementing the programme. (Ref. 1,2) Goal 4) Start a new project cycle in 2024 to demonstarte long-term commitment in the cause. (Ref. 4) Goal 5) Conduct public votings to determine the project cities and enhance inclusiveness (Ref. 2,4) Key Priorities Social Justice and community Sustainability challenge(s) addressed Environmental quality Air quality improvement Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15) Green space creation and/or management Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16) Inclusive governance Implementation activities and NBS focus Implementation activities - Announcement of the activity at the DDOR Eco Belgrade Car Show in 2022 (Ref. 1) - Create eco-policy insurances which help fund the project (Ref. 1,4) - Conduct public votings, based on which the project cities are selected (Ref.1,2) - Plant trees in each project city, in Belgrade 25 stands, in attendance of political and company representatives. (Ref. 1,2) - Communicate the project through the company website and other media outlets for public engagement in future cycles (Ref. 1,2,4) Type of NBS project Maintenance and management of urban nature Urban reforestation, restoration of street trees Improved governance of green or blue areas Establishment of inclusive governance mechanisms involving local communities 3. NBS domains, ES and scale NBS domain and interventions Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented Parks and urban forests Large urban parks or forests Amenities offered by the NBS Unknown Design elements for well-being None of the above Services Expected ecosystem services delivered Regulating services Air quality regulation Scale Spatial scale Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings) Beneficiaries Demographics in implementation area unknown Socio-economic profile of the area Unknown Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts Unknown Non-government actors Private sector/Corporate/Business Primary Beneficiaries Private sector/Corporate/Company Citizens or community groups Specify primary beneficiaries "Having recognized the importance of this campaign, [...] , the company has included this project in its three-year plan and extended the campaign" (Ref. 1) "improvement of the environment and living conditions in Serbian cities." (Ref. 5) Marginalized groups Unknown Other beneficiaries Unknown 4. Governance and financing Governance Governance arrangements Led by non-government actors Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative The company "DDOR osiguranje" (insurance company) is successfully implementing the campaign “For a forest in your neighbourhood”, which envisages the planting of hundreds of trees in towns throughout the country" (Ref. 2) "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the City of Belgrade for its support and contribution to our joint efforts to make cities greener and healthier" (Ref. 1) "on the basis of several thousand votes received from more than 188 towns in Serbia" (Ref. 2) Key actors - initiating organization Financial institution Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors) Local government/municipality Citizens or community group Stages of citizen and community engagement Planning and design (e.g. site selection, identification of key priorities) Level of citizen and community engagement Limited Community empowerment or capacity-building initiatives Unknwon Participatory methods/forms of stakeholder involvement (all stakeholders) Deliberative decision-making processes (e.g., consensus building, deliberative polling) Uncommon actors ("Missing actors") Private Sector Insurance companies Land owners Public space owned by the city Policy drivers NBS intervention implemented in response to a Regional Directive/Strategy No NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan No NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan No Mandatory or voluntary intervention Voluntary (spontaneous) Enablers & Barriers Type of enablers Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city) Please provide details (e.g, name of the plan or strategy) for the selected policies or initiatives. campaign “For a forest in your area” based on ESG strategy of DDOR Insurance. Governace and decison-making instruments Economic and fiscal instruments (e.g. subsidies or grants, charges or fees, payments for ecosystem services (PES)) Arrangements for governance cooperation Unknown Barriers unknown Financing Total cost Unknown Please specify total cost (EUR) Unknown What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements? Unknown Source(s) of funding Insurance firms Type of fund(s) used Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities) Non-financial contribution No Co-finance for NBS No Entrepreneurship opportunities No Business models Business models Green densification model Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model? Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer) 5. Evaluation and learning Impacts, benefits Environmental impacts Environmental quality Improved air quality Expected improved air quality Green space and habitat Increased number of species present Achieved increased number of species present Please specify other economic impact Increased attactiveness of eco-insurance schemes. The number of trees planted is directiy influenced by the number of eco-insurance schemes sold. (Ref. 1,2) Description of environmental benefits -Improved air quality: "creating and improving urban oases that will have a positive effect on the effects of harmful gas emissions" (Ref. 5) -Increased number of species present: "[...]trees were planted in [...] and 25 in Belgrade" (Ref. 3) Environmental impact indicators Total number of vascular plant species protected or introduced 25 trees planted Economic impacts Other Description of economic benefits "In addition to the completion of the campaign launched in 2022, it also includes the allocation of funds from each stipulated eco-policy of DDOR for tree planting in the following year. By arranging eco-Casco or eco-Moja kućica insurance, as well as an annual eco-Travel insurance package, our clients contribute directly to the number of new trees planted in cities throughout Serbia." (Ref.1) As such, the insurer may even profit from this initiative. Social and cultural impacts Unknown Description of social and cultural benefits Unknown Evidence for use of assessment Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process Unknown Presence of indicators used in reporting Yes Type of indicators Input indicators Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports No evidence in public records Availability of a web-based monitoring tool No evidence in public records Use of GIS in mapping impacts No evidence in public records Cost-benefit analysis Unknown Transparency Unknown Justice Community satisfaction Unknown Trade-offs & Negative impacts Unknown Emphasis of existing social inequalities or injustices No information reported related to negative social justice-related impacts of the NBS project Measures to prevent gentrification or displacement No initiatives or policies were implemented High-quality & Transformative NBS Multiple impacts delivery (climate, biodiversity, just community) No Goal setting and impacts delivery No, project goals were not set, and benefits were not delivered in all 3 key areas. Long-term perspective Unknown: No information about the project's long-term sustainability. Cost-effective solutions Unknown Equitable impacts C. Unknown Transformative capacity Ecological change (e.g. ecosystem functions and their distribution) Magnitude of change Incremental: shallow; that is, mostly maintaining business-as-usual approaches to adaptation Application of lessons learned Other Perception of Environmental Change Unknown 6. Sources References 1. Rosic, J. (2023). DDOR’s campaign “For a forest in your area” continues with tree planting in Belgrade. DDOR Osiguranje, Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 2. Rosic, J. (2022). DDOR osiguranje campaign “For a forest in your neighborhood” begins with tree planting in Novi Sad. DDOR Osiguranje, Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 3. Rosic, J. (2023). DDOR Osiguranje continues its campaign “For a forest in your area” with the planting of trees in Novi Pazar. DDOR Osiguranje, Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 4. Rosic, J. (2024). Make your city greener. DOOR Osiguranje, Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 5. Republika (2023). Sadnjom stabala na beogradskom Ušću, DDOR osiguranje nastavilo akciju "Za šumu u tvom kraju" . Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; Comments and notes Comments there are no comments on the cost of the project or its size no information on the demographics around the park Additional insights Slight concern on this project as some sort of greenwashing action since the insurer used the Belgrade Motor Show, of which it is the general sponsor, as the reason for launching the tree campaign. Public Images Image Planted Trees along the Usce Promenade https://www.ddor.rs/en/ddors-campaign-for-a-forest-in-your-area-continues-with-tree-planting-in-belgrades-usce/ Image Planting action with Chairman of the Executive Board of DDOR Osiguranje, Francesco Masci and Olympian Zorana Arunović https://www.ddor.rs/en/ddors-campaign-for-a-forest-in-your-area-continues-with-tree-planting-in-belgrades-usce/
Image Planted Trees along the Usce Promenade https://www.ddor.rs/en/ddors-campaign-for-a-forest-in-your-area-continues-with-tree-planting-in-belgrades-usce/
Image Planting action with Chairman of the Executive Board of DDOR Osiguranje, Francesco Masci and Olympian Zorana Arunović https://www.ddor.rs/en/ddors-campaign-for-a-forest-in-your-area-continues-with-tree-planting-in-belgrades-usce/
