1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Bergen
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Vann mellom Lungegårdsvannene
Short description of the intervention
The urban development project between Little Lungegård Lake and Big Lungegård Lake (Store Lungegårdsvann) involves the creation of a canal between the two lakes as a means of runoff management, among other things. Water quality and flood protection are fundamental issues that are considered in this project as the city is expecting increased levels of precipitation due to climate change. The rest of the urban area will be transformed into an attractive modern city centre area with water as the most important element (Ref 1, 4).
Address

5008 Bergen
Norway

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 (5.327484 60.391358)
POINT (5.326148 60.39025)
POINT (5.338486 60.383856)
POINT (5.341618 60.385138)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
Source: Ref. 3
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Central Business District / City Centre
Website of the intervention
https://www.arkitektur.no/vann-mellom-lungegardsvannene?pid1=268239
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
1999
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
unknown
End date of the intervention
unknown
Present stage of the intervention
Unknown
Goals of the intervention
This project is part of a broader urban development project that aims to:
- Provide security for the lives of citizens of Bergen (Ref. 3)
- Promote health and economy (Ref. 3)
- Ensure the best possible water quality of runoff water (Ref. 1,2,3)
- Ensure fresh urban waterways (Little Lungegårds Lake) are in biological balance (Ref. 3)
- Protect the city against climate change impacts including sea-level rise and increased flooding (Ref. 1,4,8,9)
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Regulation of built environment
Water management (SDG 6)
Flood protection
Improvements to water quality
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
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?
Renaturalization of rivers and other water bodies
Implementation activities
Open a channel between the Big and the Little Lungegård Lake (Ref. 2)
"Extensive cleaning of the bottom sediments and securing an adequate supply of surface water from the urban area through separation of the sewage system are important elements in a long-term waterway plan that aims to establish a fresh, urban waterway in biological balance. The reopening of the waterway from Lille Lungegårdsvann to the sea is the next stage of the plan. The remodelling of the rest of the urban area, from a strained heavily trafficked area into an attractive modern city centre area towards Store Lungegårdsvann, will be based on water as the most important element. The establishment of a climate-adapted flood route secured against rising sea levels constitutes the core of the environmental upgrading of the city’s access road and public transport hub" (Ref. 4,8)
Integration of surface water management into the design (Ref. 9)
Type of NBS project
Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Blue infrastructure
Lakes/ponds
Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
Vegetation Type
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Water (surface and ground water for drinking and non-drinking purposes)
Regulating services
Flood regulation
Water purification / filtration
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
Local government: initiator of project; strategic development & planning (Ref. 3)
National government: interest in cultural heritage (water heritage regulation) (Ref. 8)
Provincial Government (County Hordaland): interest in wildlife and water regulation; knowledge development (Ref. 8)
Property Owners: land development (Ref. 8)
Knowledge Institutions (Bjerknes Centre for Climate Reasearch/ The Norwegian Meteorological Institute): interest in regulation of environment, water quality, and water quantity; planning; knowledge maintenance (Ref. 8)
Citizens, organizations, and communities (Nordnes SKOLE adoptation of Smålungeren): interest in knowledge maintenance (Ref. 8)
Transnational/EU network: MARE (Managing Adaptive REsponses to changing flood risk), North Sea Region programme - of which the City of Bergen was a part (Ref. 8)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Other
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Regional government
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Researchers/university
Private sector/corporate actor/company
EU body
Transnational network
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Other
Please specify other land owner
Property owners (Ref. 8)
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Please specify other landowner
Property owners (Ref. 8)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Yes
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
EU's Water Framework Directive (Ref. 8)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
This NBS was affiliated with the Cities of the Future program (Ref. 1,2,9). The Cities of the Future program included 5 priorities: (1) Land Use and Transport, (2) Stationary Energy, (3) Consumption and Waste, (4) Adaptation to Climate Change, and (5) Better Urban Environment. This NBS was a part of the Adaptation to Climate Change priority, which included 16 projects that were processed and provided specific plans between 2009-2014 (Ref. 2,9). Among the objectives were laying the groundwork for community development that reduces vulnerability to climate change and integrating climate adaptation into land use management and infrastructures. (Ref. 9)

Other local policies affiliated with the NBS include various plans to address rainwater management, including (Ref. 3):
- Guidelines for stormwater management in Bergen municipality (Retningslinjer for overvannshåndtering i Bergen Kommune)
- Master Plan for sewage and water environment 2005-2015 (Hovedplan for avløp og vannmiljø 2005 - 2015)
- Management Plan for the waterways in Bergen (Forvaltningsplan Vassdragene i Bergen)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning guidance
Environmental regulation
Other
Please specify other type of mandatory intervention
Water management (Ref. 3)
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
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
This NBS was affiliated with the Cities of the Future program (Ref. 1,2,9). The Cities of the Future program included 5 priorities: (1) Land Use and Transport, (2) Stationary Energy, (3) Consumption and Waste, (4) Adaptation to Climate Change, and (5) Better Urban Environment. This NBS was a part of the Adaptation to Climate Change priority, which included 16 projects that were processed and provided specific plans between 2009-2014 (Ref. 2,9). Among the objectives were laying the groundwork for community development that reduces vulnerability to climate change and integrating climate adaptation into land use management and infrastructures. (Ref. 9)

Other local policies affiliated with the NBS include various plans to address rainwater management, including (Ref. 3):
- Guidelines for stormwater management in Bergen municipality (Retningslinjer for overvannshåndtering i Bergen Kommune)
- Master Plan for sewage and water environment 2005-2015 (Hovedplan for avløp og vannmiljø 2005 - 2015)
- Management Plan for the waterways in Bergen (Forvaltningsplan Vassdragene i Bergen)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
City specific climate change policy or plan
Water regulation strategy
Urban redevelopment plan
Please specify other vegetation type
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
MARE (Managing Adaptive REsponses to changing flood risk), North Sea Region programme (Ref. 8)
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
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
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)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Unknown
Type of fund(s) used
Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Please specify other Business model
Urban regeneration (Ref. 1,2,3,9)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Other
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Infrastructural innovation
Social
Cultural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The innovation mainly features infrastructural changes in terms of opening up waterways, creating a canal between the two lakes, and adapting the urban environment to increased flows of water and rising sea levels in the future. (Ref. 3)
Please specify social innovation
The establishment of a climate-adapted flood route secured against rising sea levels constitutes the core of the environmental upgrading of the city’s access road and public transport hub" (Ref. 4)
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Not specifically expressed as being connected to other initiatives (among the studied sources). However, there is a national program running on reopening water courses that have been running in pipes and prepare cities in Norway for increased levels of precipitation and better stormwater management. (Ref. 6)
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is not referred to as being transferred to new initiative(s)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
There are no references being made regarding transferability of this intervention among the studied sources.
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Increased protection against flooding
Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Description of environmental benefits
Climate/ Flooding Protection:
- Creation of a canal between the two lakes as a means of runoff management (Ref. 1)
- Establishment of a climate-adapted flood route secured against rising sea levels (Ref. 4,8)

Water Quality/ Ecosystem Restoration:
- Extensive cleaning of the bottom sediments; separation of sewage system (Ref. 4,8)

Naturalistic landscape design:
- Integration of surface water management into the design (Ref. 9)
- Making water a central element of the urban design of a modern city centre area (Ref. 1,4)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Description of social and cultural benefits
Improved health/ security for citizens (Ref. 3)
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Water management (SDG 6)
Environmental quality
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of 24 October 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Please specify
The project has not been implemented yet, thus an evaluation of the intervention has not been possible.
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
Please specify
The project has not been implemented yet, thus a follow-up of an intervention evaluation has not been possible.
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1 Water between the Lungegård Lakes
Ref. 3 Bergen City Centre - Strategy program for water between the Lungegårds l…
Ref. 5 Green Strategy
Ref. 10 Climate adaptation in Bergen municipality
Ref. 11 Has processed plans for Store Lungegårdsvann
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Ref. 2 Cities of the Future - Area and transport action plan (434.24 KB) 434.24 KB
Ref. 4 Water and the life of the city (4.08 MB) 4.08 MB
Ref. 6 Guidelines for stormwater management in Bergen municipality (470.77 KB) 470.77 KB
Ref. 8 MARE report on Lungegård lakes project (7.81 MB) 7.81 MB
Ref. 9 Cities of the Future -Bergen -Status of the Programme of Action November 2013 (2.12 MB) 2.12 MB
List of references
1. Vikse, P. (2014). Water between the Lungegård Lakes/Vann mellom Lungegårdsvannen. Norwegian Architects Association. Available at: https://www.arkitektur.no/vann-mellom-lungegardsvannene?pid1=268239 [Accessed: 17 October 2020].

2. City of Bergen (2009). Cities of the Future - Area and transport action plan/Framtidens byer - Areal og transport Handlingsplan. [Document provided].

3. City of Bergen (2008). Bergen City Centre - Strategy program for water between the Lungegårds lakes/Bergen Sentrum - Strategiprogram for vann mellom Lungegårdsvannene. Available at: https://docplayer.me/29992264-Bergen-sentrum-strategiprogram-for-vann-mellom-lungegardsvannene.html [Accessed: 17 October 2020].

4. City of Bergen (2010). Water and the life of the city. [Document provided].

5. City of Bergen (2016). Green Strategy. Climate and Energy Action plan for Bergen/Grønn strategi. Klima- og Energihandlingsplan for Bergen. Behandlet av Byråd 26. mai. 2016. Available at: https://www.bergen.kommune.no/hvaskjer/tema/gronn-strategi [Accessed: 17 October 2020].

6. City of Bergen (2005). Guidelines for stormwater management in Bergen municipality/Retningslinjer for overvannshåndtering i Bergen kommune. [Document provided].

7. Bergen Municipality's Council for Urban development. Water and Sewerage Agency/Bergen Kommunes Byrådsavdeling for byutvikling. Vann- og avløpsetaten. [Not available in 2020].

8. MARE - Managing Adaptive REsponses to changing flood risk (n.d.). The Lungegård lakes, transforming a fjord. The Interreg. IVB North Sea Region Programme. [Document provided].

9. Framtidens Byer. (2013). Cities of the Future -Bergen -Status of the Programme of Action November 2013. [Document provided].

10. City of Bergen. (2017). Climate adaptation in Bergen municipality / Klimatilpasning i Bergen commune. Available at: https://www.stormaqua.no/newsread/readimage.aspx?pubid=d116d453-33f3-404f-92a3-75d8ed4c0ce9 [Accessed: 24 October 2020].

11. City of Bergen. (2019). Has processed plans for Store Lungegårdsvann/ Har behandlet planer for Store Lungegårdsvann. Available at: https://www.bergen.kommune.no/politikk/byradet/behandlede-saker/bymiljo/har-behandlet-planer-for-store-lungegardsvann [Accessed: 24 October 2020].
Comments and notes
Comments
Implementation status is unclear as of 2020. As of 2017, it does not seem like the implementation of the project has started, based on a presentation from the municipality (Ref. 10). In 2019, other projects around the area have been proposed including a zoning plan for the management of Store Lungegårdsvann. It was also stated that the management for this area has been unclear. (Ref. 11) In Google Maps imagery, it shows that this project has not been completed, as there is no connection between the two lakes.

In the 2017 data collection, project was still in planning stage, and data was difficult to access. This was especially true for performance-relating information of the intervention such as evaluation reports etc.
Additional insights
section 4/enablers: Bergen Municipality has a green strategy called "Green Strategy - Climate and energy action plan for Bergen 2016" as well as a plan on blue-green infrastructure called 'Green Environment Plan 2012-2020'. However, these were not mentioned to act as enablers for this specific project.
Bergen is involved in several networks relating to sustainability, e.g.:
1. Energy use: The environmental foundation "Zero" and other major Norwegian cities for zero-emission solutions. Bergen also has a Smart City project in cooperation with the private sector.
2. Climate adaptation: Cooperation with the Environment Directorate, KS (Local Government Organization),
Hordaland County Council, Research Institutions and the interregional project BEGIN.
Cooperation with industry & research: Climate Forum: A cooperation between Bergen municipality, Bergen Nutrition Board and Bjerknes Centre. Energy forum: A collaboration between the municipality of Bergen, Hordaland County Municipality, BKK, Business School of Norway and the University of Bergen. (Ref. 5). However, none of these programs were specifically mentioned as enablers for the project.
Bergen municipality is cooperating with the University of Bergen in the research project "Space Lab" on climate and energy and society, and is part of the different EU projects: Eurocities (network for major European cities), ICLEI (International Municipal Network) and the Global Climate Network (International Forum for Research, Business and Organizations) (Ref. 5). However none of the research projects where specifically mentioned as an enabler for this intervention.
Public Images
Lungegård 1
Source: Ref. 10
Lungegård 2
Source: Ref. 10
Lungegård 3
Source: Ref. 10