1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Cairo
Region
Africa
Native title of the NBS intervention
Urban Rooftop Farming
Short description of the intervention
In 2014, a rooftop farming project was initiated in the informal settlements of the Greater Cairo Region to address challenges brought by climate change and to empower the local community. The project was initiated by the German Corporation for International Cooperation and a local NGO with the objective to "reduce ambient temperatures (microclimate) in a densely populated area through green spaces on rooftops, and reduce the impacts of the urban heat island effect and increasing heat." (1) The initiative also addressed four of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by tackling biodiversity loss, encouraging sustainable agriculture practices, fostering ecosystem services and developing local knowledge (1,11)
Besides environmental benefits, the project and its scaled-up project in 2017 brought several socio-economic benefits by reducing vulnerability to food price changes and by developing the local community. Rooftop Farming Hubs were also established to foster the training and knowledge sharing of rooftop farmers in Cairo (1).
Address

Cairo
Egypt

Location
The NBS is a city-wide initiative, the GIS point marks the centre of the city
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Residential
Building
Website of the intervention
https://panorama.solutions/en/solution/socio-economic-approach-urban-rooftop-fa…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2014
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2014
End date of the intervention
unknown
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
- Regulate the micro-climate of the densely populated area where the rooftop farms are set up (1)
- Reduce the impacts of the urban heat island effect and increasing heat due to climate change (1)
- Increase green cover in the city (6)
- Promote sustainable urban farming practices available for local residents, thus reduce their vulnerability to inefficient food production and distribution and greatly fluctuating food prices (1, 6
- Empower local residents by capacity building and knowledge sharing while also encouraging community development (1)
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social cohesion
Social interaction
Environmental education
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable production
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities
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
Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation
Implementation activities
- Setting up the rooftop farms on the selected rooftops using a hydroponic technology system that contains 3-4 waterbeds made of wooden frames, plastic sheets, foam panels and cups filled with peat moss and pyralite substrate (2)
- Installation of raised garden beds in cases where the hydroponic technology system wasn't applicable (2)
- Establishment of Rooftop Farming Hubs using a community-based social business model to 1) educate and train the local residents and 2) create a platform through which the residents can collaborate, exchange experiences (3)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Knowledge creation and awareness raising
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green roofs
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Please specify other type of green roof
hydroponic technology system with 15 cm deep water beds
Type of Green Roof
Other
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Garden beds
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Mediation of smell / noise / visual impacts
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Physical and experiential interactions with plants and animals
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups
Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Marginalized groups
Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Coalition with multiple of the above
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The Urban Rooftop Farming project in Cairo was initiated by The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in cooperation with Shaduf, a local social enterprise that initially started off by offering microloans in the form of rooftop gardens for low-income Egyptians, and later expanded to creating more green spaces on rooftops of the entire country (1, 7)
Key actors - initiating organization
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Real estate developer
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Real estate developer
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Co-management/Joint management
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
While there is no information on policies and plans that were in place when the project was initiated, in 2019 Egypt’s Ministry of Environment launched a nationwide green-roof initiative to encourage planting roofs of buildings and facilities, reducing pollution levels in the country and providing an eco-friendly use of space. Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal had also previously introduced an initiative to plant gardens on the rooftops of Cairo’s buildings, as part of the governor’s sustainable development plan (7,9)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
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
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
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Green education model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Type of innovation
Social
Cultural innovation
Please specify social innovation
It can be argued that the social-business model approach can be considered as a social innovation in which rooftop farming hubs were established to facilitate urban farmers community-building and address capacity development needs (1, 3)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Description of environmental benefits
- The green roofs improved the microclimate of the urban area by contributing to the reduction of the temperature inside and outside the buildings, thus providing a cooling effect and increased natural ventilation (1)
- With the rooftop farms the green space loss in Cairo has been decreased (6)
- Edible plants that have been historically produced in Egypt were chosen as the main plants for the rooftop farm to fit into the local climate and biodiversity (9)
Economic impacts
Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Generation of income from NBS
Description of economic benefits
- The plants (herbs, vegetables, fruits) produced in the rooftop farms were mostly used by the residents who worked in the garden while the rest of it was collected by the Rooftop Farming Hub and sold on the markets. Thus, the sustainable production of food on the rooftop farms also brought some profit for the farmers (1)
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved social cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
Education
Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Description of social and cultural benefits
- By applying the social-business model approach, Rooftop Farming Hubs were established to facilitate urban farmers community building and capacity development needs (1, 3)
- Beneficiaries often come from densely populated low-income areas, where residents have even less access to public green spaces. Green rooftop farms offer a green haven for them (8)
- The Rooftop Farming Hubs established a network for participating community members, where social support was given, challenges were shared, concerns were communicated, and ideas were developed to help strengthen each farm collectively. By creating a network of farmers and offering opportunities for technical support and RFH also serves as a link to the local market, where participating rooftop farmers can sell their surplus.
- With the expansion of the project in 2017, 20 households/ families become part of the rooftop farming network, as well as an additional 20 beneficiaries that were trained to become part of the RTF Hub enabled to an onboard new household, where participants received the necessary skills and techniques to maintain their rooftop farms. (1,4)
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Positive distribution of NBS benefits
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Increased access to healthy food for humans and/or animals
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 September 2021
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Not applicable
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
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
List of references
1) Panorama. 2017. A socio-economic approach to Urban Rooftop farming in the Greater Cairo Region. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://panorama.solutions/en/solution/socio-economic-approach-urban-rooftop-farming-greater-cairo-region
2) Panorama. 2017. Rooftop farming methodology & technique. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/rooftop-farming-methodology-technique
3) Panorama. 2017. Social-business model approach. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/social-business-model-approach
4) Panorama. 2017. Creating a rooftop farmers network. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network
5) EcoMENA. 2020. Are Green Roofs a Viable Option for the Middle East?. EcoMENA. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://www.ecomena.org/green-roof-arab/
6) Greenroofs.com. 2020. Urban Gardening: The Rooftop Gardens of Cairo. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://www.greenroofs.com/2020/05/28/urban-gardening-the-rooftop-gardens-of-cairo/
7) DW. 2019. Greening Egypt's capital with rooftop gardens. DW. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/greening-egypts-capital-with-rooftop-gardens/av-48853499
8) Scoop Empire. 2020. Urban Gardening: The Rooftop Gardens Of Cairo And The Goal For A Greener City. Scoop Empire. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://scoopempire.com/urban-gardening-the-rooftop-gardens-of-cairo-and-the-goal-for-a-greener-city/
9) Schaduf. n.a. Green Jobs project. Schaduf. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://schaduf.com/projects/green-jobs-project/
10) CBD. 2020. Aichi Biodiversity Targets. CBD. Accessed on October 1, 2021. https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/
Comments and notes
Public Images
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
Source: https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network