1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Iaşi (FUA)
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Iasul Iubeste Teii
Short description of the intervention
This NBS comes as a reply against the municipality of Iasi which in 2013 cited lack of visibility and aesthetic preoccupation decided to cut over 100 linden trees and replace them with Japanese acacia in the city centre. The action enraged the inhabitants of the city who alongside local and national NGOs took the matter into their own hands and protested. As such in 2015 the municipality re-planted the linden trees (1).
Address

Bd. Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt
700259 Iasi
Romania

Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2013
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2015
End date of the intervention
2015
Present stage of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
1. Re-planting the linden trees;
2. Recognize and promote the city's flagship values;
3. Encourages active and vertical civic attitude;
4. Aims at creating a real and constructive dialogue platform between citizens and the administration;
5. Improve air quality;
6. Reduce noise pollution;
7. Restore habitat for fauna (bees) protected by the linden trees;
8. Protect the habitat of the small animals (squirrels) and birds in the area (1, 2).
Quantitative targets
1. Re-plant 108 linden trees
2. Move 108 Acacia trees from the center of the cities to other areas
3. An adult lime can absorb between 28-67kg of carbon dioxide in a year and can produce 20-50kg of oxygen. (1)
Monitoring indicators defined
1. Number of trees planted
2. Number of bees affected
3. Number of inhabitants that pass by the area (1)
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Implementation activities
2015:
Counting of the Japanese acacia specimens on the sidewalks; Establishment of relocation / transplantation sites; Location of pits; Digging of pits; Extraction of Japanese acacia with the original soil; Packing of earth bales with wire mesh (tightly packed on the bale);
Transportation of acacia trees to planting pits;
Expansion of planting pits, as long as paving of pavements allows;
O Removing all root remains found in the soil; Transport of lime trees to pits; Disinfection of lime trees with Bordeaux broth;The placement in the bottom of the pits (after measuring the height of the ground bale) ; Place the lime in the pits, with the COLLET at the same level as in the nursery, in a vertical position; Required watering, for compaction / settling of land without air voids; (5)
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Parks and urban forests
Green corridors and green belts
Vegetation Type
Please specify how many trees were planted
108 linden trees
Amenities offered by the NBS
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Noise reduction
Carbon storage/sequestration
Pollination
Cultural services
Tourism
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Governance
Governance arrangements
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
In 2013 local activists found the IIT (Iasul Iubeste Tei) organization to which is added, in the same year, Grupul Academic din Iasi (formed by national and international university professors and environmental activists). Together they write petitions and letters to the Iasi's municipality and popularize the cause. Due to pressures and legal and financial irregularities the local Police issues a criminal file against the mayor. To the 2 already organizations mentioned above, a 3rd one joins forces, Asociaţia Dendro‑Ornamentală „Anastasie Fătu” Iaşi (ADOAFIS) and protests are staged. After 2 years of fighting with the local officials, the consortium of association won the case. Even so, it must be mentioned that in the end the intervention had to be implemented by the municipality as a response to the legal action against the institution (4)
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Citizens or community group
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
No
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
This NBS was not a part of a local strategy plan and it actually went against the initial plans of the municipality. (3)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
This intervention was not a part of a local strategy plan and it actually went against the initial plans of the municipality. (3)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
No
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
No
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
No
Co-finance for NBS
No
Co-financing governance arrangements
No
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Financing
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)
Total costs were around 20.000 euro to re-plant the trees. It costed the mayor's office less to re-plant them than to replace them the first time with the Japanese acacia (7)
Source(s) of funding
Type of fund(s) used
Non-financial contribution
No
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Type of innovation
Please specify social innovation
This NBS is a governance innovation in the sense that through it it empowered the local community to take action against the municipality. It gave a voice in terms of environmental issues. (4)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
This innovation is completely new, it has not been transferred form other projects. Its novelty is also connected to its specificity since the city has a strong adherence to the linden tree as its symbol (3)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
It is not mentioned that the innovation was tranffered to another project (2)
Impacts, benefits
Description of environmental benefits
1. Filtered 4,000-5,000 m3 of air, consuming about 9 kg of carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide and produces 6-7 kg of oxygen.
2. Reducing air temperatures with 3 degree Celsius(under the foliage), because a linden tree foliage has a 20% albedo (reflects some of the solar radiation), and the air is wetter, thanks to its own sweat.
3. Increased the green area space in the city (6).
Economic impacts
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
The linden tree is associated with the city of Iasi and its history and through this NBS it was achieved the protection of the natural heritage of the city and it improved social cohesion since 8000 locals wrote to the mayor's office in response to this NBS (1, 6)
Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Green area that was increased ;
Reduction in air temperatures (6).
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
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 August 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
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
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
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Due to large number of protests, the mayor's office organized a public debate, that ended with a voting session. The questions addressed revolved around the re-plantation of the linden trees. The public consultation took place for a month in the city's neighborhoods. According to the data provided, out of a total of nearly 14,250 votes, more than 13,300 were in favor of the tree planting measure (7)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Timeline of the NBS (365.17 KB) 365.17 KB
Report handed to the mayor's office (6.04 MB) 6.04 MB
List of references
1. Iasul Iubeste Teii, Proiect pentru replantarea teilor în centrul Iaşului. Iniţiativă de implicare comunitară (2015), Available at https://www.facebook.com/pg/IasuliubesteTeii/about/?ref=page_internal, (Accessed 23-8-2020)

2. Romania Curata (2015), Teii se întorc în Iași! Peste 140 de tei vor fi replantați pe bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare, Available at https://www.romaniacurata.ro/iesenii-au-invins-primaria-iasi-peste-140-de-tei-vor-fi-replantati-pe-bulevardul-stefan-cel-mare/ (Accessed 23-8-2020)

3. Ziarul de Iasi (2015), Au fost scoși salcâmii de pe Ștefan cel Mare, Available at http://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/imaginea-mult-a-teptata-in-iasi-au-fost-sco-i-salcamii-de-pe-stefan-cel-mare--112403.html (Accessed 23-8-2020)

4. Grupul Academic din Iasi (2013), Available at http://impotriva.blogspot.hu/2014/02/cronologie.html (Accessed 23-8-2020)

5. Grupul Academic din Iasi (2015), Replantarea de arbori din genul Tilia (tei) pe tronsonul pietonal şi în zonele conexe ale Bulevardului Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfânt din Iaşi, Report handed to the Municipality of Iasi, Available at http://www.romaniacurata.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Consultanta-tehnica-replantare-tei-Iasi-Octombrie-2015.pdf (Accessed 23-8-2020)

6. Revista de Silvicultura si Cinegetica, Anul XVIII 32 (2013), Acţiuni model de ocrotire a arborilor întreprinse de Asociaţia DendroOrnamentală „Anastasia Fătu” din Iaşi, Available at http://progresulsilvic.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013.32.pdf (Accessed 23-8-2020)

7. Stirile ProTv (2015), Teii lui Eminescu, replantati la Iasi in urma unui referendum. Ce se va intampla cu salcamii care le luasera locul , Available at http://stirileprotv.ro/stiri/actualitate/teii-lui-eminescu-replantati-la-iasi-in-urma-unui-referendum-ce-se-va-intampla-cu-salcamii-care-le-luasera-locul.html (Accessed 23-8-2020)

8. BZI (2014), Protest in Parcul Expozitiei. Reprezentantii Primariei acuzati de minciuna de un important profesor iesean , Available at http://video.bzv.ro/protest-in-parcul-expozitiei-reprezentantii-primariei-acuzati-de-minciuna-de-un-important-profesor-iesean-52571 (Accessed 23-8-2020)

Comments and notes
Additional insights
The linden tree is a symbolic tree for the city of Iasi being associated with a beloved national Romanian poet, Mihai Eminescu, who spent his youth and adulthood in the city. In 2013, the then mayor decide to cut 140 linden trees which were residing in the center of the city, claiming that they affect the visibility of the Orthodox Cathedral. The citizens of the city were scandalized and alongside local and national NGOs and different personalities (such as Serban Sturdza, an important architect and member of an old aristocratic Romanian family) requested the Romanian Government and President that the trees were replanted. Soon after, the mayor was removed from office and the trees were re-planted. If I must count the Rosia Montana campaign, the Iasul Iubeste Teii campaign are two of the most important environmental victories that the Romanian civil society won against the corrupt politicians of a country ruled on a whim.
In 2014, the mayor had a similar idea in a local park, Parcul Expozitie, wanting again to cut the linden trees, ruining as such the aesthetics of the area. The "Iasul Iubeste teii" initiative group gathered dozens of people to a protest organized in the Exhibition Park, through which it asked the local administration to demarcate all the trees meant for cutting. The young volunteers who participated in the event have stuck messages on all the well-known trees to inform the people about the fact that these trees will be illegally cut. In the end, their action was successful and the mayor renounced his plans. (8)
.It is also not negligible the ability of the trees to emit phytocides, a complex organic substance that fights against microorganisms and insects, but also useful to humans, destroying tuberculosis bacillus, dysentery agent and others
afflictions of some lung conditions (6)
Public Images
Image
Row of linden trees planted in 2015
Linden trees planted in 2015
https://www.facebook.com/pg/IasuliubesteTeii/photos/?ref=page_internal
Image
Panoramic view of the square where linden trees were planted
Planted linden trees in 2015
https://www.facebook.com/pg/IasuliubesteTeii/photos/?ref=page_internal