1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Lahore
Region
Asia
Short description of the intervention
As part of the "Urban Forest Policy", the first Miyawaki urban forest was created in an area of 2,850 square meters in Lahore, Pakistan. The initiative was a result of a public-private partnership between Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Restore Green. The project was carried out under the PM Khan 10 billion tree plantation drive. Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, which helps build dense, native forests. The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual. It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years. [1, 2, 3]
Address

Noor Jehan Road
Lahore
Pakistan

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 (74.34375 31.50959)
POINT (74.344555 31.510666)
POINT (74.345275 31.510053)
POINT (74.344746 31.509177)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
Google maps. URL: https://www.google.com/maps/@31.5097365,74.3439958,310m/data=!3m1!1e3. Accessed on 13th November, 2021.
Total area
2850.00m²
NBS area
2850.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Website of the intervention
https://khabarnaamaa.com/now-lahore-has-own-urban-forest/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2019
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2019
End date of the intervention
2020
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. To bring back the city's historical green spaces.
2. To reduce the heat island effect, air pollution and contribute to carbon storage.
3. To improve habitat for local species and help in increasing biodiversity.
4. To contribute to the PM Khan 10 billion tree plantation. [1, 2, 4]
Quantitative targets
1. To plant 45 types of native trees.
2. To plant additional 10,000 plants.
3. To create 8 Kanal areas. [2]
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Soil quality improvement
Air quality improvement
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Preservation of natural heritage
Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce exposure to climate risks directly
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
Create or improve outdoor spaces to help people escape from urban heat
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Sequester and store carbon
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
Restore native species
Implementation activities
In an area of 2,850 square meters, 10,000 saplings were planted. All these plants are from the native varieties. A total of 45 native types of trees were chosen. [2, 5]
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Vegetation Type
Trees
Please specify how many trees were planted
10000
Amenities offered by the NBS
Viewing and outlook points
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
National-level government
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
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
A public-private partnership between Lahore Development Authority and Restore Green, funded by Izhar-Monnoo Developers and supported by Afforestation Lahore. [4, 7]
Key actors - initiating organization
National government
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
PM Khan 10 billion Tree project [1, 2]
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Environmental regulation
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
PM Khan 10 billion Tree project [1, 2]
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
City specific green space strategy or plan
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Restore Green and Afforestation Lahore [1, 7]
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
Yes
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
Public national budget
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Process innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The saplings were planted to create a Miyawaki Forest. Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, which helps build dense, native forests. The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual. It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years. [3, 6]
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Miyawaki Forest creation is an established process but through the project, it was done first time in the city of Lahore. [2, 3, 4]
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) without substantial adaptation
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Similar projects will be carried out in 50 more areas. [1]
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Improved soil quality
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased green space area
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Reduced biodiversity loss
Description of environmental benefits
The project was launched last year and the results are still expected. The expected impacts include:
1. 10,000 trees will create a dense forest within the city and will help in capturing carbon and other pollutants.
2. These are also expected to control the air temperature and reduce the heat island effect in the city.
3. All the saplings planted fall under 45 native categories and will create a local healthy ecosystem for local species. These will provide habitats and will support many species.
4. These are expected to protect the soil and contribute to the overall green spaces within the city. [1, 4, 6]
Economic impacts
Reduce financial cost for urban management
Description of economic benefits
The trees will be maintenance-free after 3 years. This will reduce the urban greenery management cost. [2]
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Description of social and cultural benefits
The forest is located in the central business district and is accessible to everyone. [2, 5]
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
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?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of November, 2021.
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
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
List of references
1. Tweet by PM Imran Khan. (2021) URL: https://twitter.com/imrankhanpti/status/1360464267699445760?s=21&fbclid=IwAR1iTupFc7cHg7am1di-7djkZFdbtMuKN7d1iTchEgTH5EAa9H_CCbZLK-Y Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
2. Youtube Video bySoch Videos. (2021). Making Lahore Green Again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2vyRoO_SJU.Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
3. Khabarnaamaa (2020). Now Lahore has its own Urban Forest. URL: https://khabarnaamaa.com/now-lahore-has-own-urban-forest/. Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
4. Dawn (2019). Forest to be developed on Liberty Park. URL: https://www.dawn.com/news/1514946. Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
5. Youtube Video by Salman Travel Diaries (2021). Urban Forest in Liberty Market, Pakistan. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps1iOu-JzJI. Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
6. Pakistan Today (2021). Lahore gets urban forests on Japanese model to fight air pollution. URL: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/02/13/lahore-gets-urban-forests-on-japanese-model-to-fight-air-pollution/. Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
7. Arif, Y. (2021). Liberty Market forest: an urban forest in Pakistan. The Nature-Based Solutions Initiative. The University of Oxford. URL: https://www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/news/liberty-market-forest-an-urban-forest-in-pakistan/. Accessed on 10th November, 2021.
8. Mangi, F. (2020). A 10 Billion-Tree Plan Is Restoring Pakistan’s Lost Forests. The Bloomberg. URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-17/a-10-billion-tree-plan-is-restoring-pakistan-s-lost-forests. Accessed on 12th November, 2021.
Comments and notes
Public Images
Liberty Market Forest
Liberty Market Forest
https://twitter.com/imrankhanpti/status/1360464267699445760?s=21&fbclid=IwAR1iTupFc7cHg7am1di-7djkZFdbtMuKN7d1iTchEgTH5EAa9H_CCbZLK-Y
Liberty Market Forest
Liberty Market Forest
https://twitter.com/developingpak?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1208727370536030209%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fkhabarnaamaa.com%2Fnow-lahore-has-own-urban-forest%2F