1. General information
2. Objectives of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
The intervention has several goals, each addressing a series of challenges observed and documented in Rajshahi. As such the intervention aims for the following goals:
1. To provide support for the city of Rajshahi in order to improve and better manage its open green spaces and create awareness among the citizens of its biodiversity.
2. To contribute to active participation, social interaction, and better physical and mental well-being among its residents.
3. To mitigate the impacts of increasing temperatures, as increasing temperatures and decreasing irregular rainfall can intensify habitat loss caused by urbanisation, further reducing urban biodiversity.
4. To improve the quality of air, water, and soil by absorbing the pollutants.
5. To support several ecosystem services, including pollination, by identifying several local plant species. (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
As the project was part of Urban Leads II, which addresses integrated low-emission and resilient development in several countries and cities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, several general goals could be identified:
6. To contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate change resilience by the promotion of Urban Low Emissions Development Strategies (Urban LEDS) in cities/towns in emerging economies and Least Developed Countries.
7. To help Rajshahi City Corporation to prepare a Climate-Resilient Strategies and City Action Plan (CRCAP), with the possibility to increase the climate-adaptive and mitigating capacity of the city. The plan aims to provide effective guidelines for conserving and maintaining natural resources and lowering emissions through more sustainable urban development. (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
1. To provide support for the city of Rajshahi in order to improve and better manage its open green spaces and create awareness among the citizens of its biodiversity.
2. To contribute to active participation, social interaction, and better physical and mental well-being among its residents.
3. To mitigate the impacts of increasing temperatures, as increasing temperatures and decreasing irregular rainfall can intensify habitat loss caused by urbanisation, further reducing urban biodiversity.
4. To improve the quality of air, water, and soil by absorbing the pollutants.
5. To support several ecosystem services, including pollination, by identifying several local plant species. (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
As the project was part of Urban Leads II, which addresses integrated low-emission and resilient development in several countries and cities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, several general goals could be identified:
6. To contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate change resilience by the promotion of Urban Low Emissions Development Strategies (Urban LEDS) in cities/towns in emerging economies and Least Developed Countries.
7. To help Rajshahi City Corporation to prepare a Climate-Resilient Strategies and City Action Plan (CRCAP), with the possibility to increase the climate-adaptive and mitigating capacity of the city. The plan aims to provide effective guidelines for conserving and maintaining natural resources and lowering emissions through more sustainable urban development. (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
Quantitative targets
1. To serve approx. 450k inhabitants of Rajshahi
2. To plant over 1000 saplings along 29 targeted slopes
3. To create a bio-diverse plantation along a 2.5 km long stretch of open space
4. To label an undisclosed number of trees in the city (Ref 1, 2, 3)
2. To plant over 1000 saplings along 29 targeted slopes
3. To create a bio-diverse plantation along a 2.5 km long stretch of open space
4. To label an undisclosed number of trees in the city (Ref 1, 2, 3)
Monitoring indicators defined
1. Number of people benefiting from the action
2. Number of saplings being planted
3. Annual average decrease of temperature, pollution level and greenhouse gas emissions levels
4. Increase in the number of native species present (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
2. Number of saplings being planted
3. Annual average decrease of temperature, pollution level and greenhouse gas emissions levels
4. Increase in the number of native species present (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implementation activities
The project started implementation in 2017. The first phase consisted of having biodiversity experts, with the support of the Urban-LEDS II project, assess the on-ground surveys of the diversity of flowering plants in selected areas of the city. This was followed by GIS-based tree maps depicting the spatial distribution of various tree species. Nearly 1800 trees at various locations including Shahid Kamruzzaman Park, Shalbagan Park and Kolpona-Talaimari river embankment with additional five key traffic islands got labelled. It was expected that such an action will improve public awareness and promote conservation. Maps of Rajshahi's natural resources have been created for the entire city as well as for each of its 30 administrative zones. In December 2020, a demonstration plantation project was initiated to transform a 2.5-km long stretch of open space, located on Rajshahi’s Kolpona-Talaimari river embankment, into an eco-friendly public space. Furthermore, over 800 seedlings were successfully planted along 29 specified slopes of Rajshahi’s Kolpona-Talaimari river embankment in February 2021. The species planted are native, have attractive flowers, and support several ecosystems. One of the main focuses of the project was to monitor the survival of the plants, water them, and replace dead saplings, grass patches and hedge plants. A local nursery was selected to implement and maintain the pilot-scale plantation using local and naturalised plant species. It can be said that in this way the Rajshahi City Corporation has gained the know-how on establishing and maintaining plantations through the project and have the necessary skills to upscale it to the rest of the city. (Ref 1, 2, 4, 5)
3. NBS domains, ES and scale
4. Governance and financing
5. Innovation
Type of innovation
Novelty level of the innovation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Even though the project was implemented in other Bangladeshi cities it is unclear if they required a green plan such as Rajshahi.
Replicability/Transferability
