Trees of Friendship

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Tirana (FUA)

Region

Europe

Native title of the NBS intervention

Pema e miqësisë

Short description of the intervention

In 2020, the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) launched the Trees of Friendship project, which plants over 400 trees annually across six Western Balkan capitals, known to be some of the most air-polluted cities in Europe (Ref. 5). Tirana has been involved from the start, having planted over 110 trees in locations such as Great Lake Park in 2020 and Farka Park in 2022 (Ref. 1,2).
The project is carried out with the support of local municipal and civil society partners, including Tirana's Parks and Recreation Agency and the Environmental Territorial Management Institute, along with activists and volunteers (Ref. 1,2). The initiative was planned in 2019 when the EFB board decided to mitigate its CO2 emissions from business-related flights and enhance local and regional cooperation on air pollution (Ref. 3,4,5). Despite challenges in citizen engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trees of Friendship project continues to raise awareness about the role of trees in mitigating the impact of air pollution on health and well-being (Ref. 2). Its strong and well-established local and regional partnerships have facilitated the project's implementation in the past and continue to benefit in scaling the project (Ref. 1,5).

Website of the intervention

https://okruzenje.com/en/vicinities-chronicles/kledisa-celatirana-50-new-trees-…

Principal problems

Environmental Degradation

Air pollution

Health, Well-being and Social cohesion

Physical health harm (from pollution, wildfire, extreme temperature)

Implementation area characterization

Climate

Temperate ( Humid subtropical, Hot-summer Mediterranean, Warm-summer Mediterranean, Warm-temperate with dry winter)

Ecosystem

Urban or built environment

Address

Farka Lake (in 2022) / Great Lake Park (in 2020)
Tirana
Albania

Location

Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place

Area boundary (map-based)

Source of NBS area image

no aerial photo or map available

Area description

Periurban (both urban and rural environments are present)

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Public Greenspace Area

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

2019

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

2020

End date of the intervention

2022

Present stage of the intervention

Completed

2. Objectives of the intervention

Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

Goal 1: Reduction of carbon emissions from the organisation activities/business. (Ref. 2,3)
Goal 2: Fostering local and regional solidarity and cooperation on common problems such as air pollution. (Ref. 3,5)
Goal 3: Engage activists and citizens in the implementation process to raise awareness on how to address air pollution. (Ref. 1,2,5)
Goal 4: Overall: Increase the number of trees in the city to allevite the pressure of air pollution and enhance attactiveness of sites. (Ref. 1,2)
Goal 5: Continue and scale the project in Tirana and other regions of the western Balkan (Ref. 5)

Key Priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation)

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)

Climate change mitigation

Environmental quality

Air quality improvement

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Improving physical health

Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)

Inclusive governance

Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?

Increase the availability of green urban space for carbon storage (street tree cover)

Implementation activities and NBS focus

Implementation activities

Goal 1:
- In 2019 - monitor the amount of CO2 produced because of business activities at the European Fund for the Balkans (Ref. 3)
Goal 2:
- In 2020 - launch of "Tree of Friendship" initiative that promotes local and regional cooperation on the problem of air pollution. Consequently, over 400 trees were planted in all 6 regional capital cities in 2020 (Ref. 2).
In 2020, 60 Trees were planted in Tirana in cooperation with the Municipality and the public "Parks and Recreation Agency" (Ref. 2) .
This partnership helped to streamline the implementation process in the following years. In 2022 for example, 50 trees were planed without any organizational issues (Ref. 1).
These activities laid the foundation for scaling the project over the years. In 2023 the initiative grew to 9 cities and 450 planted trees. (Ref. 5)
Goal 3:
- Inviting citizens and activists to participate in the tree-planting process. (Ref. 1,2)

Type of NBS project

Maintenance and management of urban nature

Urban reforestation, restoration of street trees

Improved governance of green or blue areas

Regional or international exchange of knowledge and experience concerning NBS governance and management

3. NBS domains, ES and scale

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

Amenities offered by the NBS

Unknown

Design elements for well-being

None of the above

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Regulating services

Air quality regulation

Scale

Spatial scale

Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)

Beneficiaries

Demographics in implementation area

unknown

Socio-economic profile of the area

Unknown

Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts

Unknown

Non-government actors

Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches

Other

Primary Beneficiaries

Citizens or community groups

Specify primary beneficiaries

" [...] aiming to improve air quality in the Western Balkans. [...] Together, we can contribute to clean air and a healthier life." (Ref. 1)

Marginalized groups

Unknown

Other beneficiaries

Ecosystem services (e.g. improved air quality, water purification)

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Led by non-government actors

Please specify other non-government actors involved

Transnational Network/ Foundation Based: The European Fund for the Balkans is a joint initiative of European foundations (Erste Foundation, Robert Bosch Foundation and King Baudouin Foundation).

Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative

"The Institute for Environmental and Territorial Management [a non-profit] has joined the "Friendship Tree" Regional initiative supported by the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB). " (Ref. 2)
"In cooperation with the Municipality of Tirana, the Parks and Recreation Agency and with the participation of volunteers, 60 trees were planted in the Great Lake Park of Tirana [in 2020]" (Ref. 2)
"it is worth emphasizing that 16 employees of the Parks and Recreation Agency prepared the tree planting site before we arrived and planted the trees together with ETMI representatives and local activists [in 2022]" (Ref. 1)

Key actors - initiating organization

Non-government organisation/civil society

Transnational network

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

Local government/municipality

Public sector institution

Citizens or community group

Stages of citizen and community engagement

On-the-ground implementation

Level of citizen and community engagement

Limited

Community empowerment or capacity-building initiatives

Unknwon

Participatory methods/forms of stakeholder involvement (all stakeholders)

Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)

Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Uncommon actors ("Missing actors")

Community & Social Groups

Activist groups (e.g. climate, environment, justice, etc)

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Policy drivers

NBS intervention implemented in response to a 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

Unknown

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Voluntary (spontaneous)

Enablers & Barriers

Type of enablers

Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)

Collaboration with other projects that implemented NBS

Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)

Please provide details (e.g, name of the plan or strategy) for the selected policies or initiatives.

"Of particular importance in the realization of the "Friendship Tree" initiative was the cooperation between local organizations in 6 capitals of the region that joined this initiative" (Ref. 2)
"Every year, ETMI also signs a donation contract for tree planting with APR representatives." (Ref. 1)

Governace and decison-making instruments

Joint regional planning between municipalities (e.g. inter-municipal exchange platforms, regional plans for environmental management)

Economic and fiscal instruments (e.g. subsidies or grants, charges or fees, payments for ecosystem services (PES))

Arrangements for governance cooperation

Unknown

Barriers

"Due to the [...] Covid-19 pandemic, it has influenced the inclusion of a lower number of citizens in the activity, contrary to what was foreseen during planning" (Ref.2)

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Please specify total cost (EUR)

Unknown

What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

Multilateral funds/international funding

Private Foundation/Trust

Type of fund(s) used

Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Donations

Non-financial contribution

Yes

Who provided the non-financial contribution?

Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)

Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Type of non-financial contribution

Provision of labour

Co-finance for NBS

Yes

Co-governance arrangement

Unknown

Entrepreneurship opportunities

Business models

Green health model

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)

5. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Climate change

Enhanced carbon sequestration

Expected enhanced carbon sequestration

Environmental quality

Improved air quality

Expected improved air quality

Green space and habitat

Increased number of species present

Achieved increased number of species present

Description of environmental benefits

-Improved air quality: The project is expected to improve urban air quality. "Together, we can contribute to clean air and a healthier life."(Ref.1)
-Increased number of species present: "60 trees were planted in the Great Lake Park of Tirana." (Ref. 2), "50 new trees at Farka Lake in Albania" (Ref. 1)
-Enhanced carbon sequestration: "We at the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) started to monitor our CO2 emissions last year. The damage we have caused with our business-related flights was 9.3 tonnes of CO2, which is 388 trees" (Ref. 3), "One tree absorbs 24kg of CO2 p.a. @balkanfund business-related flights blew out 9,3t of CO2 in 2019, employing 388. Thus, we will plant 400 trees in the 6 capitals of our region next year." (Ref. 4)

Environmental impact indicators

Total number of vascular plant species protected or introduced

min. 110

Carbon storage (kg carbon/m2)

2640 kg/ year

Economic impacts

Unknown

Description of economic benefits

Unknown

Please specify other socio-cultural impact

Increased regional cooperation

Evidence for use of assessment

Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process

Yes

Actors involved in the assessment, monitoring or evaluation of NBS impacts

Non-government organisation/civil society

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Type of indicators

Input indicators

Process indicators

Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Name of any specific impact assessment tools

unknown

Use of GIS in mapping impacts

No evidence in public records

Cost-benefit analysis

Unknown

Transparency

Inclusion of diverse stakeholders in project governance processes (e.g. planning, implementation, monitoring, etc.)

Justice

Community satisfaction

Unknown

Description of locals satisfaction with the project

unknown

Trade-offs & Negative impacts

Offsetting

Carbon offsets *

Measures to prevent gentrification or displacement

No initiatives or policies were implemented

High-quality & Transformative NBS

Multiple impacts delivery (climate, biodiversity, just community)

Yes

Goal setting and impacts delivery

No, although benefits were delivered in all the 3 key areas, but in the planning phase, the project did not aim to address issues in all the 3 key priority areas.

Reaching original project goals

Some of the project goals were achieved

Long-term perspective

Unknown: No information about the project's long-term sustainability.

Cost-effective solutions

Unknown

Equitable impacts

A. All stakeholders benefit fairly from the project

Transformative capacity

Ecological change (e.g. ecosystem functions and their distribution)

Magnitude of change

Incremental: shallow; that is, mostly maintaining business-as-usual approaches to adaptation

Application of lessons learned

The NBS contributed to global and national targets for human well-being, climate and biodiversity

Perception of Environmental Change

Unknown

6. Sources

References

Cela, K. (2022). Kledisa Cela,Tirana: 50 new trees at Farka Lake in Albania. Okruzenje, Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];

Ekolevizja Group (2020). Nisma Rajonale “Pema e Miqësisë. Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];

Grzegorczyk, M. (2020). Trees of Friendship in the Western Balkans. Emerging Europe, Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];

Tomanic, A: (2019). Post / Aleksandra Tomanic. Twitter, Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];

European Fund for the Balkans (2023). Forth edition of our regional initiative Trees of Friendship . Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];

Comments and notes

Comments

There is no indication on the exact location or size of the project.
It is also not clear if the sources of funding stem entirely from the European Fund for the Balkans and whether the Environmental & Territorial Management Institute only administers those resources or provides additional donations. As such, it is not clear if there is any from of co-finance arrangement.

Additional insights

This is a yearly event, having taken place since 2020 in 6 Western Balkan Countries.

Offsetting of Co2 emissions caused by business flights: "We at the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) started to monitor our CO2 emissions last year. The damage we have caused with our business-related flights was 9.3 tonnes of CO2, which is 388 trees," (Ref. 4)

Public Images

Tree Planting action at Great Lake Park in 2020

https://etmi-al.org/portfolio/tree-of-friendship/

Tree Planting action at Great Lake Park in 2020

https://etmi-al.org/portfolio/tree-of-friendship/

Tree Planting Action at Farka Lake in 2022

https://okruzenje.com/en/vicinities-chronicles/kledisa-celatirana-50-new-trees-at-farka-lake-in-albania/#

7. Scorecards

Indicator

Achieved increased number of species present

Impact evaluation

Low

Degree of confidence

Medium

Indicator

Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces

Impact evaluation

Low

Degree of confidence

Medium