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Monavale Vlei is an important wetland area within the city of Harare, characterised by miombo woodlands that play an important role in the fragile ecosystem of the Manyame catchment basin, the main supplier of water for the city of Harare and its suburbs. Throughout the years, Monavale has been subjected to a number of threats such as construction developments, dumping of waste, fires, illegal farming, invasive plants, informal agricultural practices and loss of biodiversity. To address some of these challenges the local community organized itself into a group - Conservation Society of Monavale (Cosmo) Trust, to protect the area and, with the help of the municipality of Harare and some international bodies, implemented a series of actions designed to protect the wetland and reduce the loss of biodiversity, among many others. In 2009 the NGO was awarded a United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility Small Grant. The intervention had 3 objectives: to restore parts of the wetlands, to advocate with the local and international authorities for the legislative protection of the wetlands, and to engage the scientific community in research regarding the wetlands. This enabled Cosmo to restore Monavale vlei to an almost pristine wetland state, and other UN funding has made possible several training and awareness projects for a wide range of audiences. (1,2,3)

Climate change has become a constant topic for the administration of Israel, mainly due to the country's exposure to the effects of climate change. These include water shortages and pollution, the shrinking of the Dead Sea, waste production and disposal, air pollution and increased population density. Haifa is no stranger to these changes and the administration of the city is trying to align itself with international organisms that can help it to overcome such critical situations. The City of Haifa’s leadership strives to join the capitals of the world, share knowledge and establish operative cooperation. In December 2020 it joined the Paris Agreement, and in July 2021 signed the Urban Nature Declaration pledging a greener and more sustainable city with the 40C Cities Climate Leadership Group, an international organization of about 100 major cities worldwide. On a local level, the city initiated Haifa2030, a program that aims to prepare for global warming and to develop strategies for urban resilience. Among the actions taken into account by the municipality refers to green roofs, which the city intends to transform into an overall city program. Two demonstration roofs have been erected on municipal buildings, and additional roofs are planned. (2,3)

The city of Bishkek once had the status of one of the greenest and most pleasant cities in the Soviet Union. The situation has deteriorated from year to year, so much so that in 2009 Bishkek was ranked sixteenth in the list of the thirty dirtiest cities in the world in a study published by The Blacksmith Institute, an American NGO which discloses each year an urban environment assessment report. This is why it seems urgent to us to react and work to protect, renovate and develop the green spaces of Bishkek. The proposed project aims to protect the unique forest of Bishkek called Karagachevaïa Rocha (“grove of elms”) and to redevelop it to make it an environmental education centre. This center, which would be the first of its kind in Kyrgyzstan, would include in the same place an arboretum, a leisure area as well as an animal park in which various rare or endangered species, present in Kyrgyzstan or in the countries of Central Asia, would be kept in semi-freedom. Karagachevaya Rocha has nearly 123 hectares in total, which is the largest green space in Bishkek and one of the oldest. This adds a symbolic character to the project. (3)

One of Valdivia's (in South Chile) southern peripheral neighbourhoods reaches the river of Angachilla which in time led to the creation of an urban wetland, a beautiful and large urban nature reserve of the city of Valdivia. The city of Valdivia is inserted in an extensive network of rivers and coastal wetlands, which penetrate the city through estuaries, hualves and meadows. The Angachilla estuary wetland is one of the most important, connecting the southern sector of the city with the Valdivia River estuary.
These urban wetlands provide important ecosystem functions that directly benefit citizens. Since 2007, the residents of Villa Claro de Luna (neighbourhood) together with various social organisations have worked on the recovery of the Angachilla Wetland, a natural space of great ecological and social value located in the city of Valdivia. Actions included carrying out cleaning, restoration and environmental education activities to recover a place that, abandoned and without any protection from the authorities, was converted into a clandestine garbage dump. (1,2,3)

The redevelopment of the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (Singapore) saw the naturalisation of the previously channelised Kallang River, as well as the installation of wetland cells as water cleansing biotopes and creation of butterfly habitats (Ref. 1).

The Kallang River was previously confined to a concrete canal that ran to the southern edges of Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (Ref. 1). The channel segregated the two residential areas situated on either side of the park, with the river's 2.7km continuous concrete channel being crossable at only certain defined points (Ref. 3). Following its naturalisation, culminating in 2012, the now 3.2km meandering river is considered the park's highlight, "merg[ing] seamlessly with the park's greenery" (Refs. 1 & 6), and creating a "blue-green recreational network which is well-integrated with nearby residential areas" (Ref. 2).

In anticipation of the organisation of the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, the Sidi Mohammed Benabdellah University (USMBA) of Fez has launched an operation to plant 1,000 trees of different species. This intervention was part of a series of scientific, cultural, artistic, sporting and environmental actions undertaken by the University for the Climate, with the cooperation of other partners. Students and faculty as well as NGO representatives were present and implemented the action which ultimately led to the creation of green areas within the campus and around the faculties and universities. Founded in 1975, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University is named for a 18th century Sultan of Morocco, the nation in which the university is based. The main campus is located in the northern city of Fez, a World Heritage Site and historically the last stop on the famous gold trading route from Timbuktu. (1)

Thammasat Urban Rooftop Farm (TURF) is Asia's largest organic rooftop farm, which unites principles of modern landscape design with traditional agriculture of rice terraces, to transform wasted space into productive land. By mimicking traditional rice terraces, Thammasat University Urban Farming Green Roof has become an all-in-one solution–as a public green space, urban organic food source, water management system, energy house, and outdoor classroom–which serves as an adaptation model for anticipated climate impacts that can be implemented and developed across Thailand and Southeast Asia. Additionally, the mountain-shaped Thammasat University Green Roof utilizes its vast space as an infinite source of clean energy, not only in terms of organic food but also solar power for the community. [1, 2, 3]

The Million Trees project was a programme launched by Auckland Mayor Phil Goff in 2017 to plant a million predominantly native trees and shrubs over a period of three years (Ref. 1,2,3,4). It aimed to make Auckland a greener, more beautiful place while creating carbon sinks, protecting the city’s waterways and improving the city’s living environment (Ref. 2,4). The programme engaged a variety of actors in the planting activities, including local boards, iwi, schools, service and social sector groups, private entities, the council group, the New Zealand Transport Association (Ref. 1). Particularly notable partnerships included those with the Department of Corrections and the Trees that Count Trust (Ref. 2,4,6).
The initial goal was met in 2019, and the project has been renewed for 2019-2022 (Ref. 1,7).

The Nyashishi wetland is located on the western side of Lake Victoria some 15 km from Mwanza, a port city of the lake. The area is characterized by a double maxima rainfall, with heavy rains occurring during October to December. The wetland is traversed by the Nyashishi River, which is an intermittent river draining stormy waters and domestic waste water into Lake Victoria. Increased human socio-economic activities in Mwanza, such as horticulture, overgrazing and discharge of industrial effluents, have degraded the Nyashishi wetland. As a result, vegetation specifically elephantiasis and papyrus that used to flourish in the wetland and provide fish breeding grounds have disappeared. The crocodiles, large lizards and a host of other creatures that used to populate those areas cannot be seen today. Since the wetland and the river are part of the Lake Victoria Basin, both have been subjected to floods and droughts, impacting livelihoods, public health and the environment. The root causes of floods are irregular seasonal and year to year variability in rainfall patterns, combined with mismanagement of land and water resources, leading to soil erosion and increased run-off. Therefore restoration efforts in the area are much needed. (1, 5)

Taru Leading Edge initiated a lake conservation project in Indore with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Indore Municipal Corporation as part of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN).
Urbanisation and the increase of impermeable surfaces reduced the capacity for groundwater recharge. The climate change risks indicate increasing rainfall variability and more intense and/or more frequent storms as well as an increase in dry periods. With less permeable soils the city needs to optimally use existing lakes to capture runoff, creating buffer supplies and helping to increase groundwater recharge. The main objective of this project was “ensuring availability of local water resources during emergencies”, through developing a replicable model for peri-urban lake rejuvenation and conservation. The expected outcomes of the project include a stakeholder-managed process for stabilising/improving the water quality of the restored lakes and generating interest among multiple stakeholders to conserve urban lakes. TARU has restored and worked on 2 water bodies, demonstrating methods and processes required to revive lakes that have co-benefits of groundwater recharge, aesthetic enhancement of the area, cool microclimate and possible livelihood restoration. The names of the lakes restored are Khajrana talab and Lasudiya Mori talab. [2, 4]