Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)

The Armenia Tree Project is a national initiative founded in 1994. The project engages in involving different community members in an urban planting program, environmental education and outreach. ATP has targeted the most vulnerable communities with the most need for greenery. The focus and attention that is given to these areas help trees to grow and flourish but also creates a stronger bond between the inhabitants and the land they live on. Major greening sites are typically public parks, schools, kindergartens, cultural centers, military bases, churches, historical monuments and other significant landmarks. ATP also focused on Yerevan, the capital of Armenia which has become the "theatre" of many planting campaigns. From a climate change perspective, the project addresses issues of clean air and temperature regulation, as Armenia confronts a frequency of extreme weather events, worsening desertification and land degradation. From a biodiversity perspective, the project aims to conserve the country's rich biodiversity and to restore its ecosystems. (1,2,3)

Around 90% of Guyana’s population lives in an area that is below sea level, with many inhabiting flood-prone areas along the coast. The coastal plains are also home to about 75% of the country’s economic activities, including almost all of Guyana’s agricultural production. Over the years, degradation and loss of mangrove forests have resulted in increased coastal flooding and saltwater inundation of agricultural land. Mangroves contribute substantially to sea defence in Guyana by damping wave action and reducing wave energy, trapping sediments and stabilizing shoreline substrates while playing an important role in carbon sequestration.
The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project was executed during 2010-2013 under the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute. Following completion of the Project phase and given the importance of mangroves to Guyana’s coastal defences, mangrove restoration and management were integrated into NAREI (the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute), a national institution that promotes climate-smart agriculture and resilient citizens. (1,2)

St Inez creek was an ecologically functional tidal waterbody in Panaji, Goa. Panaji has been identified as one of the most vulnerable coastal cities from floods due to the predicted sea-level rise. St Inez creek is one of the very important freshwater bodies in the city because of its cultural, social and biodiversity value. Recently, the ecological functionality of the creek was severely compromised through a combination of natural degradation and anthropogenic influences, which includes sedimentation, collapsed embankments, eutrophication, weed growth, pollution, the release of raw sewerage from neighbouring informal settlements and dumping of construction debris. The current intervention is about the restoration of the creek to conserve the urban nature and ecological systems and to increase the resilience of the city. [1, 2]

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)

From 1998-2002 Argentina went through an economic depression, which began after the Russian and Brazilian financial crises, caused widespread unemployment, riots, the fall of the government, and a default on the country's foreign debt. Rosario, the third-most populous city in the country, was not a stranger to the crisis' effects as many of its inhabitants were now living under the poverty line. Coupled with this, climate change was heating up the city and making rainfall more erratic, leading to both flooding in Rosario and fires in the nearby river delta. To tackle urban inequality and climate change the Municipality of Rosario developed a program called "Urban Agriculture Program" which aims to give low-income residents access to underutilized and abandoned public and private land to cultivate food. Over the years, the municipality evolved the program into a cornerstone of its inclusive climate action planning. (1)

Kaysone experiences severe flooding events on an annual basis due to its location to the banks of Mekong river, as well as periodic storms, and past responses to these threats have focused on the Savanxay Market and the Southern Flood Gate, but with limited success (Ref. 1). This intervention focuses on the development of an integrated adaptation plan for the area around the market and adjacent to the Mekong canal. This plan includes NBS-specific components considering how the market's parking area provides an important opportunity for bioengineering and green cover, and that there is "an opportunity to use adjoining land as a constructed wetland and park for recreation, flood retention and storm water treatment" (Ref. 1). The adaptation plan comprises seven points overall, focusing on wastewater recycling, walking paths, proper drainage and green space in addition to an educational component related to climate change and its impacts (Ref. 1).

Quelimane is a port city in Mozambique. It lies below sea level right alongside the Good Signs river (Rio Bons Sinais), and just a few kilometres from the coast. The frequent extreme weather phenomena such as rain and marine flooding render the city extremely vulnerable to climate risks. In 2013, the municipality concluded that one solution involves restoring large areas of mangroves, which act as a nature-based solution against flooding, helping to stem the tide by preventing soil erosion. In the past mangroves were cut down by the locals for building and cooking but now with the help of the municipality and local communities, the trees are restored and used as the first line of defence against climate change (1).

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]

Henteleff Park is a 'passive park' located along the banks of the Red River and Normand Creek in Winnipeg where the rural character of a landscape that nurtured early Métis culture, Winnipeg’s budding market garden industry and the Henteleff family has been reserved (2). In the 1980s and '90s after being the city's tree nursery it was up for real estate development when "a group of volunteers from the nearby residential area, led by the Henteleff family, presented a convincing plan that showed the value and potential of the site as a public park. As a result of successful lobby efforts, the land was rezoned as a park in 2002 and named Henteleff Park after the original owners of the farm" (1 p21).
With its grasslands, riparian forests, Red River banks and the Normand Creek, the Park is home to a diverse plant and wildlife, providing refuge for songbirds, a spawning area for fishes and a serene sanctuary for community residents to enjoy a quiet respite from the bustle of the city life all around (2).

The Porto Biospots Network is a partnership of the Municipality with "Infraestruturas de Portugal", and is a network of urban forest areas (predominantly autochthonous) that aims to allow the reforestation of adjacent transit routes, major highway nodes, and routes of circulation within the city, transforming environmentally poor lands into green areas that provide multiple ecological services. This initiative foresees the reforestation of 14 areas and the planting of 10,000 trees by 2021, having already completed 2 roads, with a total of 1305 native trees planted. The biospot is the materialization of a part of the Municipal Ecological Structure of Porto. [1][4]