Co-management/Joint management

In 2017, the city of Jakarta initiated a peri-urban farming program under its Urban Agriculture Program that aimed to achieve sustainable agricultural production, rural economic sustainability and long-term environmental sustainability (1,4).
South Jakarta is one of the five administrative units that form Jakarta is a prosperous city with more than 2.2 mils. inhabitants. Industrial production as well as urbanization developed quickly in the city, leading to a steep increase in population. Meanwhile, the city experiences a reduction in agricultural land converted into settlements and industrial land, as well as soil deterioration. The city needs agricultural land for production and to establish food security. Furthermore, it needs to improve air pollution as well as oxygen provisioning. As such a solution had to be found (1).
To implement the program a total of 12 communities in the South Kebayoran Lama subdistrict of South Jakarta participated in implementing and operating urban farms. One of these communities has been the Kebayoran Lama Selatan Urban Village managed by Seruni Indah Farmers Group (Kelompok Tani Seruni Indah) which is a very successful example of sustainable organic urban farming supporting more than 3500 residents. The engagement consisted in using vacant and private yard land for horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants), spices, medicines, herbs etc. through hydroponic and conventional practices that could benefit the community and the general public. 15 gardens have been implemented with funding provided by the Indonesian government (3, 7).

The Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve is a forest located 10 km west of Kuala Lumpur in the state of Selangor and is the oldest managed forest reserve in Peninsular Malaysia. As the reserve was threatened over the years by plans for clearing and housing development, the community located in the township close to the forest sprang into action to salvage the forest. As early as 2003 an organization called Friends of Kota Damansara was formed to lead a diverse group of concerned individuals, organisations and communities to rally together to vocally defend the forest (2, 3). Efforts to protect and conserve the forest focused on a series of activities such as the development of a biodiversity management plan, awareness-raising activities, educational activities, building capacity activities, and the creation of an ethnobotanical garden to showcase Temuan (local indigenous people) knowledge of plants (1). These efforts were funded with the help of the UN's GEF's Small Grants Programme and led to the reserve being officially gazetted as of 18 February 2010 (Sel GN 398/2010) and being classified as amenity forest, education forest and research forest, making up 3% of land area in the state of Selangor (1, 2). Nowadays, the Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve Trails is a popular weekend destination for mountain bikers, trail runners and casual hikers (3). Furthermore, the KDCFP has become much more accessible and utilizable by visitors from various categories of societies, besides researchers discovering and documenting a number of species of flora and fauna unique or endemic to the park (1).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners collaborated in 2018 to develop an ecosystem restoration project in the Rohingya Camps of Ukhiya, near Cox's Bazar. The main objective of this project was to mitigate the increased risk of landslides, slope instability, and flooding caused by flash floods and the vicinity of the Bakkhali River. The intervention included the planting of quickly growing native trees, shrubs, and grass species. Additionally, the project encompassed other measures such as vegetable cultivation on stream beds, biological soil stabilization methods, and plant-based wastewater treatments. To ensure the sustainability of the project, a network of future practitioners from the Bangladeshi and Rohingya communities was created. Moreover, environmental education and awareness activities were undertaken to complement the efforts of the project, with a particular focus on engaging young people from both the host and refugee communities to maximize its impact. The area where the project was implemented has been significantly affected by land and forest degradation over the last few decades, which has been exacerbated since the arrival of Rohingya refugees in 2017. Therefore, the project also involved other stakeholders such as the International Center for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Danish Refugee Council, the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration, and the Bangladesh government, each contributing in various capacities to achieve the project's objectives. (1,2,3,4)

The Community Garden Project was proposed in 2018 by Samyuktha Kannan (a resident of Chennai City) to the Resident Welfare Association (RWA), which is a non-governmental organization (NGO) of Kasturba Nagar (1,2,3). The RWA uses the community hall of a public park of Kasturba Nagar to host meetings and community events, but the area was surrounded by open dry land and an unmanaged field (1,2). This open area surrounding the community hall was then assigned to develop a community garden of 1500 square feet (1,2,3). This project aimed to serve as a shared garden place to bring along residents of all age groups to enjoy gardening and simultaneously create opportunities to learn and share knowledge through social engagement and reconnect with nature (1,2). Although implemented and completed in 2019, the project still continues to contribute towards sustainability through further development and introduction of eco-friendly elements and activities, as well as the involvement of various stakeholders for support (3,4).

To address the increasing pressure on urban green spaces, Buku Jalanan Chow Kit, an NGO in Kuala Lumpur initiated a green project where the local community could thrive, learn about the benefits of nature and use their ethnobotanical heritage. The project provided a way to enrich biodiversity and enhance the sustainability and resilience of the local communities (1).
Kuala Lumpur, the Capital and the largest city in Malaysia is home to 1.8 mils. people. Due to its growing population, the city experiences a steep decrease in existing green spaces, increasing urban heat effects and air pollution (4). Furthermore, privatizing public spaces led to a loss in biodiversity throughout the city and severely affected the environment. The current project will focus on creating ~2500 sq ft (~232.2576 sq m) rooftop urban farm, biodiversity garden and playground on an existing building. This space will be a habitat for urban wildlife, as well as a space for food production and recreation (1). The project benefits from funding through the UN's GEF Small Grants Programme and aims to provide a community capacity-building space to engage and host activities to empower the Chow Kit community. (1,2)

The 'Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet' Park was developed by the we!park group, which is part of the ‘Green Bangkok 2030’ project network, aiming to increase the amount of green space in Bangkok. It is a small pocket park in the busy business district of Bangkok, Thailand. The land was abandoned for many years before being donated to the city for public use. We!park applied participatory space development methodology to optimise and tailor the area to its soon-to-be users' needs. As part of this approach, the local community and all the potential users of the park were involved in the form of various surveys, interviews and workshops. Bringing in multiple ideas was a cornerstone of the project planning process - all to create an inclusive garden with elements from everyone in the neighbourhood community - a concept called 'garden next door'. The park has three main parts to accommodate different activities enabling relaxation, and physical activities, and providing space for educational and cultural events. (Ref. 1,2,3,4)

A community gardening pilot project was launched in Lahore by the Institute for Art and Culture (IAC) as a part of its mission and outreach programme to develop sustainable communities. Created in 2020, the project was developed in the Government Girls High School located in the vicinity of IAC in the low-income Sher Shah Colony in Raiwind Road. Various other organisations, including Gardening for All, The Little Arts and Adventure Foundation Pakistan also provided support to the project (1,2,3).

The project aimed to involve 70 students and 10 teachers from grades 7 to 10 via a series of workshops (3, 9) and provide hands-on training to the girls and their teachers (2). A trainer provided information on relevant topics in the workshops and also taught students of ideal and efficient planting practices (6).

The representatives of IAC and Gardening for All selected the ideal space for carrying out the community garden project in the school playground (4). The total area of the community garden is not revealed but proper raised beds were created for students (2). The students participated in the development of the community garden and took care of their dedicated garden beds (3, 6). The representatives of IAC had a keen interest to ensure the long-term continuity of this project by providing appropriate training and involving the schools together with the communities they represent (3).

The Chiangmai urban farm was developed on a former landfill site in the Chiangmai city centre area. The project was initiated by a local community architecture studio and supported by various groups of the local NGOs, civic groups and the local government. The project began in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to help vulnerable people in the communities nearby the site to increase food security, improve nutrition and build a self-sufficiency lifestyle. Moreover, the urban farm is designed to be a ‘public space’ that connects people from different backgrounds through agriculture. The Farm consists of various garden plots ideal for short-harvest and long-harvest species, a chicken coop, a plant nursery and a storage area. Knowledge sharing and capacity building are other goals of the project. Accordingly, training and workshops are organised in the bamboo pavilion of the garden. Since its establishment, the urban farm provides the local community with farming and learning opportunities and a space to socialize. The financial background of the project was provided through fundraising and the efforts of volunteers who developed this project into a self-sustaining farm without relying on donations. (Ref.1,2,4,9)

As an archipelagic state, Indonesia consists of 18,000 islands and 18,000 km of coastline, which is inhabited by more than 60% of the Indonesian population. Its geographical position exposes the island country to several climate change challenges, ranging from an increase in high temperature to a sea level rise and severe floods. One of the cities affected by flash floods, flooding, and landslides is Pekalongan City, crossed by 7 rivers and home to approx. 300,000 people. Inundations can reach 50-100 cm in many communities, causing distress, evacuations, and severe damage to infrastructure and food security as well as loss of income for the inhabitants that work in the fisheries sector, in the Batik industry (the process of traditionally dyeing fabric, performed on cotton and silk using a resist technique) or in paddy rice farming. (1)

Responding to the climate risks became of utter importance to the municipality of Pekalongan City. To help the Municipal Government of Pekalongan City to overcome the problem caused by climate change, Kemitraan (Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia), an implementing and advocacy NGO developed the project on Safekeeping-Surviving-Sustaining towards Resilience, a 3S Approach. The aim was to Build Coastal City Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and Natural Disasters in Pekalongan City, Central Java Province. This was approved on 29 October 2020 and is currently entering its implementation phase. The project will focus on building resilience to climate change impacts with interventions of hard and soft nature. More precisely, the project aims to build capacity and resilience through training, mangrove ecosystem restoration and enhancement of coastal protection, and development of a Local Climate Adaptation Action Plan and implementation of climate-smart actions (1,2). The project aims to reach these goals by employing a collaborative and participatory approach that is locally driven and involves those most at risk. The program is expected to end in April 2023 (1).

In order to prevent the damage to mangrove forests that occurred over the last few decades or more, a project was started in the Penang region aiming to raise public awareness regarding the importance of mangroves for their continued conservation and protection through active community participation (community resilience) (1). The project closely relates to the GEF Focal Area on Biodiversity Conservation operational programme (OP) 2 on Coastal, Marine and Fresh Water Ecosystems and is led by the Penang Inshore Fisherman Welfare Association (PIFWA). The project aimed to regenerate mangrove forests by planting up to 11,000 saplings in order to rehabilitate the once degraded mangroves as they are able to ultimately improve the wetland ecosystem and its biodiversity and thus sustain the livelihood of fisher communities (1).
Mangrove forests are an important part of the Malaysian coastline. Besides their contributions to the biodiversity of the Malaysian coast, mangroves also help greatly with protecting the coastal strip from erosion and providing a means of living for the communities located close to the forests. Stabilising the shoreline and reducing soil erosion, mangroves are also home to myriad species of plants and animals, they provide timber and non-timber forest products, and they support fisheries (1,2). Due to their importance, their disappearance is greatly noticed. From 2000, within a period of 15 years, 25,500 hectares of mangrove forests disappeared, mostly due to industrial-scale logging, clearance for shrimp farming, tourism or firewood (5).