Environmental quality

This NBS is implemented on a nature reserve site, Ciuperceni-Desa, a protected area that has habitat types with natural eutrophic lakes, oligotrophic seawaters, panonic salty marshes, sandy panonic meadows, low altitude meadows, clusters of walnut vegetation and white poplar and cultivated arable land. In 2016 the Romanian Government alongside an NGO developed a plan for its protection and conservation since locals complained that it is not taken care off accordingly, that the area became a dump for people to trow their garbage and that it affects the species (1, 2)

This NBS was implemented in 2012 in order to conserve the biodiversity in the natural protected area of the Cilieni Pond and in order to ensure the sustainable development of protected species. The Pond was declared a protected area and covers ​​47 hectares. First an evaluation plan of the current situation was created, followed by a management plan. Inventory of the flora and fauna was conducted and protection methods were implemented: cleaning the area and educating the citizens that have a daily contact with the pond. (1)

Sofia is Europe's most polluted capital and the World Health Organization alarmed that Bulgaria ranks second in the world in terms of deaths due to air pollution per capita. In response to that, the coalition Sofia - Green Capital planned to buy neglected urban land and plant an Urban Forest in order to restore the green passes that lead the fresh air from the mountain to the city. The Urban Forest is expected to improve the air quality, sequestrate carbon emissions, and also provide a place for walks and play. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2). The planting process started in 2018 and around nearly 60,000 saplings were planted over 225 acres by over 6,500 volunteers and over 50 companies joined in. (Ref 7, 8)

Wirral Waters is the largest regeneration project in the UK. It will transform over 500 acres of the Birkenhead docklands into an internationally recognizable destination (where e.g. innovation and sustainability will thrive). (Ref. 1, 2). While the whole project will take up to 30 years to finish, the first phase has started in 2019 and building work has begun on three projects which will bring 1,000 homes and breathe new life into 500 acres of former dockland in the town. £220 million will be invested in the next three to four years alone in an effort to build high quality, high-density accommodation with lots of green space and employment opportunities close by (Ref 10,11).

"Formerly a 10 hectare market gardening site, the Repainville area is rich in environmental potential: ponds, streams, springs ... the aquatic environment is present everywhere. There is a great variety of fauna and flora. As an ecosystem that is particularly rare in urban areas, protection and recovery measures are being undertaken" (Ref. 1). The restoration of the wetland of Repainville is part of a flagship project of the municipality in terms of safeguarding biodiversity in urban areas. With arrangements allowing the public to walk there without harming the biological and natural diversity of the place, the site has an educational dimension in order in particular to make young audiences aware of the preservation of the ecosystem (Ref. 7).

Due to the changing burial culture and the declining burial rates, Hamburg decided to establish a long-term development strategy called Ohlsdorf 2050 for the Ohlsdorf cemetery. The aim of the project is to preserve and develop the cemetery as a cultural landmark and a garden monument. The municipality aims to limit the burial services to a 120-hectare large area and develop a cemetery park in the remaining 280-hectare area. The strategy is being developed together with the locals, relatives of interred and experts. The participant's ideas included among others places for outdoor sports, allotment gardens and planting indigenous species. In any case, the entire cemetery will be preserved and maintained according to principles of garden heritage conservation and nature protection. Places for interaction, meditation, reflection and recreation will play a dominant role. (Reference 1, 2). In September 2020, the result of the consultations and the strategy itself is still unknown.

A living green wall packed with plants including primula and thyme was the latest addition to the university's Medway Campus. It was part of a university research project that assessed the benefits of small-scale living walls (ref. 1).

This intervention involved the removal of sediment and revitalization of the banks along with the rehabilitation of the urban part of the Segura River in Murcia. This was done to strengthen the environmental condition of the river and improve the visual aspects and the access of citizens to the river (Ref 3 and 7). In 2020, they are building the second part of the project, where the aim is to build three different walkways that join the two sides of the rivers and that will connect specific places along with it (Ref 5).

The Natural Park of Collserola (about 8,000 ha) is a forested area in the hilly Northern fringes of Barcelona. Since 1987, Collserola has been managed under a special protection plan and forms part of the European FEDENATUR network that aims at protected fragile peri-urban ecosystem for both their social and ecological functions. The park is jointly managed by a consortium including the Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya), the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona), the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) as well as all adjacent municipalities (Ref 1).

The Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat is located in the floodplains of the delta and lower valley of the river Llobregat, in the Catalan county of Baix Llobregat, in a central position within the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The territory of the park (nearly 3500 hectares), includes a rich traditional agricultural activity and comprises fourteen municipalities totaling about 818,000 residents. It is protected by a specific planning instrument and managed by the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona) (Ref. 1 and 9). The park acts as a green lung for the metropolitan area of Barcelona and at the same time as a pantry for Mercabarna, the large wholesale market that provides food and drink to the inhabitants of Barcelona and surrounding towns, although there is also production that is exported (Ref. 10). The Agrarian Park is the only one in the world so close to a large city and it promotes specific programs to preserve the productive values of the agricultural space and promotes quality local products and local consumption. (Ref. 10)