Inclusive governance

The Mesurado mangrove forests, which is the focus point of the intervention, covers an area of approximately 6,760 hectares. It is situated within Montserrado County, around Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, West Africa. It is surrounded by 38 human settlements some of which are regarded as slums. The area is currently one of those five Ramsar (Iranian city wherein 1971 was signed and ratified the Convention on Wetlands) designated sites in Liberia and a home of three species of mangrove that stands at the point of extinction due to human encroachment. (3) Adding to this, the area is used as a colossal waste dump, and, in cases, for cutting of mangrove trees for fish drying. In addition to the huge species richness of the area, it also serves as a habitat and breeding ground for marine species and provides a number of important ecosystem services. This intervention seeks to address the issue of ignorance on the part of the communities about the importance and benefits of mangroves in communities within and around the Mesurado wetland. As it is a soft measure project, the main implementation strategy includes a series of educational episodes through a system of religious conservation awareness and education and alternative livelihood options for the communities engaged. (1,2)

The Jerusalem Forest is located southwest of Jerusalem and is the green lung of the residents of Israel's capital. The forest has a variety of trees, flowers and wildlife, remains of ancient farming implements and burial caves (2). The forest was planted in the 1950s in an attempt to increase the green cover and natural biodiversity of the area. However, due to intensive urban development including road constructions and energy grid installation and forest fires the size of the forest has been shrinking once covering 4 700 000 m2 to the current size of 1 250 000m2. In 2016, a non-governmental green organisation initiated the renewing of the Jerusalem Forest with the aim to preserve the forest, halt its decrease, secure its sustainable maintenance while involving the public in the conservation efforts increasing their environmental knowledge about their local habitat and support nature stewardship through the application of a community forest model. (1,2,8)

As a result of a ReefFix Project, an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Coral Reef and Mangrove Restoration and Watershed Management Demonstration programme, the Three Bays Marine Protected Area (MPA) and associated Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan have been established in Haiti (Refs. 4, 5 and 7). Only the second MPA to be established in the country, the Three Bays MPA includes the bays of Limonade, Caracol and Ft. Liberté (the administrative capital of the Nord-East department of Haiti), as well as the Lagon aux Boeufs. As summarised by Ref. 8, the establishment of the MPA and ICZM "will help protect the mangroves, eel grass beds, reefs and habitats housing important fisheries that are crucial for providing livelihoods to nearby communities. It will also help protect the area from storm surges and provide local communities with ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, tourism value and more". Additionally, the MPA will afford protection to numerous threatened species, "including sea turtles, whales, manatees and migratory birds" (Ref. 8).

As of 2011, Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, has a population of approx. 330,000 people. By 2018, an estimated 40% of Namibia’s 2.4 million population were living in shacks and Windhoek makes no exception. Approximately 30% of the capital population lives in unplanned informal settlements struggling to access basic services such as water and sanitation. Worse than that informal settlements are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards: they are squeezed in next to each other on the slopes of mountainsides. When there's the occurrence of floods, they do so with such force and wash away people’s homes and their belongings. Even more distressing, people often lose their children due to rapid and unannounced flash floods. As a response to these threats and challenges the inhabitants of an informal settlement, Onyika (located in Okuryangava - which is a suburb of Windhoek, situated in the north of the capital city) paired with local authorities, donors and climate change experts to embark on a community-led process of creating a climate-resilient community. Being especially vulnerable to climate change, these forms of settlements require special attention in the development of climate resilience strategies. (1, 6)

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)

This intervention was initiated in 2014 in Agege, a slum and a city in itself belonging to Lagos. Agege is one of the 7th most populated low-income communities in Lagos with a total population of around 1,033,064 people. Climate change in Nigeria led to seasonal droughts and floods, causing pressures in terms of food security as well as high temperature and humidity levels which affect directly the economically disadvantaged population in the slums of Lagos. In 2014 a research team at the University of Cardiff alongside community leaders of a Yoruba community in Agege implemented a study on vertical gardens in residential areas with the purpose of alleviating local temperatures and enhancing biodiversity. The implementation started with a study and was continued with the introduction of practical gardens maintained by the local community of 3 residential buildings (one in Suru Street, another in Lagos Street in Agege, and a third in Abeokuta Street). (1,2,3,4)

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).

A combination of green and grey coastal infrastructure is being developed off the coast of Semarang, Indonesia in response to the increased risk of coastal flooding as a result of sea-level rise (Ref. 1). Due to its geography as a coastal city, "Semarang deals with various physical challenges...such as tidal flooding, erosion, land subsidence and rising sea levels" (Ref. 1). Tidal flooding is becoming increasingly worse as a result of climate-induced sea-level rise and increasingly extreme weather events (Ref. 1 and 3). Coastal protection which was historically afforded by naturally occurring mangrove systems has been reduced as a result of the mangroves being largely lost to urbanisation, fish farming and other forms of agriculture (Ref. 2). One proposed sub-project of the Integrated Protective Coastal Zone, Coastal Balance Project 01: Coastal Balance Pilot in Genuk/Sayung, will focus on the northeast of Semarang. Using the 'Building with Nature' approach, it will leverage nature-based solutions through the deployment of green infrastructure, primarily focusing on mangrove restoration (Ref. 3). Mangrove restoration is hoped to stabilise the coastline, therein reducing erosion, encouraging sedimentation and increasing resilience against sea-level rise (Ref. 3).

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]

The Nature Conservancy established the Cape Town Water Fund in 2016 using the worldwide applied water fund to enable downstream water users to invest in land conservation and restoration upstream. (4,5) In 2018, the Water Fund started its pilot project on the catchment area of the Atlantis Aquifer, outside of Cape Town's boundaries on state land. The pilot project "seeks to increase water supply to Cape Town by removing invasive plant species in water catchment areas. Invasive species have been found to use significantly more water than indigenous species and uptake millions of litres of water from the catchment area annually that would otherwise be added to the city’s water supply" ( 1 p7). The intervention also supports the empowerment of marginalized communities by providing training and employment for them. As one of the main characteristics of the water fund model, various local stakeholders from all sectors are invited to develop and implement water connected challenges (1).