Soil quality improvement

Under Sustainable Development Goal 11 (make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) in 2017 a coalition of stakeholders including the Municipality of Asuncion started the implementation of an initiative focused on improving the quality of life in the Metropolitan Area of Asunción through green infrastructure in a sustainable and resilient city framework. Why Asuncion? Cities and metropolitan areas are fundamental centres of economic growth: they contribute approximately 60% of world GDP. However, they also account for around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and more than 60% of resource use. Asuncion makes no distinction - it is a city with a high flow of cars and transportation, irregular flooding (the sewerage system there has already been exceeded for some time), and urban growth. Trying to respond to some of these challenges, the present intervention has been proposed with a duration of 5 years. (1,2)

Ecosystem-based adaptation planning in Osh will support the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in establishing its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process and is consistent with the government’s strategic vision for climate change adaptation. Additionally, this project also contributes to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and UNDP’s objectives by increasing resilience for the most vulnerable people, communities, and regions, by strengthening institutional and regulatory systems for climate-responsive planning and development, and by strengthening adaptive capacity and reducing exposure to climate risks. The priority sectors for the project are: (1) disaster and emergency management; (2) health; (3) biodiversity conservation; (4) and agriculture and irrigation water. The relevant agencies and stakeholders of these four sectors will be key to ensuring these plans catalyse investments to enhance adaptive capacity in the city. [1, 2]

Eco-district creation in Ulaanbaatar comes under the Ulaanbaatar Green Affordable Housing and Resilient Urban Renewal Project (AHURP). The planned development areas are hotspots of greenhouse emissions and air pollution, mainly due to the widespread use of coal for heating and cooking. The project will transform the highly climate-vulnerable and polluting "ger" areas (traditional Mongolian tents) into zones that are low-carbon emitting, climate-resilient and affordable. This will be done through low-cost urban infrastructure, public facilities, and social housing units. The project's five phases will deliver about 20 eco-districts or sub-projects, with each covering an average of 5 ha. The project is a large-scale demonstration initiative that will leverage private sector investment to deliver affordable and green housing stock, and redevelop "ger" areas into urban areas that are resilient to climate change, contribute to decreased air and soil pollution, and will provide a liveable urban environment to "ger" area residents. It will also establish policies, mechanisms, and standards for sustainable affordable housing and green urban redevelopment. [1, 2, 3]

Resilient Islands is a project thought and directed by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 3 Caribbean island nations. It is a project at the intersection between conservation and disaster risk reduction and it comprises actions implemented in the Dominican Republic, Granada, and Jamaica. The negative impacts of climate change are already affecting people, homes, businesses and infrastructure in Caribbean nations. In response to increasingly dangerous hurricanes and rising vulnerability, Resilient Islands will address the need for urgent action by developing adaptation toolkits, best-practice models and access to funding. Caribbean nation islands are the world's most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Coastal flooding and erosion caused by hurricanes and severe storms threaten lives, homes, jobs, and infrastructure. Grenville is a coastal town, the second largest town in Grenada, with a population of around 2,400. It is highly susceptible to flooding and has seen increased coastal erosion in recent years due to the degradation of the fringing reefs, its first line of sea defence. Since 2017, TNC and the IFRC have collaborated with governments, communities, and partners in Grenada and Greenville to develop national plans for a more sustainable future through nature-based disaster risk management and there this is how this intervention was born. (1,4)

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)

Peru has seen a sharp increase in major flooding, prolonged droughts and water scarcity of supplies in the dry season, negatively impacting agriculture, migration, conflict and economic growth in recent years. As 71% of the world's tropical glaciers are found in Peru these climatic changes affected the country profoundly leading to a decrease in the glacial surface and creating unstable lagoons also causing natural disasters such as alluvium landslides and deadly flash foods. Glacial melt is also disrupting water flow and quality, posing a threat to the flora and fauna that rely on freshwater environments. Unsustainable management of fragile glacier ecosystems is causing environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. To counteract many of these challenges and to safeguard the communities that are in peril, in 2011, the Government of Peru together with a number of stakeholders, initiated an intervention to sustainably manage more than 200 new lakes that affect directly populations in different cities in the Ancash, Cusco and Lima regions, Huaraz being one of the cities targeted. The project benefitted downstream communities and protected fragile high-altitude freshwater ecosystems. (1,2)

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 Porsuk Stream divides the city of Eskişehir into two with a green corridor running along the shores of the stream. The Porsuk Stream served provisioning services and acted as a recreational area in the first half of the 20th century, however with increased industrial activities discharging untreated wastewater into the river, rapid urbanisation in the city and other settlements, and increased fertilisers and pesticides in the groundwater originated from agricultural practices (upstream of the Porsuk River), it became highly polluted and its ecosystem degraded severely (1,2,4,5). The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) identified the stream as one of the highly dangerous rivers in terms of pollution and health, where no living beings except viruses live (1).
Within the framework of the 'Eskişehir Urban Development Project' the 'Natural Disaster Loss Reduction Project (Porsuk Project)' has been initiated focusing on the ecological restoration of the stream, improving water quality, increasing the resilience of the city against natural disasters (as earthquakes and floods) while also reestablishing the stream's environmental and social role in the city (1). A network of natural infrastructure was created along the Porsuk by expanding public green spaces and link the entire corridor with a sustainable public transport network. (4,5)

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)

The city of Algiers initiated in 2010 a project in order to establish a green belt around its areas and some northern municipalities. The project aims to create agro parks, allotment gardens as well as parks as a strategy for reintegrating the concept of the green belt into the Algerian territory. Through this intervention, the municipality aims to put into practice environmental values ​​linked to improved quality of life and social well-being, for the benefit of the local community. The intervention plans to introduce different species of trees and include for the first time in Africa agro parks as spaces which are designed to reconcile urban and agricultural functions in a win-win strategy. The action was thought to respond to the impacts of climate change in the country, which faces rain events that are less frequent but more intense, and droughts that are more common and longer. (1,2,3,4)