Case studies tagged with Woodland and forest

In the second part of the 20th century, three major challenges led towards a new thinking and the implementation of river restoration as a nature-based solution at the Isar.

First, after decades of river regulation, water diversion and hydro-morphological modifications, the resulting degraded morphological status and related losses of ecological and social quality triggered serious concerns from civil society and citizens.

Second, the Isar River was very popular for swimming and other water-related outdoor recreational activities as one of the key elements of the local...

There were plans for a huge dam for hydro-electric energy production, mainly for export. The study was designed as a standard Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), including environmental costs and distributional impacts. Cost-benefit-analysis was used to assess the value of the project because it is a widely accepted framework and can combine diverse secondary data about the expected consequences. Despite time pressure and relatively poor data availability, conservative estimates about investment costs, likely returns and environmental damage (along with associated loss of natural assets and...

Xochimilco is an important tourist attraction for Mexico City and because of thi,s public policies have been focused in conservation, tourism infrastructure and ecotourism. Therefore there is now a priority to address social and environmental challenges including: the dredging and cleaning of the canals, garbage collection and reforestation of channels, exotic species control, improving the hydraulic infrastructure, Axolotl conservation, Chinampas rehabilitation, and productive projects.

Natural systems or nature based solution have been suggested and implemented in order to reduce...

To restore a Victorian cemetery from a state of neglect to provide a community green space, whilst maintaining and celebrating the heritage of the site as well as its conservation and ecological value.

To tackle these challenges, the city has taken a series of measures in the context of the Master Development Plan. The plan sets out guidelines and objectives for specific planning and local development. In particular, the municipal ecological structure takes into account ecological principles and the importance of preserving natural, forest, agricultural and cultural heritage. Together with the Biodiversity 2020 Strategy, the...

To address these challenges, Budapest has drafted several strategic documents, in which NbS are promoted as a way to improve the environment, sustainability, and quality of life. These documents include:

• The Budapest 2030 Long-Term Urban Development Concept. This strategic document aims to protect and increase green areas, so as to ensure ecological connectivity and develop walking and cycling corridors. It also promotes greater investment in brownfield sites, the prevention of urban sprawl, and 'smart' city development.
• The Integrated Urban Development Strategy 2020.
...

To mitigate the development of a 3.2km bypass by building a green land bridge to enable the historic West drive to be reinstated on its original line and provide landscape and habitat connectivity.

Quantifying the impacts of traditional forest management on biodiversity and ecosystem services values and developing new forest management strategies using the retention capacity of the forest.

In response to the social challenges and environmental impacts caused by urban growth, Bogota adopted the incorporation of green and blue infrastructures in several urban planning instruments. The most important action was the implementation of the local concept of Main Ecological Structure (EEP for its Spanish abbreviation) in 2000. The EEP's purpose is the protection and management of ecological networksthat reconcile urban development with the conservation of the structures and functions of ecosystems, as well as their ability to provide ecosystem services.

Exploring which policy strategies can balance the supply of and demand for mountain ecosystem services in the future? Mountains provide many ecosystem services to both, people living in and outside the mountains. In the Swiss Alps study area, the number of farms abandoned is increasing and traditional farming systems are in decline. Therefore, as in many European mountain regions, the provision of essential services is at risk. At the same time, touristic activities and settlement development enhance local demand for ecosystem services. New and integrated strategies in agricultural,...

The Project “Demonstrating and promoting natural values, to support the decision-making process in Romania” (N4D) was developed based on folowing activities: A1. institutional infrastructure development; A2. Development of the ecosystem mapping and assessment framework in Romania; A3. Data analysis and management under the MAES process;  A4. Biophysical mapping and assessment of ecosystems and of their services;  A5. Project promotion; A6. Knowledge exchange with the neighbouring countries and with Norway, as the country providing the Project financing.

The Volkswagen Group (the Group) is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers. The Group is comprised of twelve brands (Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN), operating 118 production plants in 20 countries across Europe and 11 countries in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

The Group aims to create lasting value for the Company, its employees, and its shareholders, but also for the countries and regions in which they operate. This all-embracing view of sustainability is...

Viridian were asked to model an entire lowland catchment of approximately 750 km2 for a basket of ecosystem services, so the client could better understand where to focus effort on the ground, assist with planning, inform stakeholder engagement and influence policy formation.

The restoration of peatlands is part of the LIFE Elia-RTE project 1. The main objective of this project is converting forest corridors of the high-voltage power lines into ecological corridors by restoring stable natural habitats that will require minimal intervention in the future. These actions undertaken onsite are real opportunities for nature, local stakeholders, and RTE.

The project’s objective is to restore peatlands located under overhead power lines to encourage the return of specific plant and animal communities of these ecosystems and restore their functional components....

The public perception of ecosystems (e.g. forests, including possibly protecting ones) is strongly worsened following floods with massive wood jams. This case study aims at performing a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a Mediterranean catchment to assess NbS benefits, dis-benefits and co-benefits and ways to optimize them.

For several reasons, protecting important ecological areas in Lisbon from urbanisation has become difficult. Remnant areas of natural habitat have gained particular importance in consolidating the green corridors network, benefiting from the fact that much of this land is still within the municipality’s property holdings. The “Lisbon Green Plan” published in 1996 set out the approach used in 2008 to implement safeguarding measures to protect the ecological structure under development threat at that point. It triggered an update to the Lisbon Master Plan at a time when climate issues were...

The aim of this research was to understand how private sector natural capital investments could be increased and diversified in the Spey catchment. The focus of the study was on businesses that do not primarily manage land, but nevertheless rely on the Spey landscape, e.g. for their supply chain or to attract customers. Specifically, the study tried to answer four questions:
1. How do businesses currently invest in natural capital?
2. What motivates and hinders businesses to invest in natural capital?
3. Is there potential for coordinated business investment in natural...

Controlling and mitigating the heat island effect in Arará slum, northern Rio de Janeiro, based on the development and monitoring of green roofs, using epiphytes or lithophytes. Given the common uses of cement or metal, tiles required the development of specific techniques and materials to allow for the growth of vegetation while keeping the overall weight low for safety.

This case study examines in particular the interface between four sets of plans and strategies, providing important context for further examination of meso- and micro-scale interventions covered in subsequent sections. This case also touches on other formally adopted plans and strategies only in relation to the above meso- and micro- scale initiatives, in an attempt to better understand contexts.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) participants in the BRIDGE FP7  project identified the primary planning goals for the Central Activities Zone (CAZ)[1] as to: (a) increase green space; (b) improve air quality; (c) reduce the UHI effect (heat island) and (d) prevent flash floods, with climate change adaptation and mitigation seen as a cross cutting issue.

London has a number of plans aimed at addressing these challenges, including:

• The Mayor’s London Plan in which two goals relate to urban green space and aim
...

• Enhancing sustainable urbanization
• Restoring ecosystems and their functions
• Developing climate change mitigation
• Developing climate change adaptation; improving risk management and resilience

Over the last few decades, Lisbon has lost a third of its residents (Green Surge: Lisbon case study) as a result of uncontrolled urban development (urban sprawl in the suburbs coupled with depopulation and decaying neighbourhoods in the historical centre). This has led to a deterioration of the quality of life in the city. It is currently facing challenges...

A Green Infrastructure Plan of Llanquihue, which includes the Baquedano Wetland Park, was developed through the joint working of the Landscape Architecture Master Program Universidad de Chile and the NGO Legado Chile Fundatio. It is a response to several socio-ecological pressures created by urban living that were affecting ecosystems within the city boundaries. In 2016 both institutions called on an open dialogue with 300 members of the community, including residences, local authorities, the school community, regional services, representative of productive industries, scientists and...

Analysing future land use trajectories and their effects on networks of biodiversity and ecosystem services for the Grenoble urban area. It will offer a better knowledge of mechanisms underpinning ecosystem services as well as analysing trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity, critical ecosystem services and territorial management. Further it will facilitate appropriation of tools and concepts by stakeholders and support the integration of the complexity of ecological functioning into debates on territorial planning and management.

The objective is to demonstrate how nature conservation can be integrated into practical forest management. Steinkreuz is part of the “European demonstration site network for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management” (https://www.oppla.eu/casestudy/18019).