Developing climate change mitigation

The restoration of the former saltworks in southern France

1 Restore a more natural hydrological functioning that reconnects the surrounding hydrosystems (including the lagoons located further inland, the Mediterranean Sea and the Rhône River).

2 Restore the natural ecosystems characteristic of coastal lagoons and sandy coastlines, including dunes, salt steppes and saltmarshes.

3 Maintain or increase the carrying capacity for breeding colonial water birds.

4 Implement adaptive management to sea-level rise, creating accommodation space for water spread.

5...

Integrated green grey infrastructure (IGGI) - Ecologically enhanced sea defence

Passive enhanced boulder with water retention feature uppermost.

Ecological enhancement of hard coastal structures. Project aimed to mitigate expected habitat losses associated with improving coastal defences for both the natural substrate & pre-existing defences within Natural 2000 site, & minimise future habitat losses due to sea level rise & coastal squeeze.

Colentina lakes chain: an area to be protected in Bucharest

This case study is an example where the environment was gradually changed. A river was turned into a chain of lakes, and additional wetlands appeared. Although the biodiversity is greater than in the first case, the area does not have a protected status, and the greed of real estate investors is a serious threat. Several details follow below.

The Greenest of the Green block, Helsinki, Finland

The objective of the project is to investigate the future possibilities of green area development, by exploring the functionality of green areas on the roofs of apartment buildings and to gain insight into the impacts green roofs may have on housing and the sense of community.

Moss for green infrastructure

Objective of these prototype moss installations was to find out the possible challenges of using moss in different locations and structures. We need to know what type of moss can be used and what are the actual costs of building moss green roofs and walls.

Paris Oasis Schoolyards programme

Plan of the Charles Hermite Oasis Courtyard, Paris

Reduce the local heat island effect
Provide pupils with a healthy and stimulating learning environment
Educate residents to risk culture on climate change
Make refuges of freshness available to the most vulnerable populations
Create numerous meeting spaces to spur conviviality and solidarity

Barcelona, Spain: Ajuntament de Barcelona

Barcelone green infrastructure and biodiversity plan 2020, Barcelona City Council

The objective of the catalogue of actions set out in the Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan is to implement a strategy for improving existing green heritage and for preserving and enhancing Barcelona’s biodiversity to provide the inhabitants of Barcelona with many ecosystem services.

Montpellier, France: Agroforestry: Agriculture of the future? The case of Montpellier

Example of agroforestry concept applied by farmers: trees and medical species cultivation. Author and source: Christian Dupraz

The objective is to make the Montpellier agricultural systems more resilient to the effects of climate change, such as increasing temperatures or droughts, water and biotic stresses and more extreme events.

Main benefits can be summarized as follow:

INRA (Institut Nantional de la Recherche Agronomique) researchers showed that the production from one hectare of a walnut/wheat mix is the same as for 1.4 hectares with trees and crops separated. This was a 40% increase in productivity, far better than any other innovation introduced by agronomists in the recent past.

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Basel, Switzerland: Green roofs : Combining mitigation and adaptation on measures

Green roof on Tram depot Wiesenplatz in Basel, project “Meadow carpet”. Author: Stephan Brenneisen

By 2100, under a high greenhouse emissions scenario, the temperature is projected to increase by about 4.5 ºC in comparison to the 1990s. This means that every second summer will be as hot or even hotter than the temperatures reached during the 2003 heat wave which caused severe loss of life across Europe. Extreme precipitation events are likely to increase in frequency and severity. Green roofs were found to offer opportunities to combine energy saving, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity objectives. In densely built-up areas where providing extensive parks and...

Ecuador: The Socio Bosque Program

Map of priority areas for Socio Bosque. Source: Ministry of Environment, Ecuador.

Conserve native forests and other native ecosystems to protect their ecological, economic, cultural and spiritual values.
Significantly reduce deforestation and associated GHG emissions.
Improve the well-being of farmers, indigenous communities and other groups living in the country’s rural areas