National Adaptation Plan Cities - Uruguay

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The National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change Cities (PNA Cities) is a strategic instrument aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of Uruguayan cities to the impacts of climate change through the promotion of planned development. One of the objectives of the Cities NAP is to strengthen the protection and restoration of ecosystems in urban planning and to enhance the role of vegetation in public spaces in cities. It includes 41 sustainable urban development measures to be developed until 2025. The measures are recommendations that were developed together with the implementing government institutions. The NAP was established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework at COP16 (2010) and generates guidelines for cities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2050.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Overarching/cross-sectoral strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Watershed restoration/water quality
Drought and fire risk
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Social equity

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The Cities NAP has 41 sustainable urban development measures. Three of the measures are directly related to Nature-Based Solutions. Measure #3 proposes to deepen ecosystem protection and restoration in planning. Measure #14 aims to strengthen the development of green and blue infrastructure in cities. Finally, measure #16 plans to boost the creation and management of green areas in high flood risk areas of cities through measures such as rain gardens. As a result of this measure, 8 rain gardens have been created in Montevideo.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Green areas for water management

External building greens

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Multifunctional NBS support

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Ministry of Housing and Land Management (MVOT), Ministry of the Environment (MA)

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The creation of this strategy was led by the Ministry of Housing, Land Management and Environment (MVOTMA). In 2020 the Ministry was dissolved and became two different Ministries: Ministry of Housing and Land Management (MVOT) and the Ministry of Environment (MA). After 2020 the Cities NAP became the responsibility of the two new Ministries (MVOT and MA). The formulation of the measures was carried out in consultation with the institutions involved in its implementation, taking into account the activities programmed for that period for the fulfillment of their tasks, other planning instruments and existing international commitments.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The 41 measures of the Cities NAP include a list of actions to be carried out for its implementation, the key actors identified, other institutions whose participation is recommended, the climate hazards to which it responds, and financing options. The NAP does not oblige municipal governments to act, it only provides recommendations. However, given that key institutions were part of the development of the NAP, and that the NAP is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the implementation process is underway. The Ministry of Environment and its affiliated offices have led the implementation process.

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

Each NIP-derived project has a specific budget and funding from various funds. The NIP mentions that the government should be responsible for implementing suitable financial mechanisms to finance interventions from the NIP, and provide recommendations for different avenues. This research did not find information about the financing of the specific NIP document.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

Each measure or objective of the Cities NAP has a target to be met by 2025 and an indicator through which progress can be monitored. The following measures are the most directly related to nature-based solutions, and their indicators: Measure 3 - Deepen ecosystem protection and restoration in planning: number of Local Land Use Plans (PLOTs) approved in the period that incorporate the identification of ecosystems, the ecosystem services they provide and strategies for their maintenance, over the total number of PLOTs prepared or updated in the period. The office of the National Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment of the Ministry of the Environment follows up on this measure through the Strategic Environmental Assessment. Measure 14 - Strengthen the development of green and blue infrastructure in cities: Number of cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants in which sustainable urban drainage solutions have been incorporated in the period. The National Water Directorate office is in charge of monitoring. Measure 16 - Promote the creation and management of green areas in areas at high risk of flooding in cities: % of cities with areas at high and very high risk of flooding have developed initiatives for their redevelopment during the period. The Ministry of Housing and Land Management and the National Directorate of Land Management are in charge of monitoring this measure.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The Montevideo Rain Gardens are one of the projects that have been implemented as a result of the NAP Cities. This intervention is in line with measure #16 of the NAP: to promote the creation and management of green areas in high flood risk areas of the cities. By 2020, 8 rain gardens had been inaugurated. The structures, similar to a vegetated flower bed, receive rainwater that infiltrates into the ground and enters a storage area below. Once filled, it exits the system and enters the sewage system. The gardens increase the absorption area in the city, which helps prevent flooding. At the same time they create green areas and filter the water that enters the sewer system.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The goals proposed for the year 2025 aim to stimulate the implementation and contribute to the achievement of each measure, but only represent a part of the actions necessary for this purpose. Based on this first generation of goals and the adequate monitoring of results, the Cities NAP foresees the programming of new action plans every five years that allow for redefinitions and adjustments to the Plan itself.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Access to PNA Cities document in English and Spanish https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-ambiente/comunicacion/publicaciones/plan-nacional-adaptacion-variabilidad-cambio-climatico-ciudades Pluvial Gardens in Montevideo https://una.city/nbs/montevideo/montevideos-rain-gardens https://uruguay.un.org/es/sdgs Advance May 2021 https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-ambiente/sites/ministerio-ambiente/files/documentos/publicaciones/Documento%20de%20avance%20PNA%20Ciudades_mayo21.pdf

Photos

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