Salvador Atlantic Forest Capital Initiative

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has lost more than 80% of its area in the last centuries. Recognising the benefits that the urban Atlantic Forest brings to its citizens, the city of Salvador (Brazil) has committed to protect and restore the forest. To do so, the city started its 'Salvador Atlantic Forest Capital' initiative in 2013, aiming to recover green areas with tree planting and to implement parks and environmental conservation areas. Besides the rehabilitation of the threatened Atlantic Forest, the initiative seeks to increase the well-being of Salvador's residents by securing the provision of ecosystem services (such as water supply) and by transforming public spaces for the community. One of many innovative programs under the umbrella initiative is, for instance, the “Dial Atlantic Forest” program to boost awareness of the critical roles trees play in cities. It was piloted by Salvador’s Municipal Secretary of Sustainability, Innovation and Resilience and not only targets urban trees within city limits, but also forests outside of them as well. The rehabilitation of the native Atlantic Forest ecosystem shall further boost the city’s resilience to climate change, with green spaces helping to reduce risk from extreme heat, drought and urban flooding.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

Besides reforestation activities, the city of Salvador has created 39 conservation areas covering 19 square kilometers. Many are connected by ecological corridors. Further efforts have been directed at providing green infrastructure elements and accessible green space for residents, particularly in the city’s poorest areas. All activities are also aimed at increasing the resilience of the Atlantic Forest biome to climate change as well as restoring habitats and biodiversity in the region. Such activities also include other biomes such as coastal dunes, e.g. through the creation of the city’s first maritime park.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Green areas for water management

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Municipal Secretariat of Sustainability, Innovation and Resilience of Salvador

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

No information was publicly available on the mechanism of horizontal or vertical collaboration in designing this instrument.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The city created user-friendly manuals on planting tree species native to the Atlantic Forest in urban areas. In the frame of the “Dial Atlantic Forest”, over 4,500 trees were delivered to interested residents to plant at home.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Targeted actors:

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Corporate investment

Inversión empresarial

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

No concrete information was publicly available on the costs associated with this instrument. However, the city government has allowed private businesses to “adopt” green spaces in the city. The respective private entity is responsible for funding the upkeep of the area and the community benefits from well-maintained green space in the city. This has been proven to be an effective local financing mechanism.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

Through the umbrella "Salvador Atlantic Forest Capital Initiative" many different activities have been taken place. For tackling land degradation and desertification, 39 conservation areas were established in the city, protecting habitats and biodiversity, and creating a carbon sink for 200,000 tonnes of CO2e over 20 years. some of the conservation areas are recognised by UNESCO and are attracting new tourists and researchers to the area that boost local businesses and entrepreneurs.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The initiative and since derived policies have been proven to be very effective, which is in part due to a bottom-up movement that engages and builds the capacity of local and regional actors around a common goal. The city's strong policies, together with other regional policies, band together rural municipalities to protect and restore the Atlantic Forest, giving hope to a significant recovery of the valuable forest ecosystem. In addition, dedicated activities also led to a significant improvement of community safety to climate-related hazards.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

PopulationCity (2023). Salvador. Available at: https://www.citypopulation.de/en/brazil/bahia/2927408__salvador/ (Accessed: 10 February 2023).

Salvador Prefeitura & Secretaria Municipal de Sustentabilidade Inovação e Resiliência (n.d.). Salvador Brazil. Washington DC: Cities4forests. Available at: https://cities4forests.com/cities/salvador/ (Accessed: 10 February 2023).

Ray, S., Anderson, W., Chuaire, M. F. (2019). A Tale of Two Cities in Brazil (and the Forest that Connects Them). Available at: Washington DC: World Resources Institute. https://thecityfix.com/blog/tale-two-cities-brazil-forest-connects-sabin-ray-will-anderson-maria-franco-chuaire/ (Accessed: 10 February 2023).

Correiro (2019). Salvador Capital da Mata Atlântica: conheça ações do programa premiado mundialmente. Available at: https://www.correio24horas.com.br/noticia/nid/salvador-capital-da-mata-atlantica-conheca-acoes-do-programa-premiado-mundialmente/ (Accessed: 10 February 2023).

C40 Knowledge (20). Cities100: Rainforest recovery boosts climate resilience in Salvador. Available at: https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Cities100-Rainforest-recovery-boosts-climate-resilience-in-Salvador?language=en_US (Accessed: 10 February 2023).

Photos

@ R. Iruzun Martins / Flickr