Use of urban trees to mitigate climate change and improve human nutrition

The areas of occupation and spontaneous growth constitute an important problem for the cities since they do not obey what is established in the sectorial and urban planning tools, however, they occupy a territory where there are legal regulations that can improve the conditions of habitability and quality of life. The purpose of this instrument is to propose the creation of a public green area for the cultivation of plant species and trees whose fruits are edible, so that the inhabitants can connect with nature and in turn can have an important source of food with the cultivation and harvesting, to give impetus to sustainability and the promotion of community participation in vulnerable areas of the city. With this edible green area in the San Isidro parish of the Maracaibo Municipality, it is also intended to influence the mental health of its inhabitants, since the connection with the green areas would bring wellbeing and generate social bonds by bringing together people from the community in the cultivation and harvesting tasks, considering that it is a vulnerable area where poverty, violence and crime rates are important. The green area would be complemented with a park built from recyclable materials where the community could have a recreational area.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Urban planning mechanisms

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Heat stress and heat island effect
Social cohesion
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

Generation of green spaces and urban agriculture

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Inclusivity

Governance

Non-governmental actor(s)

Initiating body:

Researchers, university

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The strategy of the Use of urban trees in the mitigation of climate change and improvement of human nutrition, was developed by the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Universidad de los Andes, as part of an academic research exercise that seeks to address poverty, nutrition and social inclusion as challenges of climate change in cities, it is proposed to address the practices of mitigation and adaptation to climate change through the use of urban trees. The strategy is complemented with the participation and community management of popular spokespersons who make contributions to the design and instrument strategies. In the following phases, the Mayor's Office and the National Institute of Nutrition will be incorporated to provide recommendations on strategies and their adaptation to the design and sustainable urban development plans of the Municipality.

Targeted actors:

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

Details about the implementation:

The strategy in phase of diagnosis, for its application the mayor's office, the organisms of nutrition, the civil society, the organized community and popular spokesmen of the parish San Isidro will collaborate which will have as support the tools of the participative community planning.

How did the government support the instrument?:

For this strategy, governmental support will consist of providing the necessary advice to the community regarding the planning of roundtables, presentation of proposals to municipal and regional entities, and technical support and advice from the mayor's office, the nutrition institute and the regional urban development office.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

For the time being, no financing proposal has been made to either public or private entities.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The estimated results are: The creation of edible green public spaces, improve the quality of life of the inhabitants by having a meeting and recreation area that would provide direct contact with a different and friendly area within the hostile environment of the San Isidro parish. The creation of edible green public spaces with criteria for the nutritional improvement of the population and linked to sustainability, helps to mitigate the effects of the increase of high temperatures in the city and at the same time helps in the nutrition of the inhabitants of one of the poorest areas of the city. The creation of green areas and access to urban trees in the San Isidro parish will bring significant improvements in terms of enjoyment, mental health, nutrition, inclusion and achievement of the SDGs.

Success factors and lessons learned:

Edible urban green areas in vulnerable and poor areas of the city contribute to the improvement of the quality of life, nutrition and mental health of its inhabitants. The urban trees associated with these areas provide thermal comfort which improves the performance of the inhabitants of precarious housing. These edible green areas allow residents to be more inclusive and strengthen social and environmental sustainability. It is evident that in vulnerable and poor areas of the city with its environmental, social, historical and cultural conditions need application and integration SBN for the creation and articulation of edible green spaces. Currently the country is going through a complicated socioeconomic situation as a result of a prolonged political crisis, however, institutions such as the Universidad de los Andes continue to work together with social actors, organized communities and companies in the search for solutions that give the citizens of vulnerable and poor areas of the country quality of life and social inclusion having as a starting point the solutions based on nature.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Mendez, E (2022).research project Use of urban trees in climate change mitigation and improvement of human nutrition. Universidad de los Andes. Mérida Venezuela.

Photos

https://satellites.pro/