Cases

Parc Marianne is an eco-district in France’s southern town of Montpellier where nature-based solutions (NBS) have been applied to ensure sustainable urban living for inhabitants. The project has been showcased under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 project, NATURVATION, thanks to its achievements in addressing a multitude of SDGs. These targets include climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDGs 7 and 13), environmental quality including air quality to waste management (SDG 3) and water management (SDG 6).

Wetlands International, Michael Succow Foundation, Greifswald University and the Institute of Forest Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences are providing support to 11 provinces in Russia in the rewetting and ecological restoration of degraded peatlands to enhance fire prevention and climate change mitigation.

A living example of how a Sardinian eco-dairy is using agroforestry and silvopasture methods in the forests of the island’s mountain interior, to not only look after the land but also to generate income. By realising the unlocked potential of traditional agroforestry in these rural mountainous areas, younger generations are now more enticed to come back to these regions from the cities to work and live off the land sustainably.

Through the deployment of agro-ecology approaches, project FLR349 is a nature-based solution model that is being implemented in Northern Thailand to help restore local forest ecosystems as well as the local food system and build resilient communities. The focus is to incentivise farmers to switch from agrochemical monoculture towards the cultivation of perennial trees, fruit, vegetables and herbs in a mixed agriculture approach.

A World Agroforestry (ICRAF) led initiative that looks at developing innovative ways to scale up land restoration activities through systematically testing promising restoration options across a range of contexts and through embedding research in project development. In Kenya, the project is working with over 2500 households across Kitui, Makueni and Machakos counties to implement on-farm comparisons of various land restoration options, including different tree planting practices and the use of planting basins.

A unique prairie ecosystem located in the Chihuahuan Desert in northern Mexico which has slowly been brought back to life over the last 30 years through regenerative ranching: an initiative spearheaded by Pasticultores del Desierto or the "Desert Grasslands Shepherds", a group of Mexican regenerative ranchers.

Located in southern Tanzania, the Kilombero Valley is a multi-biome landscape, which also forms part of an agricultural growth corridor that has been designated by the national government. In order to maintain the valley’s ecological integrity, restoration activities, such as tree planting, natural regeneration, agroforestry, as well as the establishment of the village woodlands, have already started to be implemented. Using an Integrated Landscape Management approach, these restoration activities are overseen and agreed upon in a multi-stakeholder platform that is facilitated by the African Wildlife Foundation.

Restoring degraded land can create vast bioenergy crop potential without constraining food crops or other land use options. This presents an important opportunity for countries to develop modern, sustainable bioenergy from rapidly growing wood crops at the same time as pursuing ambitious forest landscape restoration initiatives. This case study looks at a new CIFOR-led initiative, which energises degraded land in the Congo whilst promoting forest landscape restoration for bioenergy production.

A high altitude and diverse ecosystem located in the north-western part of South America, which has an unusual backstory entailing occupation from guerrilla. Today, the Colombian Army not only protects the páramos of Colombia from these guerrilla, but they also serve as park rangers, as well as botanists propagating the native frailejón plants, which are essential for capturing rain water. Their goal is to protect and restore this unique and important ecosystem as well as ensure that they continue to supply the country’s cities with water.

Trees for Life is a registered UK charity working to rewild the Caledonian forest of the Scottish Highlands. The Caledonian Forest once covered a large area of the Highlands of Scotland as extensive stands of majestic Scots pine, interspersed with birch, rowan, juniper and aspen trees. Today, however, this forest has been reduced to about 2 per cent of its former extent.