Green Urban Infrastructure in the municipality of Beira

Beira, Mozambique

City population: 533825

Duration: 2015 – 2020

Implementation status: Completed

Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level

Project area: unknown

Type of area: Industrial, Residential

Last updated: October 2021

The Green Urban Infrastructure in the municipality of Beira project aims to increase Beira’s resilience to climate change and flooding (Ref. 2). It is a two-part project that consists of rehabilitating the Chiveve River and constructing a public park along the river (Ref. 1). The river rehabilitation was completed at the end of 2016 and restored the natural flow of the river, enabling better flood control (Ref. 5,6). The public park was completed at the end of 2020 and serves as a recreation, catchment and overflow area through three basins of the river (Ref. 1,2).

Beira Urban Park 1

Source: Ref. 9

Overview

Nature-based solution

Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Blue infrastructure
Riverbank/Lakeside greens
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
Coastal wetland, mangroves and salt marshes
Green areas for water management
Sustainable urban drainage systems

Key challenges

Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Water management (SDG 6)
Flood protection
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Green space creation and/or management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Environmental and climate justice
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Employment/job creation

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems

Project objectives

The Green Urban Infrastructure project in the municipality of Beira project aims to: - Improve natural drainage and retention (Ref. 2,6) - Increase Beira’s resilience to climate change (Ref. 2) - Protect the city centre from flooding caused by heavy rain and tidal waves (Ref. 1,2) - Restore the riverine and wetland ecosystem (Ref. 6) - Improve living conditions for the inhabitants of Beira, especially within the poor informal community of Goto, which is vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Ref. 1)

Implementation activities

Phase I: River Rehabilitation - Opening the river & connecting it to the estuary (Ref. 6) - Dredging of Chiveve riverbed at fishing port (Ref. 1,11) - Clearing of waste and sediments in shoreline vegetation (Ref. 1,5,6) - Restoration of riverine and wetland ecosystem (Ref. 5,6,11) - Mangrove reforestation (Ref. 1,6,11) Phase II: Public Park - Construction of a public park that extends through three basins of the river (Ref. 1,2) - Establishment of new urban park administration (Ref. 1) - Planting of native species (Ref. 1) - Planting of over 7000 trees (Ref. 4) - Establishment of the botanical garden (Ref. 1,4,5) - Installation of panels along park pathways that provide information about the park’s ecosystem and how to protect it (Ref. 1) - Wetland restoration (Ref. 1,4,11)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
Restore wetlands and/or coastal ecosystems to dissipate the effects of flooding and/or storms
Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)
Renaturalization of rivers and other water bodies

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity restoration:

Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Restore ecological connectivity

Main beneficiaries

Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)

Governance

Management set-up

Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

National government
Local government/municipality
Financial institution

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

AIAS (National Administration of Water and Sanitation Infrastructure): implementing agency (Ref. 6) Beira Municipality: project operator (Ref. 6) KfW: co-finance for Phase I & II of the project (Ref. 5,6) World Bank: co-finance for Phase II of the project (Ref. 1,2,5,6) CES/ Inros Lackner; TPF Consultores; CHICO Construction: Private Sector Consultants (Ref. 6) ADEL: local NGO for reforestation measures (Ref. 5,6) Citizens: involvement in decisions affecting the park, including deciding park logo (Ref. 1)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? No

... a national policy or strategy? No

... a local policy or strategy? Yes (Beira’s Masterplan 2015-2035 (for river rehabilitation) (Ref. 11))

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

Public local authority budget
Multilateral funds/international funding

Type of funding

Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Increased protection against flooding
Improved stormwater management
Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales

Economic impacts

Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
Generation of income from NBS

Socio-cultural impacts

Safety
Increased perception of safety
Decreased crime rates
Social justice and cohesion
Improved liveability
Improved access to urban green space
Increased opportunities for social interaction
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. KfW Development Bank. (2021). Project information: Urban development – Mozambique. KfW Development Bank. Retrieved from: Source link [Document provided].
2. TPF Consultores. (n.d.). Green Infrastructure Park in Beira City. TPF Consultores. Retrieved from: Source link [Document provided].
3. World Bank Group (WBG). (n.d.). Cities and Climate Change. WBG. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
4. World Bank Group (WBG). (2018). Helping Mozambique Cities Build Resilience to Climate Change. WBG. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
5. CES Consulting Engineers Salzgitter GmbH and Inros Lackner SE (CES). (2020a). Task 5 – Knowledge Note: Upscaling Nature-Based Flood Protection in Mozambique’s Cities. Retrieved from: Source link [Document provided].
6. CES Consulting Engineers Salzgitter GmbH and Inros Lackner SE (CES). (2020b). Task 1 – Lessons Learnt from Beira: Upscaling Nature-Based Flood Protection in Mozambique’s Cities. Retrieved from: Source link [Document provided].
7. KfW Development Bank. (2016). Mozambique: Rehabilitation of the Chiveve River is improving the quality of life of Beira’s residents. URBANET. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
8. Earthworks Landscape Architects. (2017). Chiveve River Beira Mozambique. Earthworks Landscape Architects. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
9. Carvalho, R. (2020). Mozambique inaugurates largest urban park in Africa. Further Africa. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
10. Club of Mozambique. (2020). Mozambique: Nyusi inaugurates Beira Green Park – Watch. Club of Mozambique. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
11. Dicker, S, Unsworth, S, Byrnes, R. & Ward, B. (2021). Saving lives and livelihoods: The benefits of investments in climate change adaptation and resilience. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science. [Document provided].
12. Infraestruturas Verdes Urbanas – Beira. (2021). Facebook page. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
13. Empresa Municipal Do Rio Chiveve. (2021). Facebook page. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 9 September 2021].
14. ADEL Sofala. (2020). Facebook post. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 11 September 2021].

Beira Urban Park 2

Source: Ref. 10

Source: Ref. 10

Source: Ref. 14

Source: Ref. 14

Source: Ref. 14

Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the UNA global extension project funded by the British Academy.