Cairo, Egypt
City population:
Duration: 2014 – unknown
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Residential, Building
Last updated: October 2021

In 2014, a rooftop farming project was initiated in the informal settlements of the Greater Cairo Region to address challenges brought by climate change and to empower the local community. The project was initiated by the German Corporation for International Cooperation and a local NGO with the objective to "reduce ambient temperatures (microclimate) in a densely populated area through green spaces on rooftops, and reduce the impacts of the urban heat island effect and increasing heat." (1) The initiative also addressed four of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by tackling biodiversity loss, encouraging sustainable agriculture practices, fostering ecosystem services and developing local knowledge (1,11) Besides environmental benefits, the project and its scaled-up project in 2017 brought several socio-economic benefits by reducing vulnerability to food price changes and by developing the local community. Rooftop Farming Hubs were also established to foster the training and knowledge sharing of rooftop farmers in Cairo (1).

Cairo Urban rooftop farming
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
Source: https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Nature on buildings (external)
  • Green roofs
  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Community gardens

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social cohesion
  • Social interaction
  • Environmental education
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Economic development: agriculture
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  • Sustainable production

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

Project objectives

- Regulate the micro-climate of the densely populated area where the rooftop farms are set up (1) - Reduce the impacts of the urban heat island effect and increasing heat due to climate change (1) - Increase green cover in the city (6) - Promote sustainable urban farming practices available for local residents, thus reduce their vulnerability to inefficient food production and distribution and greatly fluctuating food prices (1, 6 - Empower local residents by capacity building and knowledge sharing while also encouraging community development (1)

Implementation activities

- Setting up the rooftop farms on the selected rooftops using a hydroponic technology system that contains 3-4 waterbeds made of wooden frames, plastic sheets, foam panels and cups filled with peat moss and pyralite substrate (2) - Installation of raised garden beds in cases where the hydroponic technology system wasn't applicable (2) - Establishment of Rooftop Farming Hubs using a community-based social business model to 1) educate and train the local residents and 2) create a platform through which the residents can collaborate, exchange experiences (3)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
  • Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation

Main beneficiaries

  • Citizens or community groups
  • Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
  • Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)

Governance

Management set-up

  • Led by non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Non-government organisation/civil society
  • Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Co-management/Joint management

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The Urban Rooftop Farming project in Cairo was initiated by The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in cooperation with Shaduf, a local social enterprise that initially started off by offering microloans in the form of rooftop gardens for low-income Egyptians, and later expanded to creating more green spaces on rooftops of the entire country (1, 7)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? No
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Unknown

Type of funding

  • Unknown

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution
  • Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
  • Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Environmental quality
  • Improved air quality
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
  • Generation of income from NBS

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved social cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Increased access to healthy/affordable food
  • Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
  • Education
  • Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1) Panorama. 2017. A socio-economic approach to Urban Rooftop farming in the Greater Cairo Region. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
2) Panorama. 2017. Rooftop farming methodology & technique. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
3) Panorama. 2017. Social-business model approach. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
4) Panorama. 2017. Creating a rooftop farmers network. Panorama - Solutions for a Healthy Planet. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
5) EcoMENA. 2020. Are Green Roofs a Viable Option for the Middle East?. EcoMENA. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
6) Source link. 2020. Urban Gardening: The Rooftop Gardens of Cairo. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
7) DW. 2019. Greening Egypt's capital with rooftop gardens. DW. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
8) Scoop Empire. 2020. Urban Gardening: The Rooftop Gardens Of Cairo And The Goal For A Greener City. Scoop Empire. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
9) Schaduf. n.a. Green Jobs project. Schaduf. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
10) CBD. 2020. Aichi Biodiversity Targets. CBD. Accessed on October 1, 2021. Source link
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network
Cairo Urban rooftop farming
https://panorama.solutions/en/building-block/creating-rooftop-farmers-network
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the UNA global extension project funded by the British Academy.