Last updated: October 2024
In 2001, the local municipality of La Paz, in collaboration with the International Union of Architects (UIA), launched a design contest to create a central park within a protected natural area (3). The park's aim was to develop urban infrastructure while connecting nature with the city (3). The winning architectural design envisioned an infrastructure that would harmonize with the existing natural surroundings and minimize interference with the environment (4). The park's implementation included pedestrian and bike pathways, numerous panoramic viewpoints, facilities for exercise and cultural events, buildings dedicated to science, historically significant monuments, playgrounds, and the rehabilitation and creation of multiple green spaces (1 & 4 to 6). While most of the project was completed by 2009, the area's exposure to recurrent landslides, droughts, and illegal waste disposal, combined with ongoing degradation, has necessitated afforestation efforts and maintenance actions from the municipality to ensure the protection of the natural area and enhance its benefits (7 & 8). Recently, the park has been part of a national citizen monitoring program for species, which has improved the categorization of wildlife in the area (11 & 12). Additionally, 2,000 trees were planted in the park in 2023 as part of a reforestation campaign, and cleaning and watering maintenance work has been carried out to support their growth (7 & 13). This initiative is part of a larger project to revitalize the park (10 & 13). Overall, the park aims to protect local wildlife and plant species while acting as a "green lung" for the city, regulating the climate, providing recreational spaces, and improving livability (14).
One of the viewpoints of the park
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=parque+urbano+central+la+paz#lpg=ik:CAoSLEFGMVFpcE1vMmlsNGtIUml2MXdaQlNSamdadnhhTWE2RlJidy1pOHdxRkRX
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate change mitigation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Waste management
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Flood protection
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Effective management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Tourism support
- Employment/job creation
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Drought
- Landslides & mudslides
- Environmental Degradation
- Deforestation and forest degradation
- Air pollution
- Desertification
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Physical health harm (from pollution, wildfire, extreme temperature)
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
- Disconnection from nature
- Social fragmentation and isolation
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks), Protection of natural ecosystems, Habitat conservation, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity, Citizen science and monitoring initiatives (e.g. species observations, habitat assessments, and data collection efforts)
Project objectives
To protect the ecosystem and enhance the aesthetics of the natural area (2, 10, 13, & 14).
To reconnect the city of La Paz with nature (3 & 4).
To maintain the park as a green lung for La Paz to achieve good air quality (3, 4, 7, 10, & 14).
To develop the city center, creating a space for recreation, interaction, exercise, and sports for citizens, while serving as a tourist attraction (4, 5, & 14).
To improve the livability of La Paz inhabitants by protecting the green space represented by the park (5 & 14).
To reduce the risk of landslides and flooding in the area (unstable soil and heavy rains) (8, 10, & 12).
To monitor the flora and fauna within the park including clearance of invasive species (11 & 12).
To absorb carbon dioxide, minimize the effects of global warming, and regulate local temperatures (12 & 13).
To clean and remove waste from the area to support protective efforts and ensure the growth of newly planted trees (7 & 13).
To ensure effective park management through permanent employment, keeping facilities in good condition and accessible (14).
Implementation activities
The initiative involves several key actions aimed at enhancing and protecting a designated area. First, an area of 112.58 hectares has been declared as landscape heritage and officially categorized as a protected area (2 & 11). This designation is essential for safeguarding the ecological and cultural significance of the land. Ongoing afforestation activities are a crucial component of this initiative, with the most recent efforts including the planting of 2,000 native tree species. In addition, continuous cleaning actions are being implemented to improve waste management within the protected area (11 & 13). Monitoring of the species present in this area is being conducted first through public institutions and later with the encouragement of local citizens to participate in identifying and tracking species (11 & 12).
Efforts will also be made to plant species that assist in soil stabilization, further enhancing the ecological integrity of the area (12). Lastly, the initiative aims to create management jobs for the park to ensure that facilities remain in good condition and accessible for community use (14).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
- Restore and protect forests to prevent water runoff and assets loss due to flooding
- Restore and protect forests for soil stabilisation and prevention of landslides
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase the availability of green urban space for carbon storage (street tree cover)
- Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Control and clean invasive alien species
- Means for conservation governance
- Public engagement
- Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation
Main beneficiaries
- National-level government
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Taskforce groups
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The local municipality of La Paz together with the International Union of Architects (UIA, an NGO)) launched the contest design for the park (3 & 16). The general government of Bolivia helped attracting funds for the project and the Inter-American Development Bank funded the project (3 & 15). Different phases of the project were launched for licitation and executed by private companies (5 & 6 & 8). Later, the local government together with volunteers from public services cleaned and afforested the area (7 & 10 & 13). The organization Conservation International (NGO) helped local authorities categorizing the park as a protected area (10). Citizens helped monitoring the flora and the fauna of the area (11 & 12).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Plan Natural y Plan de Identidad y Patrimonio // "La Paz en Paz y moderna 2021-2026" (18) // Plan de la Tormenta a la Esperanza (12). - Natural Plan and Identity and Heritage Plan // "La Paz in Peace and modern 2021-2026" (18) // Plan from Storm to Hope (12).)
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), Support from transitional governance actors
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
- Loan
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Expected enhanced carbon sequestration
- Improved resilience against landslides
- Expected improved resilience against landslides
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Achieved improved air quality
- Improved waste management
- Achieved improved waste management
- Green space and habitat
- Increase in protected green space areas
- Achieved increase in protected green space areas
- Increased number of protection areas
- Achieved increased number of protection areas
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Achieved increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Expected reduced biodiversity loss
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Achieved increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- More sustainable tourism
- Expected more sustainable tourism
- Attraction of business and investment
- Achieved attraction of business and investment
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Achieved improved social cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Achieved improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Achieved protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Expected increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Achieved increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Achieved increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
GPSMyCity (n.d.). Parque Urbano Central (Central Urban Park), La Paz. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Municipalidad de la Paz (2000). Ordenanza-municipal-2000-ch. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
3.
ANF Agencia de Noticias Fides Bolivia (2002). PUC fue adjudicado al proyecto del alemán Alex Loher. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Miranda, J.M. (2002). Parque Urbano de La Paz_ El proyecto se expone en la Oficialía Mayor de Culturas. Bolivia.com, Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Bolivia.com (2005). El Parque Urbano Central de La Paz ya es realidad. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
6.
ANF Agencia de Noticias Fides Bolivia (2005). Trotadores y bici senda_ el Parque Urbano Central da su tercer paso este año. . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
7.
El Diario (2019). Realizarán mantenimiento del Parque Urbano Central. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
8.
ANF Agencia de Noticias Fides Bolivia (2005). La Vía Balcón del Parque Urbano cobra forma en el sector del cerro Laikacota. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Red Uno de Bolivia (2023). Cierran el playón A del Parque Urbano de La Paz y perjudica a feriantes de la Alasita. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
10.
El Diario (2024). Alcaldía impulsa revitalización del Parque Urbano Central . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
11.
Ciencia Ciudadana (2022). Reto Ciudad Naturaleza - Ciencia Ciudadana. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
12.
Agencia Municipal de Noticias La Paz (2024). Inician tareas de limpieza y riego del Parque Urbano Central en el Día Mundial de la Madre Tierra. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
13.
Agencia Municipal de Noticias (2022). El Parque Urbano Central, un espacio natural con una variada flora y fauna . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
14.
El Diario (2012). Doce años del Parque Urbano Central se festejan con juegos y actividades. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
15.
ANF Agencia de Noticias Fides Bolivia (2003). BID aprobará SUS.20 millones para el Parque Urbano Central. Accessed on September 16, 2024, [Source link];
16.
Mauricio Manzoni (2012). Concurso Internacional Parque Urbano La Paz . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
17.
Secretaría Municipal de Planificación (2018). Cartillas Macrodistritales - Centro. Gobierno Autónomo Municipal de La Paz, p. 2 & 4 & 27 & 30. Accessed on September 16, 2024, [Source link];
18.
Gobierno Municipal de La Paz (2022). Plan de gobierno la paz en paz y moderna 2021-2026. Accessed on September 16, 2024, [Source link];
Volunteers cleaning and planting
https://www.eldiario.net/portal/2024/04/22/alcaldia-impulsa-revitalizacion-del-parque-urbano-central/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.