Last updated: March 2025
The Cinturón Verde de Independencia initiative is a pilot intervention that seeks to plant an urban forest in the lower middle-class district of Independencia (1) in the northern part of the urban territory (3). Here, 19% of the population lives in high-risk conditions, settled on steep slopes, and threatened by landslides (3). It is part of a broader planning strategy that involves proposals engaging different levels of government (4). This project seeks to afforest the district's hillsides to improve the environment, reduce air pollution, improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, manage waste, regulate shade, control erosion, increase wild biodiversity, and provide spaces for environmental education (2). The Independence Green Belt is linked to a wide range of plans, projects, and decrees that have been developed by actors at different levels of government since 2016 (4). It works hand in hand with the EBA Lomas programme and seeks to create a green belt along the Lomas-city interface, which acts as a buffer zone for this sensitive ecosystem and creates a protective boundary against the expansion of irregular human settlements while providing a space for environmental awareness (2). This program was developed by a consortium of multiple private, public, national, and international parties with strong community support (3). In two phases, an urban forest park of 4,800 of native trees irrigated with treated wastewater has been planted. During the first phase, PREDES planted 3,300 trees with USAID support in 2015, and another 1,500 were recently planted by PERIFERIA (consultants) (3). The Independencia Green Belt occupies the hill areas of the district of the same name and relates to a possible metropolitan-scale buffer belt. Its boundaries take advantage of the seven Sustainable Ecotourism Forest Parks (PFES) in the District Municipality of Independencia (MDI), as well as 115 hectares of the Amancaes Lomas (4). It aims to conserve 400 hectares (4).
First Stage of Forestation of the Green Belt of Independencia
European Urban Knowledge Network
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- House gardens
- Parks and urban forests
- Green corridors and green belts
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate change mitigation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Regulation of built environment
- Rewilding
- Landslides reduction
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Disaster-risk reduction
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Tourism support
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Food scarcity / security
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Landslides & mudslides
- Environmental Degradation
- Deforestation and forest degradation
- Air pollution
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Limited economic opportunities and local livelihoods
- Rapid urbanization
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation)
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of green corridors (including connectivity between urban and rural ecosystems), Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Urban reforestation, restoration of street trees, n.a., Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Remediation activities of sites with very poor environmental quality, Protection of natural ecosystems, Habitat restoration, n.a.2, Strategy, plan or policy development, Creation of city-wide or neighborhood climate adaptation or mitigation strategies/programs, Development of disaster-risk prevention strategies (e.g.fire management, flood alleviation scheme)
Project objectives
1. Contain urban sprawl and reduce the physical vulnerability of the populations settled in this district (1, 4)
2. Provide new opportunities for recreation, leisure, tourism and sustainable entrepreneurship (4)
3. Protect and enhance the value of the Lomas ecosystems and desert hills (4)
4. Make the Lomas and their populations more resilient to climate change (4)
5. This proposal also aims to provide various ecosystem services and benefits (4), such as:
- Disaster risk management, especially landslide risk reduction
- Mitigation of part of the CO2 emissions generated in Metropolitan Lima
- Micro-climate regulation
- Food provisioning
6. To install plants suitable for different locations to ensure that environmental benefits such as thermoregulation, reduction of the albedo effect or incidence of UV radiation, air cleaning or biofiltering capacity, GHG mitigation, sustenance of urban fauna, especially birds, pollinators and biological controllers, are maximised (4)
7. Enhance the value of the belt's areas, motivating people to take advantage of their ecotourist and productive potential (4)
Implementation activities
A catalogue was drawn up to guide the installation of specific projects in each intervention area and encourage the proposal of investment packages that can be purchased by companies wishing to participate in the process.
The typologies of the activities were proposed based on the recognition of the demands and opportunities verified in the field during the walk-talks with the neighbours.
- Actors from the public, private and citizen sectors have been identified who will be key to the design, installation, operation and monitoring of the belt (4)
- Tree Planting Module: extend existing forestation or install new forestation
- Biogarden Module: generate urban agriculture hubs that foster new local businesses (4)
- Xerophyte Planting Module: plants suitable for the belt as they can withstand long periods without water or with very little water (4)
- Green Houses Module: recognises the potential for installing green actions in houses on hillsides near the Green Belt, with the creation of creepers that can function as green walls and roofs, regulate indoor temperatures, attract birds and small pollinators, cover soil and/or aromatic plants (4)
Activities with economic potential are related to ecotouristic facilities, such as routes along the coastal desert and places to promote relaxation, such as parks, gardens, and viewpoints. The productive areas are integrated into productive housing systems, which can supply food to the common pots, benefiting the most vulnerable people (4)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
- Restore and protect forests for soil stabilisation and prevention of landslides
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Low-income neighborhoods, Informal settlements or slums
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
- Restore ecological connectivity
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed), Homeless people & people living in informal settlements
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Public sector institution
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Environment Ministry, Metropolitan Municipality of Lima and District Municipality of Independencia (MDI): initiating organisations (1)
EU-Sustainable Independencia consortium and MDI: funding, assessment, diagnosis (4)
PREDES, USAID and PERIFERIA (consultants): support with non-financial resources (3)
Activist groups like Red Lomas del Perú and community leaders: supporters of the project, ensuring the installation and long-term maintenance of the green spaces (4)
Centre for Disaster Studies and Prevention, GEA group and Peripheria S.A.C.: design proposals and articulate actors (4)
Private sector companies interested in measuring and partially offsetting their carbon footprint will financially support the project (4)
Researchers: analysing indicators and implementation strategies (4)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Plan Local de Desarrollo Concertado de Independencia (PLDC 2017-2021 expanded to 2025) (4), Metropolitan Urban Development Plan (Plan 2040) and the Lima Climate Change Plan (1), Master Plan for the Lima Hills System Regional Conservation Area 2022-2026 (MML, 2022), Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Strategy (MINAM, 2022) (4))
Type of enablers
Capacity-building projects, Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), City network or regional partnerships focused on climate change, sustainability, GI or NBS in the city, Collaboration with other projects that implemented NBS
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public regional budget
- Corporate investment
- EU funds
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Tax exemption
- Other funding types are unknown
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of goods
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Expected enhanced carbon sequestration
- Improved resilience against landslides
- Expected improved resilience against landslides
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Expected improved air quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Expected increased green space area
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Expected increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
- Expected increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Expected reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased presence and recovery of wild species
- Achieved increased presence and recovery of wild species
- Restoration of derelict areas
- Expected restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Expected generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- More sustainable tourism
- Expected more sustainable tourism
- Stimulate development in deprived areas
- Expected stimulate development in deprived areas
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Expected increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Attraction of business and investment
- Expected attraction of business and investment
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Expected improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Expected improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Expected increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Expected increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
- Expected enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of natural heritage
- Expected protection of natural heritage
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
- Expected increased support for education and scientific research
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Safety
- Improved community safety to climate-related hazards
- Expected improved community safety to climate-related hazards
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
Economic impacts, High maintenance costs
References
1.
Naumann, S., Burgos Cuevas, N., Davies, C., Bradley, S., H. Mahmoud, I., Arlati A. (2023). Harnessing the power of collaboration for nature-based solutions. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Gestión Ambiental (n.d.). Programa "Cinturón verde para mi distrito" Gerencia de Gestión Ambiental. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
3.
InterlaceHub (n.d.). Nature-Based Solutions as integral and multiscale responses to social and environmental challenges in Lima, Peru. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Periferia Territorios Vivos S.A.C (n.d.). Plan integral del Cinturón Verde de Independencia 2022-2030 . Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
NBS Co-Creation process for the Green Belt Independencia
European Urban Knowledge Network
Parque Forestal Domingo de Ramos
Periferia Territorios Vivos S.A.C.
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.