Last updated: May 2025
The Rimac River Special Landscape Project, developed by the Municipal Programme for the Recovery of the Historic Centre of Lima (PROLIMA), is a municipal proposal that arose as a response to the significant degradation of the Rimac River as it passes through the historic centre of the Peruvian capital. The river has lost its character as a green corridor and potential public recreational space for citizens (1, 3). The main problems affecting the river are related to the erosion and risk of flooding of the river space, the ecological degradation of its channels and banks, the disconnection and low quality of adjacent public spaces and the urban fragmentation caused by car-oriented mobility (2). To recover its essence as an ecological green corridor, it was proposed to give back to the Historical Centre its riverside identity and to recover the water, environmental and scenic landscape. This project aims to restore the Rímac to its role as a geographical heritage and backbone of the city of Lima, creating a system of accessible and sustainable public spaces that will help to recover this water, urban and historical landscape, as well as providing a better quality of life for the residents and users of the Historical Centre (1). The project consists of 4 stages of intervention: Puente del Ejército - Puente Santa Rosa / Puente Santa Rosa - Puente Balta / Puente Balta - Límite of the CHL to the east (5). Among the interventions that make up the Special River Landscape Project are: the renaturation of the 4 km of the Rimac River as it passes through the city, the construction of 14 parks, 7 squares, 1 tree planting project, 24 street renovation projects, 7 bridges/pedestrian walkways, 10 building rehabilitations and 2 new public facilities (4). It is planned to start implementing the project by the end of 2024 (4).
Current state of the surroundings of Puente Balta
PROLIMA
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
- Riverbank/Lakeside greens
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
- Green corridors and green belts
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Noise reduction
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Flood protection
- Improvements to water quality
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Disaster-risk reduction
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- River flooding
- Environmental Degradation
- Air pollution
- Poor water quality
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Rapid urbanization
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
- Disconnection from nature
- Loss of sense of place and identity
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)
Focus
Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks), Urban reforestation, restoration of street trees, Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, River rehabilitation/ restoration, Restoration of riparian vegetation, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Remediation activities of sites with very poor environmental quality, Ecological restoration of existing green spaces, Restoration and protection of ecosystems (including water ecosystems), Strategy, plan or policy development, Creation of city-wide or neighborhood green and blue infrastrcuture protection or enhancement strategies/plans, Development of disaster-risk prevention strategies (e.g.fire management, flood alleviation scheme)
Project objectives
- Reduce the vulnerability of the river environment (4)
- Improve water and air quality (4)
- Increase the quality and quantity of green areas and public spaces (4)
- Foster the local economy and help close gaps in the Historic Center (4)
- Improve the quality of life of the residents and users of the Historic Center (4)
- Restore the Rímac River's prominence as a geographical heritage and a structuring axis of the city of Lima (1)
- Mitigate the risks caused by erosion and floods (1, 2, 3)
- Promote sustainable, inclusive, and active mobility (1, 2, 3)
- Restore the river’s role as a water, cultural, environmental, and landscape resource (1, 2, 3)
- Recover the essence of the ecological green corridor that was taken away, and return the Historic Center to its riverside identity (1)
- Reduce levels of environmental and noise pollution, significantly improving the comfort and urban quality of the Historic Center (2)
Implementation activities
A system of accessible and sustainable public spaces is being planned to restore this water, urban, and historical landscape (1). This involves 66 interventions, of which 22 have undergone pre-investment studies and 8 have been approved by the Ministry of Culture (4).
These initiatives focus on improving the riverbed, creating new green spaces, pedestrianising streets, and enhancing canals and historical monuments (1, 2, 3). The burial of strategic sections and the creation of riverfront promenades or other riverside spaces as transition buffers will help recover the riverbank relationship, intensify recreational use, and foster social cohesion (2).
To protect and restore the river and the riverbanks, strategies include (4):
Phytoremediation: Using plants to purify water through artificial wetlands.
Erosion control: Employing vegetated gabions to prevent erosion.
Riverbed intervention: Installing floating islands to improve water quality.
Flood mitigation: Constructing floodable areas to reduce the impact of flooding.
Four vegetation terraces will be built to reduce water velocity and increase resilience, using native, low-maintenance species (3).
A plant catalogue has also been developed and approved to promote a metropolitan green corridor (4).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Restore rivers and other fresh water bodies to reduce flood or drought risk
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Riverfront communities
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
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Prolima is a body of the Municipality of Lima that promotes the recovery of the Historic Centre of Lima. It is the initiator and executor of the project (6). At the public sector level, a Framework Agreement for Inter-institutional Cooperation has been signed with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism and the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima. At the international cooperation level, support and financing have been obtained from the Andean Development Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank. Alliances have also been generated with the private sector -ENEL, Ferrovías and Lima Expresa, among others-, and agreements with academic institutions. At the same time, links with social programmes have been strengthened, with dissemination platforms and spaces for citizen participation have been created with neighbours and local actors (3).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Ordinance N°062-94-MML approved the Sole Regulation for the Administration of the Historic Centre of Lima (7), as an Urban Plan, following the guidelines of UNESCO, as it declared the Historic Centre of Lima a World Heritage Site in 1991, adding another category to its status as a National Cultural Heritage Site, granted by the State of Peru in 1972 (7)
This Master Plan, which includes the Rimac River Landscape Project, was initiated as a result of four Ministerial Resolutions of Culture: 029-2017/MC, 050-2017/MC, 273-2017/MC and 496-2017/MC (7))
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), City network or regional partnerships focused on climate change, sustainability, GI or NBS in the city, Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
€500,000 - €2,000,000
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
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
- Expected strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved water quality
- Expected improved water quality
- Increased protection against flooding
- Expected increased protection against flooding
- Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
- Expected enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- 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
- Increased number of species present
- Expected increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Attraction of business and investment
- Expected attraction of business and investment
- Other
Socio-cultural impacts
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of natural heritage
- Expected protection of natural heritage
- Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Expected increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Expected increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Other
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.
López, S., Vivas, D. (2022). Proyecto Especial Paisajístico Río Rímac: Corredor verde ecológico como oportunidad para la regeneración urbana de Lima. Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Holmes, D. (2024). Rimac River’s Special Landscape Project | Proyecto Especial Paisajístico Río Rímac . Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Buenos Aires Ciudad (n.d.). Lima (Perú). Proyecto Especial Paisajístico Río Rímac. Memoria Descriptiva. Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
4.
PROLIMA (2023). El Proyecto Especial Paisajístico Río Rímac sigue avanzando. Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Lima's Municipality (n.d.). PLAN MAESTRO DEL CENTRO HISTÓRICO DE LIMA AL 2029 CON VISIÓN AL 2035. Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Peruvian Government (n.d.). Programa Municipal para la Recuperación del Centro Histórico de Lima. Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Lima's Municipality (n.d.). Plan Maestro del Centro Histórico de Lima (al 2029 con visión al 2035). Accessed on September 17, 2024, [Source link];
Map of the Historical Center of Lima
Master Plan for the Historic Centre of Lima, 2019
Integral strategies for the improvement of the riparian environment
PROLIMA
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.