Last updated: October 2021
The Urban Forest Fund (UFF) was launched in May 2017 by the City of Melbourne to provide financial support to new greening projects that otherwise would not be able to be funded. Such projects include green spaces, tree planting, vertical greening or green roofs on private land" (1 p20). The City of Melbourne has multiple strategies and programs in place to increase the quantity and quality of green space in the city. The UFF aims to support such sustainability lead initiatives by providing match-funding grants to green projects in the private realm. The UFF is a key initiative in tackling sustainability challenges in the entire city, as 75% of its land is privately owned (1)
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Nature on buildings (external)
- Green roofs
- Green walls or facades
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- House gardens
- Institutional green space
- Green areas for water management
- Swales and filter strips
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Regulation of built environment
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Real estate development
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Strategy, plan or policy development
Project objectives
- To build partnerships between government and the private sector to deliver additional “greening above and beyond existing Council capital works investment” (UFF, 2017)
- To grow the UFF to a $10 million fund by seeking contributions from other organisations and private actors (1 p7)
- Increase greening in the City of Melbourne through providing investment in green infrastructure on private lands and property (1)
Implementation activities
- Provision of grants (Habitat Grant) to actors and stakeholders in the private realm to green their land and property.
- Fund-matching private greening projects dollar for dollar in Melbourne (1)
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
- Create or improve outdoor spaces to help people escape from urban heat
Main beneficiaries
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Other
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Urban Forest Fund was initiated and implemented by the urban forest and ecology team of the City of Melbourne, however, through the partnership program and as grant receivers, "the UFF involves citizens, individuals, property owners and organisations wanting to create a greener and more livable city (...)"(1 p23)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Other
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Unknown
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, No impacts reported
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) Kiss, B., McCormick, K., and Wamsler, C. 2018. NATURVATION - Case Study Working Paper: Melbourne, Australia
2) City of Melbourne. (n.a). Melbourne's Urban Forest Fund. City of Melbourne. Accessed on 15th March, 2021. Source link
2) City of Melbourne. (n.a). Melbourne's Urban Forest Fund. City of Melbourne. Accessed on 15th March, 2021. Source link