NBS for climate action

Creation of new green areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

In Quito (located at 2,800 meters above sea level and one of the highest capital cities in the world) environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions coupled with unregulated urban growth led to an increase in natural threats such as earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires. To address many of these challenges, the municipality of Quito applied to an EU scheme, called the Clever Cities, and plans to fight the climate change effects and loss of biodiversity by implementing nature-based solutions. The intervention will focus on the neighbourhood of San Enrique de Velasco which is relatively deprived of vegetation and species diversity due to environmental degradation and a lack of connectivity resulting from surrounding ravines. More precisely the goals of the present intervention are (1,2,3,4): 1. To nurture equitable and regenerative climate action solutions through NBS; 2. To build capacity through targeted governance and raising awareness through targeted outreach activities. 3. To coordinate a widespread tree planting campaign with native tree species and the participation of locals, therefore, addressing biodiversity concerns 4. To improve citizens’ quality of life and alleviate detrimental environmental and climate impacts through innovative NBS and concrete legislative commitments. 5. To reduce the average daily temperature of the neighbourhood and a decrease in the number of days with high temperatures. 6. Restoring abandoned public plots with edible gardens, small urban forest, skate park and exterior theatre space (4) 7. Reducing the number of premature deaths associated with high temperatures by at least five deaths per year. (2,7)

As this is a fairly new initiative and because of the impacts of Covid19 so far the implementation strategy focused on organising capacity-building workshops that can help strategise the prospective actions. In July 2020, a workshop was organised. In the workshop, Daniela Rizzi, Sustainable Resources, Climate and Resilience Officer of the ICLEI Europe city network, addressed in depth the issue of NBS and how the world's cities are changing. In addition, the Clever Cities team made up of the Ministry of Environment, the Environmental Fund, the Planning Secretariat (Resilience Directorate) and YES Innovation reported in-depth on the Clever Cities project at the global and local levels. The CLEVER Cities project in the city of Quito is executed in the neighbourhood of San Enrique de Velasco, located north of Quito, in which the co-creation and co-implementation of NBS is sought to improve the quality of life of citizens, thus creating a pilot neighbourhood of NBS that could be replicated in the city and in the region. Finally, in the workshop, through a collaborative dynamic, it was possible to generate an academic discussion that in order to promote cooperation between the Academy and Clever Cities for the development of NBS in the city of Quito. Furthermore, in 2020 the Municipality issued a Climate Change Action plan that includes the San Enrique de Velasco intervention and sets the policy basis for future implementations. In June and August 2020 the first urban community gardens were implemented in the neighbourhood (2,5,7)

• Citizens or community groups