PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The Climate Vulnerability Index (a tool for assessing the climate change vulnerability of World Heritage properties) has very high values for regions in southern Europe, including the Marche and Abruzzo regions in Italy. Severe effects on health and well-being are expected in these two regions if corrective measures are not put in place in a timely manner. Indeed, a steep rise in temperatures has been monitored in the past decades in cities along the middle Adriatic Sea coastal area, with high risks of desertification, forest fires and health issues. The main reasons are linked to high impermeabilization of soil, fragmentation of green areas, the inadequate conservation status of green spaces (mostly local peri-urban pine forests which are degrading due to inappropriate management, with the loss of about 2% of trees every year) and a lack of governance for integrated adaptation measures.
OBJECTIVES
The key objective of LIFE + A_GreeNet is to reduce the vulnerability of cities along the coastline of the middle Adriatic Sea to rising temperatures and heat waves. The project will seek to achieve this by implementing adaptation measures in urban areas and improving the governance and management of green areas through the development of supporting tools and participatory processes.
Specific objectives include:
- Improving the resilience of the urban environment, air quality and people’s health and well-being by linking up existing green areas and creating green infrastructure;
- Improving the conservation status of existing green spaces; and
- Developing a multi-level/multi-actor governance approach for more efficient planning and management of green areas.
In this way, the project will contribute to implementation of:
- The EU climate adaption strategy, by testing and implementing sustainable solutions to address the heat island effect in cities along the middle Adriatic coastline
- The EU urban agenda, by promoting solutions for sustainable soil use and nature-based solutions;
- The European strategy “innovating with nature” and the green infrastructure strategy, by implementing green solutions in the demo area;
- The new EU forest strategy for 2030, by improving the status of urban forests in the pilot areas;
- The EU biodiversity strategy, by improving the conservation status of green areas in the pilot cities;
- Directive 2008/50/EC on air quality, by reducing air pollution (including PM10) near urban green areas; and
- The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, by contributing to the drafting (in Silvi, Pescara and San Benedetto del Tronto) or implementation (in Ancona) of the sustainable energy and climate action plans (SECAPs) in pilot cities.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Development of supporting tools for green area design/implementation/management (i.e. project GIS platform integrated with the “Green Suite” simulation and forecast models and the Climate Change and Health Observatory);
- Definition of scenarios and plans for green infrastructure to be implemented by 2030, covering at least 20% of the surface included in urban plans and not yet implemented;
- Implementation of an improved urban forest management system with “forestry contracts” signed with at least 21 public stakeholders and 22 private ones, and definition of management plans for pinewood and public green areas;
- Restoration and regeneration, through interventions in pilot areas, of almost 22 ha of pinewoods and more than 8 ha of soil, and creation of nearly 3 ha of urban micro-forestation areas;
- Creation of additional investments (€600,000) for bottom-up interventions fostered by calls for tender (1 per municipality involved) with grants at 50% of co-financing;
- Reduction of surface temperatures by 4-10°C in pilot areas through the interventions implemented, while contributing to the capture of about 18,000 tonnes/year of CO2 and 77 tonnes/year of PM10; and
- Transfer of the developed methodology to at least 4 Italian provinces, 12 Italian municipalities and 1 Croatian municipality.
