October-December 2022 - LIFE GrIn

Α) Identity of the project

Description/Aim

The main objective of the LIFE GrIn project is to integrate climate governance into the management of Urban Green Infrastructure in local areas through the development of an integrated policy framework.

The project promotes the development and implementation of strategic urban green management planning to enhance the adaptation of cities to Climate Change, based on the principles of Urban Forestry. According to this, Urban Green Areas will not be isolated sites, but an integrated whole of vital importance. The overall vision includes the adoption of European policies and tools to improve the quality and connectivity of green spaces, with the vision of making cities more resilient to climate change.

In particular, the project aims to:

1. Establish an integrated framework for the management, monitoring and evaluation of Urban Green Spaces and Green Infrastructure in general,
2. Integrating and promoting European Climate Change policies in local government and urban planning,
3. Quantifying and optimizing the impact of Urban Green Spaces on urban climate problems,
4. Promoting the integration of sustainable management of Urban Green Spaces for Climate Change adaptation and mitigation,
5. Informing and raising awareness among decision-makers and citizens.
   
   

Β) Best Practices

An important deliverable that has been completed during LIFE GrIn project is the Guidelines for the strategic planning and management of Urban Green Areas in response to Climate Change. The main goal is to create a model system, which responds to the requirements and specificities of urban ecosystems for the implementation of governance and decision-making. The system is based on the principles of Urban Forestry and ecosystem functions, and promotes the management of Urban Green Areas in a holistic and integrated way. The whole project is concerned mostly on assessment the current situation of Urban Green Areas - but also of the whole Green Infrastructure, aiming to anticipate the adaptation of cities to Climate Change. At the same time, it emphasizes the effectiveness of the management measures taken in each case.

These specifications incorporate the necessary indicators’ System for their comprehensive monitoring and evaluation. These relate to the complete description of the situation and how it is shaped through the spatial and temporal implementation of the Strategic Management Plan, with emphasis on adaptation to Climate Change.

Urban Green is an important resource for cities and it must be managed to maximize its benefits. However, in order to have a Strategic Management Plan, the basic requirement is that each municipality must have an inventory of its Urban Green Areas.  In this context, LIFE GrIn project has created a Cooperation Platform and Urban Green Infrastructure register. This Register is part of a centralized database at national level, which - at the end of the project - will be managed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

The information contained in the platform includes data relating to:

• Quantity per type of green infrastructure
• Quantity of woody vegetation
• Quality of woody vegetation, including assessments of health, silvicultural characteristics and biodiversity
• Use and function of Green Infrastructure
• Proximity and distribution of Urban Green Areas
• Urban green management and maintenance
• Climate Value of Green Infrastructure

The Platform can be accessed via the link https://ngdb.gr/, while access is only granted to authorized users.

The LIFE GrIn project team, in order to inform the scientific community and the general public, as well as the dissemination of the results, created materials such as:

• Project Brochure: LIFE_GRIN_brochure-GREEK

• Videos about the project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf3PqxSr1VA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uukz6jelX8&ab_channel=LIFEGrIn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZHp15EYGGY&ab_channel=LIFEGrIn 

C) Results

1. Implementation of the Guidelines for the strategic planning and management of Urban Green Areas in response to Climate Change in the municipalities of Amaroussion and Heraklion, which are the pilot Municipalities of the project, by creating Integrated Management Plans.
2. Implementation of proposed management measures and actions, with most important the establishment of an emblematic Urban Green Area in each of the pilot municipalities. In this frame, in the Municipality of Amaroussion, a park has been completed, in the area of Agios Thomas - Protagora Street, while in Heraklion, it is located in Erythraea stream and is under construction.
3. Training of employees of the two (2) pilot municipalities in the use of the Cooperation Platform and Registry of Urban Green Areas. In the context of the transferability and replicability of the actions of LIFE GrIn project, it is planned to train employees in at least 10 additional municipalities throughout Greece, starting in Thessaloniki starting from the Municipality of Thessaloniki on 11-12 October 2022 with the Information and Networking Workshop on: Establishing Urban Green Management in Response to Climate Change. During these meetings, it is expected that the registry will be updated with more Urban Green Areas at national level.

LIFE GrIn project is ongoing.