Belo Horizonte, Bogota and Mexico City go for nature-based solutions
What do the global metropolises Belo Horizonte, Bogotá and Mexico City have in common, apart from being vibrant places to live in?
The three major cities are strengthening their commitment to nature-based solutions as a strategy to address some of the multiple urban challenges they face. They have been selected in the first call of the CLEARING HOUSE knowledge exchange mechanism, which seeks to promote capacity development and exchange of knowledge and practices on urban forests as nature-based solutions (UF-NBS), based on peer-to-peer exchanges and scientific support regarding UF-NBS challenges.
The jury, formed by representatives of the European Forest Institute (EFI), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Association of Major Metropolises (Metropolis), has picked those 3 local authorities’ proposals among several proposals from Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Throughout the selection process, the three cities showcased some of their policies, programmes, and projects to enhance the implementation of UF-NBS ecosystems and promote collaboration with diverse stakeholders. They also showed their conviction and commitment in the green transition by sharing their tree-based green infrastructure programmes, and the main social and climate challenges addressed through the implementation of UF-NBS.
Bogotá has been selected for the Task Force exchange mechanism. The Task Force will offer the opportunity to receive scientific support. This support will eventually include a review of Bogotá's challenges in regards to further implementation of UF-NBS solutions, research for gaining more in-depth insight on the challenges faced by Bogotá, and an action plan for implementing the suggested solutions.
Planting new fruit trees in Bogota
Belo Horizonte and Mexico City will collaborate through the City Tandem exchange mechanism. The global objective of the City Tandem is to promote capacity development and exchange of knowledge and practices on urban forests as nature-based solutions, based on peer-to-peer exchanges. Both metropolises declared to be particularly interested in topics such as heat-wave mitigation, air quality improvement, green infrastructures and social-cultural exchanges.
Mexico City's "Reto Verde" Belho Horizonte
A second call for cities will be published in the upcoming months, focusing on capacity development and exchange of knowledge and practices between European and Chinese cities.
