Boosting the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions for Resilient and Healthy Cities
20 October 9:45 - 11:45
How can cities better communicate the benefits of Nature-based Solutions (NBS) to citizens and policy makers, thereby fostering their large-scale adoption and replication? NBS have emerged as a promising and multi-functional type of intervention to tackle societal, economic and environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. However, clear and sufficient evidence on their impact and outcomes is still needed to better assess NBS performance, devise mechanisms to replicate and upscale innovative solutions and inform policy decisions.
In this knowledge brokerage session, cities from the EU-funded projects Connecting Nature and CLEVER Cities will introduce novel tools and methodologies to deliver impactful NBS and track NBS performance.
The session will be designed to give the audience an overview of the different points of view, experiences and challenges faced by cities in various contexts while implementing impactful nature-based solutions with measurable co-benefits to citizens and the environment.
Connecting local perspectives to the EU policy context, the European Environment Agency will discuss the role of NBS in delivering on the EU Adaptation Strategy. It will introduce its flagship products and reflect on the interlinkages between climate, environment and health addressed by the European Climate and Health Observatory, which provides access to a wide range of publications, tools, websites and other resources related to climate change and human health.
Speakers
Spatial Planning Manager – Research & Development, Glasgow City Council (UK)
Gillian Dick, Spatial Planning Manager – Research & Development, Glasgow City Council (UK)
Gillian is the Spatial Planning Manager of the Research & Development team within the Development Plan Group at Glasgow City Council. She leads the Council's participation in the Horizon 2020 'Connecting Nature' project, where Glasgow is one of the front runner cities. She is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and currently sits as the vice chair on their Partnership and Accreditation Panel. She is currently the RTPI-nominated practitioner representative on the Technical University Dublin Planning school partnership Board. Gillian has a BSc (Hons) in Town Planning from Heriot-Watt University and BSc (Hons) in Human Geography from the Open University.
Expert in climate change and human health, European Environment Agency
Aleksandra Kazmierczak, Expert in climate change and human health, European Environment Agency
Aleksandra is an expert in climate change and human health at the European Environment Agency. Her main task is managing the recently launched European Climate and Health Observatory. Aleksandra worked for over a decade on urban adaptation to climate change. She was the lead author of the 2020 EEA report ‘Urban adaptation in Europe: how cities and towns respond to climate change’. She has background in geography and environmental sciences. Prior to joining the EEA in 2017, she was a researcher at the University of Manchester and Cardiff University, UK.
CLEVER Cities Coordinator - Greater London Authority
Nicola Murphy-Evans, CLEVER Cities Coordinator, Greater London Authority
Nicola has been working at the Greater London Authority for over ten years. She has primarily been focused on urban greening projects, such as creation of 100 Pocket Parks. She has been part of CLEVER Cities since its inception and is passionate about working collaboratively with local residents to create great project outcomes.
Programme Manager, Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency SERDA
Belma Pasic, Programme Manager, Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency SERDA
Belma Pasic is Coordinator of the Department for Transnational Cooperation Projects - Programme Manager in Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency SERDA. She has extensive experience in preparation and implementation of projects funded by the EU and other international donors. She focuses on projects aimed at environmental protection, sustainable tourism development, economic growth and support to SMEs.
Coordinator of Climate Change Programs, Madrid City Council (Spain)
Luis Tejero, Coordinator of Climate Change Programs, Madrid City Council (Spain)
Luis has been working for the Municipality of Madrid since 2005, where he is responsible for the coordination of climate change policies which can be adapted to city programming. His work has been implemented across different city departments, including Parks and Gardens, Environmental Education, and Energy and Climate Change. As a speaker at Mannheim2020, he intends to highlight the city's 'Madrid + Natural' programme, which aims to increase urban nature spaces and mitigate climate change impacts through the implementation nature-based solutions (NBS).
Moderator
Senior Officer, ICLEI Europe
DANIELA RIZZI, SENIOR OFFICER, ICLEI EUROPE
Daniela Rizzi is a Senior Officer for Nature-Based Solutions and Biodiversity at ICLEI Europe. An architect and urban planner (University of São Paulo), she holds a PhD in landscape planning (Technical University of Munich). Daniela engages in urban living labs and applied research to raise NBS impact, foster the nature-based economy and contribute to mainstreaming, awareness-raising and capacity-building for local governments, practitioners, civil society organisations, academia and nature-based enterprises.