As the field of research on green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in cities expands, the potential of urban agriculture in the production of ecosystem services remains unexplored. Beyond the benefits of increasing food supply and reducing the vulnerability of urban populations, urban food systems can be at the heart of policies to develop nature-based solutions. This project studies the potential benefits of these systems in the perimeter of Bengaluru, an Indian city with a strong heritage in terms of urban agriculture.

Taking the case study of Bengaluru, this project led by IIHS explores how and why urban food systems, in rapidly developing urban and peri-urban areas, can be seen as nature-based urban solutions that bring benefits to ecosystems and society.  

Two research questions are addressed: 

1. What is the scope and outcomes of urban agriculture for ecosystem services (including pollination) and societal well-being (such as food and nutritional security of the most vulnerable populations)?
2. How can we use different co-production pathways across the science-policy-citizen interface to scale up NBS around sustainable urban agricultural practices?

The research methodology is based on three main work packages: 

1. Synthesis of scientific knowledge on the potential of NBS and existing practices at various scales, and particularly within a chosen ward of Bengaluru with the deployment of pilot interventions;
2. Incubation and capacity building: incubating novel NBS ideas and experiments related to pollinator friendly and water conserving urban agriculture, and capacity building through the training of various stakeholder groups;
3. Scaling impact by identifying and engaging with different stakeholders, including city-level policy and decision makers, right from the start of the project to ensure the scaling of impact throughout the project.

The expected results of these projects are: 

• Academic results on sustainable urban food systems in the context of rapidly urbanizing countries from the Global South, on urban NBS experiences and their effects on ecosystem services (including pollination);
• Knowledge outputs for urban decision-makers on the integration of NBS in urban planning;
• Capacity building and teaching materials on multidisciplinary approaches to urban sustainability.  

The project is also testing nature-based solutions aimed at strengthening the resilience of food systems in Bangalore. 

The research team aims to show how nature-based solutions (NbS) can address urban water security challenges in the Global South — a topic that remains underexplored in the scientific literature, which is still largely focused on the Global North. Drawing on expert discussions and a literature review, they identify the specific characteristics of these contexts (environmental, socio-economic, governance-related, technical capacity, etc.), as well as the barriers and opportunities for implementing these solutions. The goal is to propose concrete avenues to support the more effective and equitable adoption of NbS in cities of the Global South.

Latin America is the second most urbanized region in the world, with 81% of its population concentrated there. This strong urbanization, its rapid growth and the weakness of urban planning policies affect areas of high ecological and environmental value. However, natural ecosystems can be a source of solutions for those involved in urban design and development, in particular to respond to the risks generated or exacerbated by climate change.

Understanding nature-based solutions (NBS), studying their implementation conditions and analyzing their integration into public policies is therefore necessary to ensure the livability of cities in the long term. While NBS and green infrastructure are still recent in the urban landscape, initiatives have been deployed for several years and are a privileged source of data to exploit. 

The ENSLAC (Enabling Nature based solutions Scale-up in Latin American Cities) project aims to analyse the mechanisms that enable the scale-up of nature-based solutions implementation in Latin American cities, drawing on 15 case studies in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. This research approach aims to: 

• Analyze the challenges of ecological restoration for the management of risks related to the impacts of climate change in urban areas;
• Understand the levers for using NBS as a tool for urban planning and development;
• Identify the temporal, technical, cultural, political, social, financial and cooperative processes that have enabled large-scale NBS-based projects;
• Assess the influence of national or supranational strategies and policies on NBS development;
• Disseminate the knowledge produced by focusing on formats and channels that can be used for the training of urban development actors. 

To explore these issues, Yes Innovation, based in Quito, works with the Humboldt Institute for Biological Resources Research, an institution linked to the Ministry of the Environment of Colombia, and Periferia Territorios Vivos, a Peruvian organization specialized in urban planning with an ecological approach. 

This research project uses two analytical tools (depending on the case study and the available field data):

1. Temporal and spatial analysis (known as BA/CI, which refers to a Before/After and Conservation/Intervention analysis);
2. Comparative analysis between case studies on NBS and reference cases of comparable characteristics but without implementation of NBS. 

The ENSLAC research project aims to: 

• Understand mechanisms that enable scale-up of nature-based solutions as a tool for urban and peri-urban planning;
• Identify replicability levers of these NBS for Latin American cities;
• Produce training materials for urban development actors. 

The research team presented its findings during a webinar from the Research Conversations series. The replay is available below (in French and Spanish).

Uganda’s wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems (in terms of ecosystem services) in East Africa. In addition to their ecological functions, they provide more than 50% of the monthly income of the populations that depend on them. However, the rate of wetland degradation is over 70 times the rate of their restoration. Artificialization and urban growth, informal settlements, agricultural activities, pollution or illegal mining of sand and clay: all of these causes contribute to the degradation of these ecosystems. 

To address this challenge, many restoration projects have already been carried out in Uganda, and the knowledge available on the country’s wetlands is important. Strengthening the links between research and policy implementation is therefore essential to facilitate and improve the extension of sustainable wetland restoration in Uganda.

This project is part of the ECOPRONAT research programme, which supports research on how to better take into account biodiversity and mainstream it into key economic sectors.

Based on two case studies, this project aims to facilitate and enhance the upscale of sustainable wetland restoration in Uganda:

• Identification of institutional and socio-economic constraints on restoration projects, including available research and lessons learned from Uganda;
• Analysis of the effects of restoration projects on natural ecosystems and their sustainability; 
• Development of tools to support decision-making;
• Capacity building of key actors in wetland restoration and management. 

The IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, in partnership with Makerere University, the Ministry of Water and Environment of Uganda and the NGO NatureUganda, is mobilizing its 20 years of experience in wetland research in Uganda to address these issues. 

This project draws on the analysis of two Ugandan wetlands – Lubigi and Rufuha, one urban and one rural – and focuses on several research questions to achieve its objectives: 

• Understand issues of wetlands and synthesize knowledge and practices of wetland restoration;
• Characterize institutions, governance and development process of wetland restoration;
• Analyse the participation of local communities in wetland restoration and assess the economic contribution of these ecosystems to household incomes; 
• Assess the impact of restoration on wetland biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services; 
• Develop and test an indicator framework for wetland restoration monitoring and develop decision-making tools. 

Strengthening the capacity of the implementing agencies for restoration management, in particular by communicating the results of the project to public actors, is also a key axis of the methodology of this project.

This research process should result in the production of scientific analysis reports on constraints and issues related to wetland restoration projects. Policy notes and knowledge products on the monitoring, evaluation and deployment of ecological restoration of wetlands are also expected.

A Research Conversations webinar was organized in September 2024 to present and discuss the results of the research project.

Watch the replay: Restoring wetlands in Uganda: An integrated approach for sustainable solutions?

Contact: 

• Julien Calas, research officer at AFD