The project Climate Mitigation through Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Poland (Climate NBS Poland) was realised by the Sendzimir Foundation in partnership with the Ecologic Institute from Berlin from October 2018 till November 2020 thanks to funding from GIZ on behalf of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It aimed to disseminate nature-based solutions (NBS) in cities.
Project goals related to nature-based solutions implementation
- building awareness of how NBS can contribute to climate change mitigation in urban areas;
- increasing the knowledge and skills of city officials, local government employees, planners and landscape architects in the field of design and implementation of NBS in Polish cities.
Consultation workshop with representatives from Polish municipalities (March 2019, Warsaw)
Publications about nature-based solutions
As part of the project, two practical publications were developed:
- Addressing climate change in cities: catalogue of urban nature-based solutions – recommended for implementation in Polish cities;
- Addressing climate change in cities. Policy instruments to promote urban nature-based solutions –
guidelines and recommendations on policies and incentives supporting the implementation of NBS in Polish cities.
Training programs in the field of nature-based solutions
Based on the developed materials, training programs were created for city officials and designers of blue and green infrastructure. 410 participants took part in two editions of the online course. The best alumni from diverse Polish cities were invited to take part in the practical workshops.
Nature-based solutions design workshop
Three, 5 days long NBS design workshops were realised in Warsaw, Krakow and Gdynia with the participation of 45 specialists. They were prepared in close cooperation with the municipalities, to enable the participants to work on real-life problems. As a result, several nature-based solution concepts were developed to solve existing rainwater management problems. The solutions were discussed in detail with the decision-makers from each of the cities to enable their implementation in the future. One of the NBS ideas was a basis for the grant proposal that the Sendzimir Foundation prepared in partnership with the city of Warsaw. Another project, developed for Gdynia, was planned with a specific investment in mind so it might also be realised in the future.
Nature-based solutions design workshop in Gdynia (September 2020)
Participants of the NBS design workshop during the field visit before project work (September 2020)
One of the NBS concepts developed by the participants for the Skotniki Park, during the workshop in Krakow (February 2020). Paula Wojtyła-Tymińska, Agnieszka Królik, Agnieszka Maślak, Małgorzata Zielińska, Jowita Kurach.
Training on tools and methods for popularising nature-based solutions implementation in Polish cities
Three, 2-day long training events were organised in close partnership with hosting cities: Warsaw, Krakow and Gdynia. 64 participants discussed possible tools that could be implemented in each of the cities to support the development of blue and green infrastructure. Based on the discussion as well as interviews with stakeholders some recommendations were worked out and proposed to the decision-makers, who declared their systematic implementation.
Group work on the development of strategic tools, during the workshop in Gdynia (September 2020).
Participants of the workshop realised in Gdynia (September 2020).
The study visit in Berlin – good practice of nature-based solutions implementation
Representatives of Polish cities (Bydgoszcz, Lodz, Krakow, Mysłowice, Warsaw and Lesna) took part in a study visit in Berlin, prepared by our partner the Ecologic Institute, in August 2020. During the visit, they have learnt about practical aspects of implementing blue-green infrastructure for mitigating climate change. Participants had the chance to meet with local specialists and discuss all the details of the presented solutions. Read more about what was found in the program here.
On the green roof in the UfaFabrik (August 2020, Berlin)
Looking at the green facade of the Humboldt University (August 2020, Berlin)
Final conference (27th and 29th of October 2020)
The final conference was organised online, and over 250 participants were present. The first day was full of presentations and panel discussions engaging the city representatives and other specialists taking part in the project. All of them are available here (Polish only). On the second day, three workshops were organised, each for up to 20 participants to enable more engagement and sharing of experience.
One of the panel discussions was about the lessons learnt by the participants of the study visit in Berlin.
Panel discussion about the lessons learnt by Polish municipalities during the study visit in Berlin.
This project [Climate NBS] is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
