Cities house over half the global population, with upward trends. Urban ecosystems play a key role in filtering air and water, mitigating urban heat islands and floods, and improving human well-being through green spaces. However, rapid and unplanned urban growth, and the impacts of climate change, are straining natural ecosystems, leading to their degradation and climate vulnerability of urban communities. Cities are increasingly at the forefront of climate-water impacts, experiencing frequent and intense disasters such as floods, droughts and fires. Taking local action to address these challenges is more urgent than ever. Urban Nature-based Solutions (NBS) offer a way to address these challenges and build resilience by integrating natural processes into cities, enhancing resilience to climate change, and improving urban quality of life.
Utilizing the newest advances in Earth observation data for NBS, The UNEP-DHI Centre for Water and Environment has been supporting UNEP in developing an online tool to support upscaling of urban NBS climate solutions, under the Generation Restoration initiative.
Click here or image below to check the new online NBS tool.
The tool supports identification and assessment of key environmental indicators in the project's pilot cities, with the goal to better understand climate risks and NBS potential to address these risks. It draws on best available Earth observation data for indicators that inform flood and drought risks, urban heat island concentration areas and changes in biodiversity and green spaces. Application of such data and indicators at a high resolution in the project pilot cities can help to screen urban hotspots for high climate risks, identify NBS potential areas, as well as track changes and effectiveness of NBS implementation over time.
Nine pilot cities have been included in the development of the NBS Tool:
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Douala IV, Cameroon
- Dakar-Plateau & Thies, Senegal
- Kochi, India
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Manaus, Brazil
- Quezon City, Philippines
- Sirajganj, Bangladesh
- Samborondón, Ecuador
The first pilot version of the tool was made available in 2025. If you have any feedback on the tool, please contact us at [email protected]
About Generation Restoration (2023-2025)
The UNEP Generation Restoration project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), focuses on scaling up urban ecosystem restoration. Running from 2023 to 2025, UNEP, in collaboration with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and ICLEI’s Global Biodiversity Centre, is working with 24 cities to address key political, technical, and financial challenges. The project has two key components: advocating for public and private investment in ecosystem restoration and job creation through nature-based solutions and empowering city stakeholders globally to replicate and scale restoration initiatives. This initiative stands as a contribution to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Global Biodiversity Framework.
About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The UN General Assembly has declared 2021–2030 a UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It aims at reviving billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration.