Green Infrastructure to combat Climate Change

part of the North West Climate Change Action Plan

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Green Infrastructure to Combat Climate Change

Green infrastructure has a significant role to play in helping to combat climate change, which is now considered to be one of the greatest threats to our social well being and economic future.

 

Green infrastructure provides a range of climate change services that can make both a substantial contribution towards adapting to climate change and a limited yet important contribution towards mitigating climate change. Such natural interventions are increasingly being recognised as a desirable 'win-win' approach to combating climate change, as they also help to deliver multiple other social, economic and environmental benefits.

 

This website holds information, documents, and links to help make the most of the climate change services provided by green infrastructure. It was developed under the auspices of the North West Climate Change Action Plan, with Community Forests North West commissioned by the Northwest Regional Development Agency on behalf of the Northwest Climate Change Partnership. The work was supported through the Interreg IVC GRaBS (Green and Blue Space Adaptation for Urban Areas and Eco-Towns) project.

   

 

RESOURCES AND INFORMATION NOW AVAILABLE to help organisations, professionals and communities across Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside to plan, design and manage their green infrastructure in order to combat climate change include:

  

  • ACTION GUIDANCE - Green Infrastructure to Combat Climate Change: A Framework for Action in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside (2011) - To aid policy development and delivery by a broad range of organisations and professions. It recommends actions, potential partners and delivery mechanisms.
  • EVIDENCE BASE - Online and searchable, this holds a review of key research, policy and delivery relevant to the climate change services provided by green infrastructure; it underpins the Action Guidance.
  • EVIDENCE REPORT - Green Infrastructure: How and Where Can It Help the Northwest Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change? (2010) - Summarises the evidence for the climate change services provided by green infrastructure and maps where each could be the most important; it underpins the Action Guidance.
  • MAPPING TOOL - This online tool helps users to spatially assess potential risks and vulnerabilities to climate change in their area. It can aid decision-making and be used to visually engage people on the need for climate change adaptation. It includes data on hazards, social and environmental vulnerability, and green and blue space. 
  • COMMUNITY TRAINING - From games to group discussion exercises, this set of training materials is for use by practitioners to engage communities on climate change adaptation and the role of green infrastructure; developed with Liverpool City Council with support from CLASP.
  • TOOLKIT FOR DEVELOPERS - This helps developers to determine their 'Green Infrastructure Score' and potential interventions to maximise the benefits that green infrastructure can provide. It has potential to be used in planning policy and to aid discussion on green infrastructure between plannners and developers. The toolkit was developed for Northwest Development Agency's Sustainability Policy for the Built Environment.  
  • STAR TOOLS - These tools can be used at a neighbourhood scale to test the impact of different land cover scenarios of greening and development on surface temperatures and runoff, under different temperature and precipitation scenarios. They were developed by The Mersey Forest and The University of Manchester.

A flyer summarising the resources and information is available.

 

 

OTHER INFORMATION:

 

  • Output for the GRaBS project as a whole can be seen at www.grabs-eu.org. Output includes a range of adaptation action plans produced by each partner, briefing papers, expert papers, a database of case studies, and other guidance. This is summarised in a Knowledge Bank.

 

The original promotional flyer for the project is available.

 

Contact us for more information.

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