Urban Forestry Insights

In recognition of the diversity and distinctiveness of urban forestry approaches, FAO asked experts around the world to share their views on how urban forests and trees are perceived and managed in their respective geographical areas. In the report, our partner from EFI shared their on the European context.

While at the beginning the term “entrepreneurship” was conceived as something purely value-driven, later it developed into something interlinked with innovation. For this reason, entrepreneurship is very relevant also in other contexts and not only in the economic one. In urban forestry, entrepreneurship can boost innovation and provide solutions that are inclusive, participatory and engaging.

The announcement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the COVID emergency was officially over, must have come as a huge relief to everyone. COVID certainly has had a huge influence on all aspects of our lives, particularly upon both our physical and mental health. This impact also includes how people value, use and access greenspaces and forests.

A new study by ISGlobal estimates that increasing urban tree coverage could prevent one third of deaths caused by summer heat Over 4% of deaths in cities during the summer months are due to urban heat islands, and one third of these deaths could be prevented by reaching a tree cover of 30%, according to …

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People need and want nature in their lives. Our technological advancement has made us blind to the changes that happen in our cities. There is no doubt that cities must become greener places. Therefore, we need a plan to properly manage the green infrastructure in a city. How can we use technology this regard?

While many are willing to write off technology as the antithesis of nature, I’m swimming against this current. I’m on a mission to uncover discrete technologies as groundbreaking tools to proactively manage greenery, increase access to the outdoors, and connect children and their families with nature. Since 2017, I have met hundreds of innovators developing and deploying technologies to create nature-rich communities around the world.

From our long experience working with green space planners and managers, as well as other decision makers, we know there is a wish for better information and tools for decision making. But policymakers and practitioners often don’t have the time to go through scientific articles and hefty scientific reports. NBSI tries to meet this demand, by offering the latest research and evidence in easy-access formats.

Nowadays, remote sensing is one of the most important technologies for forest inventories. The availability of open data from Copernicus constellation and national programs of aerial photogrammetry capture and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has allowed the development of new urban forest inventory techniques. The combination of this new data sources with machine learning techniques, open software and computing capability is the basis of a revolution in terms of forest inventory.

Urban forestry insights from the Transilvania University of Brasov Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering within Transilvania University of Brasov is the oldest forestry higher education institution in Romania, having therefore extended expertise in forestry, including urban forests.  Urban Forests management, as any forest management, is based on a roadmap that creates a shared vision …

Continue reading “A Romanian perspective on Urban Forestry”

Reflections on Barcelona’s Green Infrastructure The European Commission defined green infrastructure as a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas, designed and managed to provide a wide range of ecosystem services. It can substantially improve the environmental conditions of cities and, consequently, life quality of citizens. Although the backbone of European green infrastructure is …

Continue reading “Urban Forests: nature in a small pot”