Project Period: October 2021-September 2024

Funding Source/Donor Organization: Ministry of Science and Technology, China

Executing Agency: Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry

Contact: Wang Cheng: wch8361@163.com

Brief Introduction:

This project addresses a global challenge that unites European and Chinese cities in their quest to develop more resilient cities and liveable societies in order to improve human wellbeing. The main focus is on tree-based green infrastructure which is the basis for "urban forests as nature-based solutions". Urban Forests as nature-based solutions (UF-NBS) are a subset of nature-based solutions that build on tree-based urban ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing ecosystem services for human well-being and biodiversity benefits. UF-NBS include peri-urban and urban forests, forested parks, small woods in urban areas, and trees in public and private spaces. This project analyses and develops the potential of NBS in general, and UF-NBS in particular –cross China and Europe– in order to enhance the resilience of cities facing major ecological, socio-economic, and human wellbeing challenges. This project also reviewed existing knowledge on NBS, carried out 10 Sino-European case studies to facilitate a collaborative learning process on UF-NBS connecting practitioners, businesses, policymakers and scientists from China and Europe to generate and apply new knowledge on UF-NBS as well as increase NBS awareness in China and Europe.