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- 30 June 2011
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Il 2011: l'anno internazionale delle foreste
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Project & objectives
GAIA - Green Areas Inner City Agreement
GAIA is a project financed by the Life+09 European Fund, coordinated by the Municipality of Bologna, and that involves 4 Partners: IBIMET CNR (Institute of Biometeorology), Impronta Etica, Anci/Ideali and Unindustria.
The problem of climate change has become critical at global level and needs a strategy that integrates mitigation and adaptation measures with policies that encourage partnerships between public and private sectors. So, the main objective of the project is to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the local level through the subscription of an agreement with companies to plant trees throughout the municipality
GAIA project aims to define knowledge, tools and operating procedures to use Urban forestry as a tool of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollution. This is possible thanks the biological functions of selected species that allow the absorption of CO2 and air cleaning in urban areas.
Local Companies and the Municipality are among the main actors of this project. The need to create new green usable areas to improve the urban environment is linked to the increasing interest of companies to offset their emissions. With this project it is possible to create a partnership between the Municipality of Bologna and the Companies that have voluntarily decided to take a path of environmental sustainability for the creation of new green areas and the following direct benefits:
- Absorption of CO2;
- Improvement of air quality through the absorption of other pollutants;
- Renovation of Urban Environment;
- Mitigation of the "heat island" effect.
Objectives
- Demonstrate that through the creation of public-private partnership for the implementation and management of green urban areas, is possible to contribute to the improvement of cities policies against climate change;
- Develop a governance model that join the effects of environmental mitigation and adaptation to climate change, in improving air quality;
- Improving the urban environment: green areas ensure the absorption of CO2 and helps to increase the adaptation of the urban ecosystem to climate change;
- Identify the best techniques for the creation and management of the green urban areas (selection of plants with the greatest potential of absorption and that are best suited to climate change, ensuring an high biodiversity conservation);
- Offer companies a tool that allows them to reduce his carbon footprint through compensating actions that generate social and environmental benefits in the territory;
- Promoting territorial co-responsibility by an innovative management tool that encourages planting in urban areas, promoting a responsible economy and environmental benefit;
- Define a common and replicable measurement methodology of the potential absorption of air pollutants in order to quantify the environmental benefits;
- To sensitize stakeholders on the environmental benefits that policies against climate change can have locally;
- Disseminating guidelines and promote communication and know-how exchange to allow other communities to take advantage of the models developed.
