Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture
First Bulletin On Urban Agriculture In Europe
May 1997
September 1997
[Second Bulletin On Urban Agriculture In Europe, September 1997, follows this bulletin]
May, 1998![[new]](new01.gif)
[Third Bulletin On Urban Agriculture In Europe, May 1998, follows this bulletin]
ETC Netherlands, Urban Agriculture Programme
att. Marielle Dubbeling
Kastanjelaan 5
3833 AN Leusden, the Netherlands
Phone: +31 33 4943086
Fax: + 31 33 4940791
Email: office@etcnl.nl
Introductory Letter
Dear colleagues,
More and more people in the cities of the Europe have become farmers in recent years, growing vegetables, raising livestock, and practising many other types of agriculture in urban areas. Urban agriculture in this respect encompassing urban agricultural production and processing, animal and fish production (aquaculture), urban forestry and urban waste recycling. The urban agriculture practitioners enjoy benefits that include better diets and a higher income and make a significant contribution to the urban environment. Urban agriculture also improves local food supplies, puts marginal lands to good use, greens the environment, and absorbs wastes in the form of compost and fertilisers.
Urban agriculture does, however, require higher technological and organisational precision than rural agriculture, because it needs to be more intensive, more tolerant of environmental stress and very carefully monitored to protect public health.
Despite the benefits, most urban agriculture remains largely unrecognised and unassisted, if not outlawed and its practitioners harassed, even in years of food shortages. Nonetheless, some governments are creating agencies to manage urban agriculture and actively encourage it.
The Agenda 21 (Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 1992) is emphasising the need for innovative and integrated strategies in urban land use planning, that take into account environmental and social questions, and stimulate employment for the urban poor. Special mention is made of stimulating small scale economic activities by the urban population in the area of food production and food processing. The Agenda 21 also recommends more funds for innovative research on re-cycling and re-use of urban waste and stimulation of related small scale activities (irrigation with waste-water, production of compost, etcetera). The need for capacity development at local, regional and international levels regarding the collection of multi-sectoral information for integrated urban planning is emphasised, as well as the need to create access of local stakeholders to relevant information. Special mention is made of the need to develop new electronic systems and linkages for information exchange.
The Habitat-2 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul (June 1996) led to the conclusion that programmes in the field of sustainable urban development should give priority to economically productive projects, especially the promotion of labour intensive and small enterprises (including urban agriculture), amongst others by creating access of the urban population to land, water and markets.
The 1996 meeting underlined that different approaches are required for food security for rural and urban people, and that food and nutrition policies should, amongst others, include a component for enhancing urban agricultural production.
Also in the European context, the potential of urban agriculture is becoming more widely acknowledged. In The Netherlands for example, urban agriculture is becoming an integral part of the Dutch policy on enhancing the urban environment. Similarly, in Romania, since the 70's the government implemented nation-wide measures to use available urban land for agriculture (food production) or more recently for green and recreational spaces.
Over the past months, I have contacted you all on the issue of urban agriculture (UA) in European context. I feel we all agree on the growing importance of UA in Europe, though, possibly, from different points of view. Furthermore we share interest in information exchange and networking between different stakeholders and European countries and are all presently involved in activities concerning urban agriculture or urban development. In relation to information exchange and networking specifically, ETC took the initiative to establish an European Support Group on Urban Agriculture.
As a first activity within the European Support Group, ETC started the production and distribution of a quarterly (e)mail bulletin on urban agriculture in Europe. The first issue of the Bulletin is now presented to you. I hope it will be the first of a series of bulletins to come, in which each of us will take part, will share information, questions and ideas and through which we will be able to learn from each other and strengthen our activities and common goals.
This specific edition contains information on the European project, European experiences, case-studies and publications on urban agriculture, and European and international contacts and addresses on urban agriculture. I would greatly appreciate your comments or suggestions on this first issue and your participation in production of future issues of the bulletin. I hope you all enjoy reading it!
Warm regards,
Marielle Dubbeling
CONTENTS:
- European Support Group
- European survey on Urban Agriculture
- European experiences, projects and case studies on UA
- Important contacts and addresses
- Selected literature on Urban Agriculture
1. European Support Group on Urban Agriculture
The European Support Group on Urban Agriculture (ESGUA) aims to support information exchange/networking on and development of urban agriculture in Europe. The ESGUA will facilitate information exchange between different stakeholders and European countries involved in urban agriculture and sustainable urban development. In all its activities the ESGUA emphasises the need for an urban agriculture policy framework, which balances the benefits and constraints of urban agriculture against other land use options. Such a framework will provide a long-term view of not just urban food security or environmental management, but of socio-economic urban development as a whole.
Major activities comprise:
- stimulation of the 'dialogue' on urban agriculture between city councils, citizens, farmers and other stakeholders on both local, regional and European level
- discussions on present and future research and policy development with regard to sustainable urban agriculture and development
- provision of information and support to individual persons or organisations in the development of urban agriculture and integration of urban agriculture in urban policies and planning.
The European Support Group maintains close links with the Global Support Group on Urban Agriculture, hosted by IDRC in its "Cities Feeding People" Programme.
2. European Survey: "Urban farming as a strategy for sustainable cities; an inventory and analysis of European experiences on Urban Agriculture."
Over the past years, urban agriculture in Europe is more and more recognised as an integral part of urban land-use. In Western Europe the main interest in urban agriculture may be from the point of view of environmental management in Central and Eastern Europe urban agriculture is rapidly growing to assure enhanced food security and income-generation. The shift in just 20 years in the number of for example Moscow families engaged in food production, from 20% in 1970 to 65% in 1990, is remarkable.
However, until now no major inventory of experiences with Urban Agriculture in European cities has been done. A comprehensive European study on Urban agriculture is proposed to start filling this gap. The study will bring together available information and expertise on urban farming systems, actors and trends in Western, Central and Eastern Europe.
The survey has the following objectives:
The study will provide a better understanding of the actual role and potentials of urban agriculture in European societies, and will facilitate the development of urban land use policies that accommodate and plan for urban agriculture as a realistic land use option and an integral part of sustainable urban systems.
The survey will also facilitate regional and European (East-West) networking among stakeholders in urban agriculture, building linkages between local authorities, research institutions, urban planners, farmer associations and neighbourhood organisations, environmental and consumer organisations, food industry groups, educational centre and media. Finally the study will assist a selected number of local organisations in the formulation of innovative action research programmes involving the various stakeholders, and oriented at development of urban farming systems and techniques (including waste recycling) and the integration of urban agriculture in urban policies and planning.
ETC Netherlands will be the lead implementing agency. ETC will co-operate with researchers of various partner organisations in Western, Central and Eastern European countries. The study has the support of the Global Facility on Urban Agriculture, an inter-agency co-ordination and management unit on Urban Agriculture.
The City of Vienna/ Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Biological Agriculture and Applied Ecology in Austria, The Ecological Youth of Romania/National Soil Research Institute in Romania, the Institute for Sustainable Development, Slovenia and the Croatian Environmental Education Centre expressed interest in being a partner organisation in the implementation of the project.
Furthermore contacts have been established with:
the Eco-centre in Prague, Czech Republic
the "Kleine Aarde" in The Netherlands
the International Office for Allotment and Leisure Garden Societies in Luxembourg
The Association of Municipalities, the Netherlands SWEDEPLAN, Sweden
Centre for Citizens Initiative, USA
Agricultural Initiative, Russia
Tree-City Urban Forestry & Arboricultural Programme, Germany
National Food Alliance, United Kingdom
University of Hannover, Germany
Centre for Russian, Central and East-European Studies, USAThe project proposal is being revised now (additional comments on its content or methodology are very welcome!) and we hope to able to finalise it the coming month and propose it to potential donor agencies, amongst which the European Commission and agencies participating in the Global facility on Urban Agriculture (see further contacts and addresses).
An updated project summary (May 1997) is available now in both English and German and can be send to you on request. Please contact Marielle Dubbeling, ETC Netherlands, Urban Agriculture Programme
3. European experiences, projects and case-studies on urban agriculture
* Rooftop gardening (Russia)
For the fourth year in a row, the Agricultural Initiative is providing critical assistance to help Russian individuals and institutions establish productive gardens on urban rooftops, with support of the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organisation (ECHO).
Rooftop gardening in Russia has large potential, because everyone in larger cities lives in buildings with huge sturdy rooftops constructed to handle heavy snowfall. However, drawbacks to widespread use of roof top gardens are of political (the government, as the owner of stairways and rooftops of apartments, has to give permission) and technical order (people fear that foot traffic on rooftops will damage any water proofing and cannot invest in relatively expansive construction materials).
The total number of participants is presently about 100. In St. Petersburg for example a growing number of institutions, including hospitals, orphanages and schools, are planting rooftop gardens to provide both therapy and agricultural training for their patients and students. Even two prisons have planted rooftop gardens to provide fresh vegetables as well as a creative outlet for the inmates' energies.
Crops grown in the 4-month vegetation period (mid-May to Mid-September) comprise a/o leafy greens, potatoes and tomatoes. Corn, buckwheat or water melons for example cannot be grown. It is remarkable that vegetables tested for heavy metals from roof top gardens contain lower levels of metal contaminants than vegetables bought on city markets.
The Agricultural Initiative published a Russian-language booklet on Rooftop Gardening, that can be obtained from Alexander Gavrilov in St. Petersburg or Will Easton, San Francisco -USA. In the booklet for example the idea of blocks of apartments coming together and jointly recycling their kitchen waste using Red Worms, is described.
Source: Rooftop Gardening in St. Petersburg Russia, published by City Farmer, Canada (http://www.cityfarmer.org)
Contact: Alexander Gavrilov
Agriculture Director of the Centre for Citizens Initiatives
St. Petersburg, Russia
Email: plant@mailbox.alkor.ruFurther resources: Will Easton
Centre for Citizens Initiatives
3268 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
Fax: + 1 415 346 3731
* Community Supported Agriculture (the Netherlands)
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a concept describing a community-based organisation of producers and consumers. The consumers agree to provide direct support to the local growers who will produce their food. The growers agree to provide a sufficient quantity and quality of food to meet the needs of the consumers. Within this general arrangement, their is room for much variation depending on the resources and the preferences of the participants and producer.
CSA creates the possibilities:
- for farmers to know the needs of the community before the start of the growing season and thus being able to assure sale of his produce,
- for consumers to have the opportunity to express to farmers what their food needs, preferences and financial limits are, thus being able to influence the kind of food cultivated and the way in which the food is cultivated (for example biological food production),
- for farmers and consumers to share responsibilities for food production and production risks, by establishing concrete commitments between farmers and consumers,
- for consumers to become more actively involved in food production and enjoy contact with nature, education and recreation.
A small horticultural farm was established in 1989 at the city boundaries of Wageningen. Vegetables, fruit and flowers are grown according to bio-dynamic farming principles. Decisions on crop choices are made jointly by the farmer and the consumers. All crops are cultivated in different circles of 25 m diameter, each circle divided in about 15 parts. Inhabitants of the city of Wageningen are invited to buy a share of the production for about 300 US$/year. Each of them will thus obtain the right to harvest part of the “circle”, in which a variety of crops is grown. The farmer will take care of crop cultivation up to the harvest. The consumers decide themselves on when and what to harvest, although the farmer announces the harvest periods for each crop in a monthly bulletin. Consumers have reported to enjoy the taste of biologically grown food, harvesting without having to take up the "burden of sowing and weeding" and bringing their children to learn about different crops and their cultivation.
Contact: De Kring
Laarweg 117, 6721 DD Bennekom
the Netherlands
* City farming in Albania
At the end of communism, Albania is now experiencing a transition to a free market economy and democratic government. The country suffers from high unemployment rates, destroyed and decayed infrastructure, lack and erratic functioning of basic services (electricity, water, hospitals and schools) and corruption. An incredible amount of initiatives comprising food production and street vending of food and consumer goods were developed in people's attempt to survive.
People living in apartment buildings and having no access to land turn to grow tomatoes in old bowls and paint cans on their balconies. People who do have an enclosed yard do often plant onions, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage., leeks and peppers, to be eaten fresh or pickled. Also roof tops are used for gardening and grape vines are seen to be trained to the walls.
Chickens are kept in back yards for eggs and meat and even pigs are sometimes raised in the unused downstairs of the houses. Urban parks are grazed with sheep, horses and cows, which also graze garbage heaps, playing fields, cemeteries and empty lots.
Source: Alyson Chisholm, published by City Farmer, Canada (http://www.cityfarmer.org)
* Composting of city waste in Vienna, Austria
With 4.8 million ton household waste, the city of Vienna supplies annually for 15% of the total amount of Austrian waste. In general, 30% of all household wastes is of organic nature. Vienna knows a long history of waste recycling and re-use and developed in 1986 a special method of collection, sorting, composting and re-use of organic wastes: the "Biotonne".
From 1986 onwards several universities and research institutes looked into the concept and efficiency of waste recycling and re-use. Research is done on for example efficiency of waste collection, sorting and mixing of different types of organic wastes and quality and applicability of composted waste. In 1991, a first compost plant was set up with an annual capacity of 80,000 ton. In 1993 a second plant, with a capacity of 13,000 ton/year, was established. With a general composition of 1.2% Nitrogen, 1% Kalium, 0.5% Phosphor, several spore elements and ca. 30% dry matter , the compost makes a valuable organic fertiliser. The compost is either sold on the market or used in (urban) agriculture and city parks.
Information on the concept of waste recycling and re-use is exchanged through consumer organisations, demonstration sites in shopping centres, radio programmes, leaflets and a special telephone service. Excursions to the compost plant are organised, seminars held and school-projects have been started.
Source: Biotonne Wien, Theorie und Praxis. Florian Amlinger, 1993, Wien, Ostenreich
Contact: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Biological Agriculture and Applied
Ecology, Rinnbockstrasse 15, A-1110 Vienna, Austria
Phone: + 43 1 79514/97943; Fax: +43 1 79514
4. Contacts and addresses
* The Urban Agriculture Network (TUAN)
TUAN is a small NGO based in Washington promoting urban agriculture in low-income countries and increased interaction and co-operation among agencies working in urban farming at local, national and international level.
In 1996, TUAN and UNDP published a comprehensive book on "Urban agriculture: food, jobs and sustainable cities". The book is based on exploratory trips made to more than 20 countries commissioned by the Urban Agriculture Initiative of the UNDP .The book encompasses a theoretical background on the potential and constraints of urban agriculture and presents experiences of urban farming in countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Address: TUAN
1711 Lamont St NW, Washington DC 20010 USA
Phone: +1 202 4838130; Fax: +1 202 9866732
Email: <72144.3446@compuserve.com>
* IDRC's "Cities Feeding People" programme
The International Development Research Centre supports applied, multi-disciplinary research on food security and urban policy issues in the South. Within the "Cities Feeding People" programme, IDRC executes various projects related to urban food production and waste management. The program initiative aims to encourage policy and technology for the sustainable use of urban resources, with an appropriate gender focus. The programme will undertake the following: strengthen household food security; strengthen employment and income generation; support waste and open-space management; support community self-management, particularly for the urban poor; and promotion of receptive policy and regulatory frameworks for land tenure, zoning, and use planning.
Contact: for more information about "Cities Feeding People"
Brenda Lee Wilson, The International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Phone: + 1 613 236-6163; Fax: + 1 613 238-7230
E-mail: "blwilson@idrc.ca"
Internet-site: Cities Feeding People
* Global Facility on Urban Agriculture
The Global Facility for Urban Agriculture (SGUA) is a multi-partner group promoting the sustainable use of urban agriculture at the world-wide level. Its membership comprises numerous international agencies, like IDRC, FAO, UNDP, NRI, IFPRI, ETC, World Bank, EDI, DGIS, GTZ and others. The Global Facility aims to stimulate and facilitate activities in urban agriculture by national and local governments, NGO's, agencies for development co-operation, and the direct involvement of local stakeholders (urban farmers, neighbourhood organisations, small enterprises) in the planning and implementation of such activities. It focuses its attention on five areas: information and communications, policy development, technical assistance and capacity development, research, and investment and credit.
The Global Facility, during its first three year-period, is hosted by IDRC's "Cities Feeding People" programme.
* City Farmer
City Farmer, a non-profit society that started in 1978, promotes urban agriculture and collects valuable information on Internet, that is difficult to find elsewhere. The homepage is regularly updated and contains general information on UA, articles, conference announcements, resources and provides links to other relevant Internet -sites.
Address: Mike Levenston, City Farmer
Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture
#801-318 Homer Str.
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2V3
Phone: +604 685 5832; Fax: +604 68 cityfarm@unixg.ubc.ca
Internet: City Farmer (http://www.cityfarmer.org)
* UNCHS Best Practices Database
The Best Practices Initiative, part of the United Nations Programme on Human Settlements, contains a selection of human settlements success stories. Best Practices are initiatives which have resulted in clear improvements in the quality of live and living environments of people in a sustainable way. For example, a Best Practice might be a community-based scheme that provides women with access to credit. It might also be a set of economic incentives for manufacturers to reduce and recycle packaging. Or it might concern a community resource information centre.
While problems in relation to human settlement development may vary from country to country, the processes and procedures used to address them may be similar. By recording experiences in a unified recording format and sharing them, much can be learned In partnership with the Together Foundation, UNCHS developed a data-base with a search engine which enable users to address the database quickly and efficiently. The database contains information about the case-study, key contact persons and institutions directly involved in implementation.
For more information you may contact:
The Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme
UNCHS (Habitat)
P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya
Phone: +254 2 624328; Fax: +254 2 624266/624267
Email: bestpractices@unchs.orgTo order a copy of the database contact:
The Together Foundation
55 east 75th Street
New York, NY 10021, USA
Phone: +1 212 6281939; Fax: +1 212 6284265
Email: together@together.org
or search the Internet-site: http://www.bestpractices.org http://www.bestpractices.org
* Urban Waste Expertise Programme (UWEP)
UWEP is a six-year research and pilot project programme on urban waste in the South. The programme is co-ordinated by WASTE, the Netherlands, and funded by the Ministry of International Co-operation of the Netherlands.
UWEP was created in response to the fast grows of cities/urban population and the corresponding amount of urban waste. The programmes tries to inventories local expertise in waste management among individuals, small companies or community organisations, gathering information and understanding about waste processing. This will be followed by pilot projects in which the role of local waste managers, the transfer of knowledge and the involvement of local governments are all important elements. Results will be disseminated through resource centres ranging from neighbourhood libraries to national universities. UWEP also manages a question-and-answer services, offers some training facilities, may contribute to financing and backstopping of innovative projects and makes its findings accessible through amongst others a regulary updated e-mail bulletin.
Organisations interested can request these e-mail bulletins at:
WASTE, att. Anne-Lies Risseeuw
Nieuwehaven 201
2801 CW Gouda, the Netherlands
Phone: +31 182 522625; Fax: +31 182 550313
E-mail: alrisseeuw@waste.nl
* Tree-City Urban Forestry & Arboricultural Programme
The programme focuses on the management of urban forestry (urban green) in developing countries. Activities include documentation, research and advisory services. Present themes concern a/o. "multifunctional parks for low-income communities" and "urban participatory appraisal for natural resource management".
Contact:
Tree-City Programme, att. Guido Kuchelmeister
Graf-Kirchberg Strasse 26
89257 Illertissen, Germany
Phone: +49 7303 43776; Fax: +49 7303 42114
E-mail: 100441.3577@compuserve.com
5. Selected literature references
A.Some introductory literature:
Smit, Jac, Annu Ratta and Joseph Nasr. "Urban Agriculture: food, jobs and sustainable cities". UNDP, New York, 1995
"Farming in the City: The rise of urban agriculture". IDRC REPORTS, October 1993,
Bliek van der, Julie. "Urban Agriculture: Possibilities for Ecological Agriculture in Urban Environments as a Strategy for Sustainable Cities". ETC-Netherlands, Leusden 1992Mougeot, Luc J.A. "Urban Food production: evolution, official support and significance". IDRC Cities feeding People Series no 8, 1994
Pescod, A. "Wastewater Treatment and Use in Agriculture", FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 47, FAO, Rome, 1992
Smit Jac. "Urban Agriculture, Progress and Prospect". TUAN, 1996
B. Selected references on urban agriculture in Europe:
Centre for Citizens initiative. "Russian-language rooftop gardening booklet".
Greenhow, Timothy. "Urban agriculture: can planners make a difference?" IDRC Cities feeding People series, Report 12, Ottawa, 1994
Groning, Gert. "Politics of Community Gardening in Germany". Paper presented at the 1996 Annual Conference of the American Community Gardening Association, Montreal, Canada, 1996
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Biological Agriculture and Applied Ecology. Biotonne Wien, Theorie und Praxis, Florian Amlinger, Wien, 1993
National Food Alliance and Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE). "Growing food in cities: a report to highlight and promote the benefits of urban agriculture in the UK". London, June 1996
Swedish Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardens. "Allotments and Leisure Gardening in Sweden", Stockholm, 1994
Second Bulletin On Urban Agriculture In Europe
September 1997
ETC Netherlands, Urban Agriculture Programme
att. Marielle Dubbeling
Kastanjelaan 5
3833 AN Leusden, the Netherlands
Phone: +31 33 4943086
Fax: + 31 33 4940791
Email: office@etcnl.nlThis is the second bulletin from the European Support Group on Urban Agriculture (ESGUA). ESGUA aims to support networking and development of urban agriculture in Europe. ESGUA will facilitate information exchange between the different stakeholders and European countries involved in urban agriculture and sustainable urban development. The next issue will be distributed in January 1998.
Contents:- The sustainability of urban agriculture: an environmental cost-benefit analysis
- European experiences, projects and case studies on urban agriculture
- New contacts and addresses
- Selected literature on environmental aspects of urban agriculture
1. The Sustainability Of Urban Agriculture: An Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis
1.1 Context
Urban agriculture is concerned with urban culture, natural resource use, land-use planning, food production and security, education and leisure, social relationships and income generation. The potential benefits of urban agriculture can be broadly classified into several interlinked categories: environmental, social and economic benefits. However, the environmental benefits and the possible harmful effects of urban agriculture on the environment and human health have yet to be thoroughly evaluated.
The environmental problems associated with urbanisation manifest themselves in a lack of locally available foodstuffs and raw materials as well as in production of enormous quantities of waste. On the one hand, fertile agricultural land is converted into urban building, on the other the consumption pattern of urban citizens place heavy demands on natural resources. London provides an excellent example. Its total footprint - that is its social, environmental and economic impact upon world resources - is more than 125 times its surface area, or nearly 20 million hectares. Home to only 12% of Britain's population, London, nevertheless requires the equivalent of all the productive land area in Great Britain to sustain itself. Sustainable agricultural production within cities and towns may be one way of solving this problem and lead to an improvement in the quality and sustainability or urban living.
Urban agriculture has a conservation function. Energy can be saved by shortening the distance between the points of production and consumption and by reducing savings in storage and transport. The production of fuelwood within the urban environment makes it possible to substitute imported energy sources, reduce the pressure on forests and helps to clean city air. Urban agriculture also contributes directly to improving the urban environment (or city ecology) by improving the micro-climate, CO2-balance and biodiversity within cities, by preventing erosion and flooding through planting bare lands and steep slopes (disaster mitigation) and by using urban (organic) wastes (solid waste and waste water) as a productive resource (i.e. fertiliser, biogas production).
However, urban agriculture is not a panacea. Environmental and health risks related to urban agriculture such as polluted drinking water caused by the use of pesticides and health problems arising from the inappropriate use of urban wastes in food production seem to be higher than in rural agriculture, for two reasons. First, urban production systems are more intensive, second their proximity to concentrations of human population enhances their damaging effect. Urban agricultural systems must therefore be carefully designed and monitored.
1.2 Environmental cost-benefit analysis
To evaluate the real benefits of urban agriculture to the city environment, we need to account for the hidden costs of such factors as the transportation of food, food-packaging, use of fossil fuels, the costs of disposing waste and need to redefine economic efficiency to include ecological and social factors (Rees and Wacketnagel, 1996). If this is not possible, an attempt to value ecological and social costs and benefits in non-monetary terms should be made. An environmental cost-benefit analysis (ECBA) can be used in an attempt to internalise these ecological and social costs.
The ECBA can be divided into two main phases:
a) Identification and quantification of the economic, ecological and social effects/impacts of urban agriculture (compared to other forms of land-use) in physical terms. We can distinguish market or non-market effects or immediate or long-term effects. A study of these effects would also be part of an environmental impact assessment study (EIAS). An EIAS can be thought of as the first phase of ECBA.
b) Effects should be evaluated in money terms as far as possible. The different valuation techniques are based on the consumers' willingness to pay. Since there are for example no markets available for using the environment, other valuation methods are required to value the environmental or ecological costs and benefits of urban agriculture (van der Lubbe, 1996).
The following costs and benefits of urban agriculture can be identified (see also Nugent, 1997):
Benefits of urban agriculture:
- Direct economic benefits: production (agricultural produce, production of compost), both marketed and non-marketed (home-consumption)
- Indirect economic benefits: education, recreation, waste-management (avoided costs of waste disposal), use of under-used resources (rooftops, roadsides, water bodies), economic diversity/stability, changes in economic value of the land, and possible multiplier effects (business attracted by urban agriculture, such as input services or restaurants)
- Social benefits: food security, improved nutritional status, leisure, community cohesion and well-being (health)
- Ecological benefits: improved hydrology (reduced run-off), air quality, soil quality, improved CO2-balance, biodiversity, and energy-savings through local production
Costs of urban agriculture:
- Direct costs: use of natural resources (land, water; rented or purchased); labour (family, paid or voluntary); capital, raw materials (machinery, tools, fertiliser and pesticides, seeds) and energy (electricity, oil)
- Indirect costs: pollution and waste (impacts on water, soil and air pollution; waste disposal) , negative effects on human health (as a result of pesticide-use or pollution of crops by industry)
In the attempt to monetize these costs and benefits, we have to count with different costs:
- "direct costs" (land purchased, labour paid),
- opportunity costs (for example, family labour),
- interest and appreciation/depreciation (increased value of land, decreased value of machinery).
However, it will be difficult to find data on many of these costs and benefits in the first place. Although use can be made of government data, statistics, research findings, market accountings and interviews, new academic research -complemented by observation- will be necessary to study and analyse the full range of costs and benefits. Secondly, you will encounter difficulties in the attempt to quantify the costs and benefits in which case either estimates or indicators may be used. For example, a water quality indicator may be the nitrogen content of groundwater.
1.3 A case-study : Urban Environmental Analysis in Atlanta, USA (Moll G and C. Kollin, BUFPRA Newsletter. Issues 1, 2 and 3, 1997)
The American Forests, a non-profit organisation, has developed a method of Urban Ecological Analysis (UEA), that measures the ecological benefits of urban green, especially urban forests and trees. Ecological benefits are assigned an economic value based on the contribution urban trees and forests make in terms of conserving energy, reducing storm water run-off and peak flow, improving air quality and maintaining wildlife habitats. These economic values show the effects of shade-trees in reducing the costs of cooling homes in summer and savings achieved by mitigating the effects of air pollution and the need for cleaning equipment because trees remove atmospheric dust and carbon. The costs of storm water management and the building of concrete water containment facilities can also be compared to the effects and economic value of tree cover in reducing the force and flow of water.
When an UEA was conducted in Atlanta, Georgia and ten surrounded counties, it showed an estimated energy saving in cooling costs of US$ 4.6 million annually, a cost reduction of about 35% in mitigating the effects of storm water (resulting in savings of US$ 1 billion) and indirect savings in air pollution management of US$ 3.4 million.
The UEA was conducted with help of a Geographic Information Systems software programme (Archview 2.1) called CITY Green. Research data documenting the functional value of urban forests provide the scientific basis for analysis. Aerial photographs are also used. The software can convert mathematical models to graphic presentations. In addition to monetizing ecological benefits, the programme can illustrate and calculate a city's forest cover over time. The programme is able to compare various development scenarios for changing environments, thus assisting decision-making in land-use planning processes
To see a demonstration of CITY Green and learn more about American Forests programs and services, see American Forests homepage
The American Forests study and the one carried out by Nugent in 1997 are amongst the few studies I know of, in which the value of urban green is investigated and quantified. It would be very interesting to hear about other studies and their results via this bulletin!
2. European Experiences, Projects And Case-Studies In Urban Agriculture
2.1. Urban agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe
In recent years, urban agriculture has become more and more recognised as an integral part of European urban land-use. In Western Europe, the main interest in urban agriculture is possibly that of environmental management, whilst in Central and Eastern Europe urban agriculture is growing rapidly to ensure food-security and income generation. This growth can be contributed to the decline in economy and the introduction of capitalist/open market principles (effects comparable to the effects of Structural Adjustment policies in the South), the reform of land properties, and an increasing awareness of the effects of contaminated food.
In Romania, where nation-wide measures were taken in the seventies to use available urban spaces for agriculture, the share of self-produced food in total food consumption by employee and pensioner families rose from 25 to 37% between 1989 and 1994. In the urban areas of Georgia, self-produced food made up to 28% of the household income in 1992, while in 1990 this was only 6% (UNICEF, 1995). In Russia, town dwellers produced 88% of their potatoes, 43% of their meat, 39% of their milk and 28% of their eggs on urban household plots. This important share of production is generated on plots of 0.2 to 0.5 ha, which together constitute only 4% of the total amount of agricultural land in Russia Over the past decade, thirty million families have become owners of the urban agricultural land they held in usufructuary rights as workers of the former collectives and state enterprises (Brooks et al, 1996).
It is noteworthy that the pattern of urban construction under the former communist regimes creates a unique opportunity for promoting urban agricultural production. Because urban expansion was concentrated in planned high-rise mini-cities, there was a great deal more open land near the 19th-century urban centres than in North America or Western Europe. Thus, there is considerable potential for expanding urban agriculture around and within the densely built-up core and housing estates. As energy and transport costs multiply under the new capitalist economic system, urban food production offers a growing number of advantages (Smit et al, 1996).
2.2 European projects and case-studies in urban agriculture and urban environmental management
* Community Market Gardens In The United Kingdom
A heavy industrial steel plant in Sheffield is currently in the process of upgrading and greening its facilities. After consultations with the City Council, plans have been made to incorporate a covered market garden using waste heat from the steel works, to supply produce for local shops and restaurant. The project will also provide employment and training for Asian workers living in the area and will specialise in producing "exotic" vegetables for the local market.
The project is still in the planning stage. Land reclamation is an essential first step. The project is a partnership between the Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Development Corporation and a community group. Some funding has been received from English Partnerships for a feasibility study. There is particular concern to ensure appropriate community development support and involvement of local people by giving them a chance to start production on small scale, before a large commercial enterprise takes over.
Source: "Growing food in cities: a report to highlight and promote the benefits of urban agriculture in the UK". A publication from the National Food Alliance and Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE). June 1996.
Contact: Yunus Ahmed, Sanderson Kayser Steelworks Projects. Sheffield City Council, Department of Planning and Economic Development, Town Hall, Sheffield S1 2HH, UK. Phone: + 44 114 279 7164
Further resources: SAFE, 38 Ebury Street, London SW1W 0LU, UK. Phone: +44 171 823 5660
* Chicken Co-Operatives In Denmark
The Hyldespjoeldet complex, part of the city of Alberstlund, won an environmental award from Denmark's Federation of Non-profit Housing Associations in 1994. Since 1989, the residents in this complex have worked to integrate nature and urban ecology in an attempt to solve environmental problems.
They started with the building of a chicken co-operative, a project that involved ten families. Five more chicken co-operatives have been built since then, all managed by a couple of families. Eggs are used for home-consumption or are sold in the community centre and restaurant where people can enjoy a cheap dinner twice a week. from next year on only ecological produce will be sold in the community restaurant. Food will be a little more expensive, but the city council will cover the extra costs.
Other activities implemented in Albertslund are a biological city farm, composting of organic waste to be used again in city parks, a nature playground for children and energy and water conservation campaigns.
Source: Urban Ecology Guide, Greater Copenhagen, 1996. Danish Town Planning Institute, Peder Skrams Gade 2B, DK-1054 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Contact: Det Gronne Miljo Udvalg v/ beboer, Povl Markussen, Tommerstraede 3, 2620 Albertslund, Denmark. Phone: + 45 42 64 06 04
* Urban agriculture integrated in urban planning in SwedenSwedish municipalities are responsible for urban planning, primary health care, education, waste management and recreation. Furthermore they own significant amounts of land. In the past ten to fifteen years, greater attention has been given to sustainable lifestyles, the recycling of waste (especially the sorting and composting of kitchen wastes) and the control of greenhouse gas emissions. Urban agriculture has received considerable attention from local authorities and the national parliament.
The kitchen and allotment garden, located on residential plots, is a common form of urban agriculture in Sweden. Today, the Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardens has 30,000 members in almost every municipality of Sweden. It produces a journal, provides advice in the form of pamphlets, has a telephone support service covering a wide range of topics, and produces training materials.
Many housing developers are now incorporating composting and kitchen gardens into the designs and lay-out of housing projects. Greenhouses, for example, are build on the south facing walls of apartment buildings and composting facilities are being provided.
In general, Swedish planners are taking a more and more active part in encouraging urban agriculture, through the provision of land, and the recognition of the sector as a useful component of the urban landscape. The close integration of planning with other municipal sectors (health, education, waste management and public works) gives agriculture a recognised place. Urban agriculture will receive even greater recognition through the local Agenda 21 programmes currently being developed, and by the incorporation of urban agriculture as a legitimate green structure in urban areas.
Source: Urban agriculture: can planners make a difference? IDRC Cities Feeding People Series, Report 12, 1994.
Contact: Timothy Greenhow, SWEDPLAN/Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, Stockholm, Sweden. Fax: +46 8 644 4689
3. New contacts and addresses
* IDRC's Grants programme
The International Development Research Centre supports applied, multi-disciplinary research on food security and urban policy issues in the South. Within the "Cities Feeding People Programme", IDRC intends to carry out an International Awards Programme related to urban food production and waste management. The programme initiative will enable researchers to supply different intervenors (including NGOs, governmental and development organisations and organised producers) with expertise and information that contribute to more effective policy and technology interventions in urban agriculture.
Contact: Luc Mougeot
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Awards Programme
PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Phone: + 1 613 236-6163
Fax: + 1 613 238-7230
E-mail: LMougeot@idrc.ca
Internet-site: Cities Feeding People
* Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Forestry (RUAF)This project operationalizes the Information and Communication Action Programme of the Global Facility on Urban Agriculture (GFUA), an inter-agency funding and management unit that was established in March 1996 with the support of UNDP, IDRC, FAO, and some 30 other international development organisations. The RUAFA-project will be managed by IDRC (in the "Cities Feeding People Programme"), that is hosting the GFUA.
The leading implementing organisation will be ETC Netherlands, Leusden, The Netherlands, who will coordinate the participation of six regional focal points and of other organisations participating in GFUA. The project is planned to be implemented from January 1998 onwards.
The objectives of the RUAF Project are:
- To improve access of local stakeholders in urban agriculture to documented experiences in the field of crop production, forestry and animal production in urban and peri-urban areas, and the re-use of urban wastes for productive purposes
- To respond to the needs of national and local governments, funding agencies, and other support organisations for information on urban agriculture, and to facilitate policy formulation and advocacy.
- To support the development of national and regional networks on urban agriculture and to facilitate South-South communication and cooperation between networks and associated organisations.
- To strengthen the capacity of selected key institutions in developing countries to collect and disseminate information on project experiences and research results on urban agriculture.
- To facilitate the analysis of selected themes that are seen as crucial for the development of urban agriculture and the removal of constraints.
RUAF hopes to achieve:
- Operationalisation of six regional focal points on urban agriculture
- An electronic newsletter on urban agriculture (3 issues/year) and a hard copy
- distributed by the regional focal points in local languages
- Annual electronic conferences on selected themes
- A reference data base on urban agriculture (bibliographic data and audio-visual materials) accessible through Internet and also distributed on diskettes
- An urban agriculture resource guide (containing information about resource persons, training possibilities, documentation centres)
- A reader on urban agriculture
- Three bibliographies on selected themes
Contact: Henk de Zeeuw, Senior Consultant
ETC Urban Agriculture Programme
Kastanjelaan 5, 3833 AN Leusden, the Netherlands
Phone: +31 33 4943086
Fax: +31 33 4940791
Email: office@etcnl.nl
* The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
ICLEI aims to set up and support local committees in the implementation of Local Agenda 21. ICLEI participates in the European Commission Expert Group on the Urban Environment and makes policy recommendations on how to incorporate environmental objectives into local planning strategies. ICLEI participates in the coordination of the Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign which is closely linked to the European union's Sustainable Cities Project. ICLEI provides a database on Internet of case studies on environmentally good practices by European local authorities, thematic guidance and European policy documents on sustainable urban development.
Contact: International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, European Secretariat
Eschholzstrasse 86, D-79115 Freiburg, Germany
Phone: +49 761 3689220
Fax: +49 761 36266
Email: 100717.313@compuserve.com
Internet: ICLEI
4. Cited literature and selected references relevant to environmental aspects of urban agriculture
* Allison, Malcolm and Phil Harris (1996). Urban waste bibliography: prepared for peri-urban interface production system. By Natural Resources Programme, Overseas Development Administration, United Kingdom. In collaboration with Henry Doubleday Research Association, African Studies Centre Coventry University, and Department of Water Management Silsoe College Cranford University.
* Allison, Malcolm and Phil Harris (1996). A review of the use of urban waste in peri-urban interface production systems: prepared for peri-urban interface production system. By Natural Resources Programme, Overseas Development Administration, United Kingdom. In collaboration with Henry Doubleday Research Association, African Studies Centre Coventry University, and the Department of Water Management Silsoe College Cranford University, United Kingdom.
* Association of Cities for Recycling, quarterly Newsletter. Gulledelle 100, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
* Brooks K et al. (1996). Agricultural reform in Russia. The World Bank, Washington, USA
* ETC and WASTE (1996). Workshop report on sustainable municipal waste water treatment systems. ETC Netherlands, PO Box 64, 3830 AB Leusden, The Netherlands
* Garnett T. (1996). Farming in the city: the potential of urban agriculture. Article in The Ecologist, Vol. 26, No 6, November/December 1996
* Goldsmith E (1996). Global trade and the environment. In: Mander J. and E. Goldsmith (eds), The case against the global economy and for a turn towards the local, Sierra Club, San Francisco
* Gundula Jahn. (1997). Chancen und Risiken der Kleinbauerlichen Urbanen Tierhaltung. Internet website:City Farmer's Urban Agriculture Notes . Further contact: Dr. Marlis Lindecke, GTZ, Dag-Hammarskjsld-Weg 1-5, 65760 Eschborn, Germany
* Lubbe M. van der (1996). Economic assessment of ecological costs and benefits; methods and tools: a review of current literature. ETC-Netherlands, Leusden, the Netherlands
* Kollin C (1997). Helping cities save the green. In: BUFPRA-Newsletter, Belgian Urban Forestry Practice and Research Association, Nieuwbrug 12, Rue de Pont neuf B-1000, Brussels, Belgium. Vol 1-No3
* Moll G (1997). Urban trees, costing the benefit: using geographic information systems to analyse the value of urban ecosystems. In: BUFPRA-Newsletter, Belgian Urban Forestry Practice and Research Association, Nieuwbrug 12, Rue de Pont neuf B-1000, Brussels, Belgium .Vol 1-No1, 2, 3
* Nugent R. (1997). The sustainability of urban agriculture: a case study in Hartford, Connecticut. Draft report. Further contact: R. Nugent, Department of economics, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma WA 98447, USA. Email: nugentra@plu.edu
* Rees W.E. and M. Wackernagel (1996). Urban ecological footprints: why cities cannot be sustainable and why there are a key a sustainability. Environmental impact assess review 16:223-248
* Smit J. et all (1996). Urban agriculture: food, jobs and sustainable cities, UNDP, New York, USA
* Hart D. and J. Pluimers. (1996). Wasted agriculture - the use of compost in urban agriculture. WASTE, Nieuwehaven 201, 2801 CW Gouda, The Netherlands
* UNICEF (1995). Poverty, children and policy: responses for a brighter future. New York, USA
Third (E)Mail Bulletin On Urban Agriculture In Europe
by: ETC Netherlands, Urban Agriculture ProgrammeMay 1998
Marielle Dubbeling, MScThis is the third (e)mail bulletin of the ETC Urban Agriculture Programme, published in the context of the European Support Group on Urban Agriculture (ESGUA). The ESGUA aims to support information exchange/networking on and development of urban agriculture in Europe and will facilitate information exchange between different stakeholders and European countries involved in urban agriculture and sustainable urban development.
ETC Netherlands, Urban Agriculture Programme
att. Marielle Dubbeling, editor
Kastanjelaan 5
3833 AN Leusden, the Netherlands
Phone: +31 33 4943086
Fax: + 31 33 4940791
office@etcnl.nlContents:
- Urban forestry in Europe: the need for participatory management
- European experiences, projects and case studies on Urban Forestry
- New contacts and addresses
- Selected literature on Urban Forestry
1. Urban forestry in Europe: the need for participatory management
In many European countries, there seems to be a lot of interest in forestry aspects of urban greenspaces. Trees have an impact on the city's environment (reduction of air and noise pollution, micro-climate improvement, improved landscape aesthetics) as well as provide recreational opportunities. Green and multifunctional areas can also provide habitats for increased biodiversity (and potentially wildlife), erosion control, productive use or safe disposal of urban wastes. These influences, together with economic productive effects (production of fruits, wood, fuel), make urban forests particularly important. There are many examples to be found in which the urban forests have become part of the city's identity: for example Fontainbleau near Paris, Epping forest in London, Grunewald in Berlin and the Zonienwoud near Brussels (Konijnendijk, 1997).
Trees in urban environments however, face harsh growing conditions. Soils along streets or buildings can be impenetrable to root growth due to compaction. Pollution from traffic or industries or vandalism also may have a negative impact on growth or health of trees. Many urban forest projects have failed because they were designed and executed in isolation from overall urban planning. In addition, as history has shown, urban forest policies are dominated by local actors (local government, public) and social conflicts regarding urban forest use have often been frequent and intense (van den Ham 1996; Konijnendijk, 1997). Management aspects of urban forestry thus deserve explicit attention.
An article in the Dutch Forestry Magazine (Corten, 1997) describes, amongst others, two Dutch examples were social conflicts have arisen in relation to urban forest use:
1. In the 16th century, Prince Willem van Oranje decided to sell the "The Hague Forest" to pay off his war debts. The Hague citizens however were strongly against this and wanted to keep "their" forest for recreational use. Together they collected the needed money from their own pockets. The forest presently still exists.
2. The city forests of Arnhem are managed by the local city council. In the 1980's Arnhem Citizens felt disagreement with certain management interventions (like extensive thinning to enhance natural processes), that to them endangered the historical and nature value of the forest, and organised themselves into different actions group -each with their own vision and ideas. The forest management interventions were temporarily halted. The city council at the end decided to discuss the management and draw up a management plan together with representatives of the different action groups and the forest manager. A forest advisory firm facilitated the process. The outcoming plan is evaluated yearly by all stakeholders. Presently, the action groups are having an active function in looking for funding or doing research into the forest history and also publish a newsbulletin on urban forests. The forest manager is taking care to inform the citizens sufficiently of all management activities by means of regular communication.
Especially with the rise of the environmental movements, the wood production, recreation and nature conservation function of urban forest have become conflicting. The past years the reduction of green spaces due to urban development have added even more to the conflicts. They do not only arise from differences in opinion about functions (see the example of Arnhem), but are also the result of insufficient communication and knowledge about the other actor's objectives and motives (Konijnendijk, 1997).
For urban forestry to be successful, a variety of key actors - and above all local residents - must be involved in forest policy making, planning, management, and benefit distribution. An ETC/IKC-Natur (claim-making power)
- They experience sufficient material or immaterial benefits (enjoying nature, harvesting fruits)
- They have enough knowledge and experience to analyse the actual and desired situation, the interaction with plans and policy makers or the actual implementation of forest management
- They are formally acknowledged as having a position and right to participate. (Corten, Laban and van Veldhuizen, 1995)
Local governments thus have to commit themselves to facilitate a participatory decision process, allow stakeholders insight in their objectives and actions (communication!) and plan sufficient time for discussion in all stages of the process to enjoy the co-responsibility of urban residents.
2. European experiences, projects and case studies on Urban Forestry
* Urban forestry: overview and analysis of European urban forest policies
The European Forest Institute (EFI) is presently implementing a comparative study on urban forests in Europe - with emphasis on forest policies. The EFI study "Urban forestry: overview and analysis of European urban forest policies" will take 3 years and is implemented in co-operation with the Wageningen Agricultural University an the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Research is taking place in 30 cities in 16 European countries. Attention is paid to contents of policies, processes, actors involved, translation of policies into management, and social conflicts. A first stage of the project, presenting an historical overview of urban forestry in Europe, has been completed by the end of last. Results are published in a Working paper, that can be ordered. On the basis of the historical overview and achieved insight in actual policies, links to expected future development of urban forests will be made.
For more information on this study, please contact:
The European Forest Institute, Joensuu, Finland
European Forest Institute* District heating from wood; Austria
In Kautzen, Austria, a district heating project started in 1992 with the objectives to save energy and use renewable enrgy resources, while at the same time securing an economic existence for the local citizens. Presently, 23 farmers - acting as a cooperative - are operating a district heating network. They are both providers of wood as well as owners and operators of the heating supply enterprise. The heat is produced from wood chips gathered from the farmers' own forestry resources. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of wood chips are processed per year, for each the ton the farmers receive about US 65.
During storage, the wood chips are dried with the help of a solar facility to improve the heating value. Through a primary and secondary burning process, a complete burning of the wood with low emissions is achieved. The wood ash is brought out to the agricultural fields as fertiliser.
The total project costs amounted to 2 million US$, including initial consultancies to develop a project and the building of the heat production facility and the supply network. At present, the network delivers heat to 90 users, who pay a starting connection fee and a fixed price per delivered kilowatt-hour. In near future, a conversion of the plant to combined production of heat and power is being planned.
Source:
Local sustainabality database,
European good practices information service
The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
Contact: Gemeinde Kautzen, Herr Burgermeister Horhek, A-3851, Kautzen, Austria
or: OAR-Osterreichische Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur eigenstandige Regionalberatung
GesmbH, Furbergstrasse 32/7, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
Phone: +43 662 646622; Fax: +43 662 6466224* Study into the use of forest residues for enhancing soil fertility
Chipped tree branches can be used for soil upgrading purposes when mixing it with the top soil. Chipped wood gives the soil a better structure, provide organic matter and nutrients to the soil, and are favorable to certain microfauna, like Basidiomycetes, responsible for lignine depolymerisation.
The Belgian Urban Forestry Practice and Research Association (BUFPRA) has taken the initiative to study "in situ" the influence on soil performance of the use of chipped wood, compost and mycorrhiza and the effect potential soil upgrading has on ornamental trees and hedges that are part of the trial. The research will be carried out in collaboration with The Federal University of Gent, The Catholic University of Leuven, The Belgian Pedological Service, The Institute for Forestry and Game Management, The Flemish Compost Organisation and the PCS Experimental Centre.
Contact:
BUFPRA, Jean Cornelis
Nieuwbrug- 12 -Rue du Pont Neuf, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +32 2 2796000
Fax: +32 2 27960423. New contacts and addresses
* Belgian Urban Forestry Practice and Research Association (BUFPRA)
BUFPRA, created in 1992 by civil servants responsible for green space planning and ornamental tree professionals, aims to provide information on international urban forestry. One of the media they use, is a quarterly Newsletter on urban forestry that deals with present status and future tendencies of urban forestry towards the 21st century. The Newsletter contains interesting information on European and international projects in the field of urban forestry. These project descriptions are completed with information on relevant conferences and available proceedings.
Contact:
Sanjoy Chowdhury (editor),
Nieuwbrug- 12 -Rue du Pont Neuf, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +32 2 2796000; Fax: +32 2 2796042
showdhu@meko.vub.ac.be* TREE CITY - Urban Forestry & Arboricultural Program
The TREE CITY Initiative was designed in 1995 to enhance the knowledge and application of urban forestry in developing countries to meet economic, social and environmental needs. Members of the initiative can provide support in research, project management and training. TREE CITY maintains a database on urban forestry.
TREE CITY Initiative publishes from January 1998 onwards a bi-monthly electronic news on urban greening with a focus on resource-poor citizens and trees in developing countries, which will be distributed through an urban-forestry mailing list. The TREE CITY News will consist of following sections events, initiatives and projects, research, training and job opportunities.
Contact:
Guido Kuchelmeister, TREE CITY - Urban Forestry & Arboricultural Program
Office Illertissen: (Coordinator) Graf-Kirchberg-Strasse 26 89257 Illertissen, Germany
Tel. +49-7303-43776 Fax: +49-7303-42114
100441.3577 @compuserve.com
TREE CITY* European Cost Action on Urban Forestry (COST E12)
The COST Action aims to coordinate and refine research and development to improve the knowledge base needed for better planning, design, establishment and management of urban forests and urban trees in Europe, and, by doing this, to establish urban forests and urban trees as a scientific domain in Europe.
Contact:
EG-Liason, Mrs. O.L.H. Knap
o.knap@egl.nlor contact your own national bureau for the European Commission.
4. Selected References Relevant To Urban Forestry Policies and Management
* Corten I, 1997. Bosbemoeienissen: ervaringen met lokale participatie. Nederlands Bosbouw Tijdschrift: 262-269 (In Dutch)
* Corten I, P. Laban and L. van Veldhuizen, 1995. Experiences with local participation, an exploratory study in the field of forest and forest management. Working document IKC-Natuurbeheer, nr. W-142, IKC Natuurbeheer, Wageningen, The Netherlands (In Dutch)
* Konijnedijk, C. Urban forestry, overview and analysis of urban forest policies. Part 1: Conceptual framework and European urban forest history. Working paper 12. European Forest Institute, Joensuu, Finland
* van den Ham, M, 1996. Urban forestry: an investigtion into the process of policy making and its results concerning urban forests in the Netherlands: case studies in Amsterdam and Arnhem. MSc thesis. Department of Forestry, Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands (in Dutch)
* Hammer R, 1985. Forest area development and forest conservation policy in urban areas: a comparative analysis of the areas of Bern, Freiburg, Karsruhe and Zurich between 1900-1980. Schriftenreihe des Instituts fur Landespflege der Universitat Freiburg, Heft 6, Germany (in German)
* Hodge S.J, 1995. Creating and managing woodlands around towns. Forestry Commission Handbook 11. HSMO, London, UK
*Miller, 1997. Urban forestry: planning and management of greenspace. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, USA
* Nilson, K and T.B. Randrup, 1997. Urban and peri-urban forestry. In XI World Forestry Congres, Turkey, 1997. Volume 1. Topic 3. Also on Internet:
* Profous G. and R. Rowntree, 1993. Structure and management of the urban forest in Prague. Unasylva 44 (173): 33-38
* Urban and peri-urban multipurpose forestry: an annotated bibliography, FAO, Rome,1995
- stimulation of the 'dialogue' on urban agriculture between city councils, citizens, farmers and other stakeholders on both local, regional and European level
