Working Group Nature Conservation

Case Studies of this working group

The list includes all case studies categorised in this group and the respective answers to the first question "Rationale:Why is this case study interesting?"

Attention: this is a dynamic page list, do not edit this paragraph!

<DPL>

 category=Working Group Nature Conservation
 mode=ordered
 include = #Rationale: Why is this case study interesting?

</DPL>

Core Questions of this Working Group

Core themes (as identified on 3rd of December 2008):

• User group
• City
• Urban nature
• Interaction
• Water

Core questions

1. What is the role of user groups? (Emel)
2. What is the role of the city? (Virpi)
3. How do urban and natural structures interact? (Urban nature interaction, Daliborka and Jovana)
4. What is the role of water? (Barbara)

Notes:

• The names behind the questions identify those people that take up a kind of editor's responsibility for the questions. All group members are asked to integrate all questions into their case study report. The respective question editors will then compile the different answers and report back to the group plenary on December 19th.

• People who did not attend the session on 3rd of December may have additional proposals for core questions. Feel free to add these questions as proposals to the list above and discuss it via e-mail or using the discussion page.

• Please integrate the questions soon and try to deliver some draft answers before December 15th - otherwise it will become difficult to create a synthesis report for December 17th.

Synthesis of Core Questions

What is the role of user groups?

Emel

<DPL>

 category=Working Group Nature Conservation
 mode=ordered
 include = #What is the role of user groups?

</DPL>

What is the role of the city?

Virpi

<DPL>

 category=Working Group Nature Conservation
 mode=ordered
 include = #What is the role of the city?

</DPL>

How do urban and natural structures interact?

Urban nature interaction, Daliborka and Jovana

<DPL>

 category=Working Group Nature Conservation
 mode=ordered

 include = #How do urban and natural structures interact?

</DPL>

What is the role of water?

Barbara <DPL>

 category=Working Group Nature Conservation
 mode=ordered
 include = #What is the role of water?

</DPL>

What is the evolution of the urban relation between humans and nature?

Lolita & Chinyi <DPL>

 category=Working Group Nature Conservation
 mode=ordered
 include = #What is the evolution of the urban relation between humans and nature?

</DPL> Great War Island

2002 from Government

The project "Great War Island" is a proposition for protecting the Great and Small War Island on the river Danube,in Belgrade as the V category of IUCN categorization. That this area is localized in the heart of the city center zone. But most of all this case study shows how a legal protection is applied to conserve a very fragile natural ecosystem in the city tissue and how this case can be used as a recommendation for the similar cases in urban environment throughout planning . There are three zones of protection on the island:

Special areas – Zone of nature protection Developed areas – Zone of recreation General areas – Zone of turism

City is the frame of the island, so therefore it leaves a big mark on the island. Considering the fact that the island represents a great natural resource and that the city structure is everything but natural, the role of this gigantic concrete living machine is mostly in conjunction with pollution, noise, light, bulky junk, drainage.. But also we must take into consideration that city represent one great political and directional tool that has protected the island and is trying to conserve and improve this natural habitat to the best possible level.

Hangzhou

2006 from Government

Westlake, located in center of the city Hangzhou, boast one of the most prominent scenic spots in China. The coexistence of the city and the lake has gone through more than thousand years. The lake is surrounded by mountains from three sides and face with the dense urban construction on eastside. In this senses, westlake and the adjacent mountain played a critical role in prevent the sprawl and actually become the last oasis without being perished. However, the settlement of inhabitants in this area absolutely changed the fate of Westlake, as a result unravel the second phase of Westlake——from a natural lake to an artificial lake that is protected by dam and dredged consistently. Due to the need of drinking water for the increasing population, whereas all the water from river, even from well deeply digged in this region are all contaminated with the water from east China sea, the residents had to rely on the precious water from Westlake. The coexistence relationship was reinforced with the establishment of Hangzhou as a capital city of China in Song dynasty, to be continued

the lake is no longer used as a source of drinking water.The lake, with the mountain beside the lake, are enclosed by the city and actually doomed to be dependend on the development of the city.

High island

2000 from Department of Seine-Saint-Denis (93) The High Island project in Neuilly-sur-Marne, next to Paris, is interesting as basis of reflexion around the debate of integration of nature in urban sectors. Hihg Island is a part of the natural site of the Marne river. It's an alluvionnary site, which has been forgotten from humans for 200 years. Before that, it was a cultivated part of an old property called "Ville Evrard". The construction of a canal cut this part of land from the other and tranforms it into an "Island". Therefore, this site took back is natural evolution, as a humid forest, part of the process of inondation with which the Marne river is familiar. During all this time of coming back ti nature, the rest of the land was very quickly urbanised as the extension of housing of Paris. High Islan is between two cities which have since the biginning of the operations of housing around Paris, turn back from the river and its natural sites. As part of the territoy, High Island is a way to meet again these cities and the river and its functions. However, the project that the Seine Saint Denis départment has chosen, using a lot the recreation potentiel of the site, may have long term issues that are not very interesting about the river wild life. Its evolution is to loo at, and maybe be an example of debate around what contact we want between Nature and Human!

Lake Mogan

2001 Ankara Municipality Lake Mogan and its surrounding is a Special Protected Area (SPA) which is very near to Ankara City centre. It has declared as a protected area because of having rich and internationally important biodiversity and fragile wetland ecosystems. The area is a part of a watershed system in Ankara and it is one of the important natural areas supporting the ecological sustainability of the city. In 2001, Lake Mogan Park Project has completed and began to serve as a very large recreational area in this protected area. This project has ignored the importance of the biodiversity and the fragile ecosystems of the area. Today, the area is being used only as a recreational area by very different and large user groups. Therefore Lake Mogan and its surrounding has lost nearly all its natural values because of the degradation caused by the Project. So, this case may be an example for damaging natural areas because of unwise management and short term benefits/objectives.

Parque de Educação Ambiental Mello Barreto

Date? Architect maybe from Governement? The project shows how a natural and protected area that suffered the impact of an illegal occupation can be restored through the called “ecogenesis”. It is therefore essential that these anthropic substitute ecosystems, through different from the original ones, maintain, preserve and convey to the future the values they once sustained so that they may endure in the environment reality

River Liesing, Vienna

2005 from City of Vienna The river Liesing is located in the South of Vienna. In Vienna river Lising has shaped the landscape through meanders, deposition of sediments and erosion earlier, but after a havy regulation in the 50ies followed by an even stricter regulation in the 70ies it was forced in the staight river bed, which lead to a low biodiversity and to the river running quickly. After housing development around the river in the 90ies, the City of Vienna decided for the revitalisation of a 5,5 km area of the river to be completely renewed and revitalised. The Policy background of this project is the implementation of the European Water Directive 1 The purpose of this Directive is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater. The aim of the project was to improve the situation at the river Liesing according to the EU Water Directive in order to archive “maximum ecological potential” of a heavily modified water body. Semi-natural riverbanks extend the green belt of Vienna A comprehensive habitat, offering different flow velocity has been created The area as a whole became an inviting area for users Citizens participation played a crucial role in the project Public Relations work accompanied the project, there were no major disputes despite major changes and a working period of more than 3 years. BUT: The space between the river and the accompanying street and buildings is still rather small, which gives neither the user much space nor does it offer a habitat without disturbance for animals. More space for the river in case of high water would have improved flood protection.

Working Group Minutes

First Meeting

• Minutes First Meeting WG 2, 3rd of December 2008