Awareness creation on the importance of Green Spaces.
Natural Habitat Protection and Management to reduce encroachment.
City Core Revitalization
The city applied a variety of capital improvement projects and urban operation schemes for city core revitalization. A centerpiece of the revitalization package is the development of Grand Plaza – a major social open space equipped with audio-visual amenities for various events and covered by a high-ceiling glass roof under all-weather conditions, in particular to deal with Toyama’s heavy snowfall climate. The city also established a 24-hour bicycle-sharing system by placing 17 bike stations with a private operator in the city core district. A central marketplace and local community facilities were constructed through the unique redevelopment schemes and incentive arrangement.
Development of a centric multifunctional facility to attract citizens and visitors (Grand Plaza)
Consideration to local climate and environment in the facility design
The key to the success of the city core revitalization is the wide variety of activity offerings suited for all generations, with due attention to the socially vulnerable, e.g. elderly, children, expecting mothers. The LRT supports this by providing direct and safe access from homes for this cohort of the population as well.
Promotion of New Township along the Public Transit Corridors
The city designated 436 hectares for an urban core district, 19 public transit corridors (including both light rail transit and bus lines), and 3,489 hectares for residential promotion areas along the corridors, for which special subsidies became available for qualified home builders, new housing owners, and multi-family apartment residents. Consequently, the number of new residential properties along the promoted transit lines increased 1.32 times for the period of 2004 to 2009.
Financial incentives for home owners along the public transit corridors
Commercial facilities, schools, hospitals etc. available within walking distance from public transit nodes and stations
Toyama's approach to attract development along the public transit corridors proved successful especially when this was backed by financial incentives. This in turn has led to indirectly disincentivising living in city fringe areas.
The city introduced Japan’s first light rail transit (LRT), called PORTRAM, by utilizing the former JR Toyama-port line’s right of way accompanied by the extension of bullet train services to Toyama Station. The PORTRAM system with barrier-free stations and low-floor vehicles over the operation length of 7.6 km can smoothly carry elderly and disabled passengers to a variety of city destinations and bring wider environmental benefits, such as reduction in noise, air pollution, and CO2 emissions, to the whole city. Importantly, innovative project finance schemes were applied to split the roles of railway construction and system operation between public and private partners for the Toyama LRT. The public sector covers all the construction cost of the LRT system, including vehicles, railways, and depots, and the maintenance cost of these facilities, whereas the transit operator founded by several local governments and private companies recovers operation costs from fare revenues. The city filled the capital funding gap by arranging the national government’s road improvement programs and contributions from transit companies and by saving land acquisition costs with the former JR railway’s right of way.
Attention to universal accessibility for all
Innovative project finance schemes for public-private partnership
Sufficient funding support from the city
Caveat of applying this approach is that specifically for the Toyama case, the city had sufficient funds to cover construction cost of the LRT system, including vehicles, railways, and depots, and the maintenance cost of these facilities. Utilizing right of ways of previous public transport systems can also be useful.
Building consensus among partners through consultation
Use of social networks and non-traditional media to publicize the initiative
Financing management
Conservation fund
Community ownership of adaptation measures based on ecosystems and biodiversity
Native seed exchange
IUCN @ Credit: Pablo Cambronero
Riverbank forest restoration
IUCN @ Credit: Paul Aragón
Reforestation involving schoolchildren
IUCN @ Credit: Paula Cruz
Model of an integrated farm
IUCN
Communities took ownership of the following EbA measures once prioritized and implemented in a participatory manner in the basin:
Restoration of riparian forests. Binational reforestation events are held involving local communities and schools. These efforts reduce erosion, mitigate the risk of floods, and reinforce cross-border cooperation and local empowerment, including youth. The sustainability of this action is integrated into a reforestation strategy for the middle basin.
Integral farms / agroforestry systems. Practices are incorporated to manage ecosystem services and generate a high diversity of products (agricultural, forestry and energy). Soil conservation practices and a transition to agroforestry systems with crops and tree diversification, tropical orchards, sowing of basic grains and protein banks are promoted.
Recovery and valuing of autochthonous seeds and varieties. Agrobiodiversity Fairs are organized to promote the conservation of genetic diversity (criollo seeds) and their traditional knowledge. The impact attributed to the Fair can be seen in the increases in: participation (exhibitors), diversity of species (> 220) and offer of value-added products.
The Agrobiodiversity Fair was born out of the need, identified by communities, to highlight the importance of genetic diversity for local livelihoods and adaptation.
Since its first organization in 2012, the Fair is becoming notorious, and consolidated, with the involvement of more and more institutions (indigenous associations; municipalities; government institutions such as ministries, institutes for rural development, learning or agricultural research; universities; and the CBCRS) as well as visitors.
Local wisdom relating to climate variability and extreme events, comes from traditional knowledge on resilience and adaptation, and is a key ingredient in building community responses to climate change.
Working with families was an effective model, as was the promotion of 9 demonstrative integral farms (replicated in 31 new farms). The integral farm produces a high diversity of products (agricultural, forestry and energy) and optimizes the management of natural resources. If it is framed at the landscape level, this production model consolidates the EbA approach and facilitates its scaling up.
The Agrobiodiversity Fair turned out to be a valuable space for producers; there they can create direct contacts for exchanging experiences, information and genetic material, and so there is a growing number of exhibitors that come from more and more communities.
The level of institutional commitment observed in the organizations involved, gives importance to the conservation and rescue of native seeds and their relationship with adaptation.
