Planting of trees and shrubs in rural areas
: Planting of trees and shrubs in rural areas
: Malta
|
: Rural areas
|
: 2020
|
: Planting take place during the spring and autumn months
: Ongoing
|
: No
|
: Ambjent Malta
: 35.8884
|
: 14.4488
Improved air quality
Yes, tree and woodland cover was associated with air quality improvement ecosystem services (Balzan et al., 2018).
Provision of health benefits
Yes, data shows that a greater exposure to, or ‘contact with’, natural environments (such as parks, woodlands and beaches) is associated with better health and well-being (White et al; 2019).
Drought and heat risk
Yes, the Mediterranean Basin is undergoing a warming trend with longer and warmer summers, an increase in the frequency and the severity of heat waves, changes in precipitation patterns and a reduction in rainfall amounts (Linares et al; 2020).
Climate action, resilience, mitigation and adaptation (SDG13)
Yes, the actions implemented in the area include minimize erosion.
: Balzan, M. V., Caruana, J., Zammit, A. 2018. Assessing the capacity and flow of ecosystem services in multifunctional landscapes : Evidence of a rural-urban gradient in a Mediterranean small island state. Land Use Policy, 75, 711–725. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.08.025.
Linares, C., Díaz, J., Negev, M., Martínez, G.S., Debono, R. and Paz, S. 2020. Impacts of climate change on the public health of the Mediterranean Basin population - current situation, projections, preparedness and adaptation. Environmental Research, 182:109107 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.109107.
Swiss Re institute (2020) Available at: https://www.swissre.com/media/news-releases/nr-20200923-biodiversity-and-ecosystems-services.html
White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., et al. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Nat. Sci. Rep. 9:7730. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3