Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Western Province, Sri Lanka and Rosario, Argentina

The document examines how integrating urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry (UPAF) into city planning can address climate change risks, food insecurity, and urban poverty. In Western Province, Sri Lanka, the focus is on rehabilitating abandoned paddy lands to reduce flood risks and intensifying home gardening to lower GHG emissions and improve nutrition. In Rosario, Argentina, the city is using UPAF to mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce 'food miles' and associated CO2 emissions, and manage storm water run-off. The report argues that subnational (provincial) government involvement is essential for scaling these interventions and integrating them into broader land-use and climate action plans.

• Urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry (UPAF) can enhance city resilience by diversifying food sources for the urban poor, reducing the urban heat island effect, capturing CO2, and managing storm water to reduce flood risks.
• In Western Province, Sri Lanka, the rehabilitation of abandoned paddy lands in flood zones serves as a strategy to improve storm water infiltration and mitigate flood risks.
• A pilot project in Kesbewa, Sri Lanka, involving 47 farmers, rehabilitated 17.4 hectares of paddy fields, including 5.2 hectares of land abandoned for over 20 years, increasing farmer income through the cultivation of salt-resistant paddy and vegetables.
• Intensification of home gardening in Kesbewa, Sri Lanka, led to a reduction of 60,200 kg of municipal solid waste through composting and a 56.3% reduction in the use of external fertilisers.
• Local production of specific vegetables in Kesbewa home gardens and improved organic waste reuse are estimated to reduce GHG emissions by 74.89 tonnes per year.
• In Rosario, Argentina, urban garden parks and streets with significant tree cover recorded average temperatures approximately 5°C lower than the city centre during extreme heat periods.
• Sourcing potatoes from the peri-urban Arroyo Seco region (30 km from Rosario) instead of regions 630 km away would reduce CO2 emissions related to food transport by 97%.
• Research in Rosario indicates that increasing green areas in the urban watershed could decrease the run-off coefficient from 0.64 to 0.49, representing an approximately 20% reduction in urban flooding risk.
• The involvement of provincial governments is critical for scaling urban agriculture because they can manage land-use planning beyond municipal boundaries, facilitate financing, and develop accompanying subnational policies.

APA

Dubbeling, M. (2015). Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Western Province, Sri Lanka and Rosario, Argentina. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SriLanka-Argentina-Background-Paper.pdf

Chicago

Dubbeling, Marielle. Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Western Province, Sri Lanka and Rosario, Argentina. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2015. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SriLanka-Argentina-Background-Paper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dubbeling |first1=Marielle |title=Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Western Province, Sri Lanka and Rosario, Argentina |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=January 2015 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SriLanka-Argentina-Background-Paper.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dubbeling2015integrating, author = {Dubbeling, Marielle}, title = {{Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Western Province, Sri Lanka and Rosario, Argentina}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SriLanka-Argentina-Background-Paper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }