Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture and Forestry (UPAF) was recognized at the 2009 International Tripartite Conference on Urban Challenges and Poverty Reduction in ACP countries as having high potential for improving the urban environment and urban adaptation to climate change. UPAF is often credited with providing as series of benefits. However, for UPAF to be promoted as an effective component of climate compatible development strategies and plans, and for it to benefit from climate change financing, there is a need for greater empirical evidence and quantification of these benefits.

This paper, A First Framework for Monitoring the Impacts of Urban Agriculture on Climate Change, looks to facilitate further discussions on actual quantification of impacts and the measurement and collection of such quantitative data, and to prepare the way for the development of an actual monitoring framework and tools.

Further reading:

Project homepage: Monitoring impacts of urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry on climate change adaptation and mitigation

Publications:

• Report on needs and requirements of (city)governments and international organisations (such as the World Bank, DFID and UN-HABITAT) for the monitoring of UPAF impacts and the use of such data in climate change programmes and strategies
• Monitoring the Climate Change Impacts of Urban Agriculture in Rosario, Argentina
• Surface Temperature Variations in the Kesbewa Urban Council Area, Sri Lanka
• Report on the (most relevant) potential impacts of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture and Forestry (UPA/F) on climate change adaptation, mitigation and other co-developmental benefits

Image credit: Sergio Ruiz, Flickr