Cities and Climate Change Bulletin, June 2014

Integrating urban and peri-urban agriculture into city-level climate change strategies

Urban agriculture, when planned and managed properly, can contribute to climate change mitigation efforts by lowering the ecological footprint associated with food production. At the same time, urban agriculture can enhance climate change adaptation efforts by increasing vegetation cover and reducing surface water run-off, while at the same time conserving biodiversity. With support from the Government of Norway, UNHabitat’s Cities and Climate Change Initiative collaborated with the Resource Centers on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) Foundation on a pilot project to integrate urban and peri-urban agriculture in the city climate change and urban development strategies of three cities: Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Kesbewa, Sri Lanka.