Why UNPEC? A research program supported by unpec Urban National Parks In Emerging Countries & Cities Increasingly urbanized landscapes put growing pressure on the natural systems they transform: higher concentrations of people demand more Scientific Partners : land, water and opportunity than smaller populations. Yet to meet the needs of human communities, the natural systems they depend upon must be preserved. One common and effective strategy for this is to protect areas; but in urban settings, this can turn out to be particularly complex. Over a four-year period (2012-2015), UNPEC will conduct an interdisciplinary program of applied research on Cape Town, Mumbai, Nairobi and Rio and their respective Urban National Parks. In such settings, the interdependence between people and nature may seem to be obvious – but often, it appears City and Park management are undertaken as though they were separate activities. UNPEC will work to understand the implications and consequences of decoupled dynamics. For Protected Area Managers and Urban Institutions: UNPEC and the Urban Protected Area (UPA) Network offer an independent perspective on the interaction between each City and its adjacent National Park. The comparative dimension of this work will also afford several opportunities to interact directly with your counterparts from other Urban Protected Areas, as part of our ongoing interactive discussion about the specificities of managing nature in and for the benefit of urban settings. Further information : For Researchers: UNPEC and the UPA Network offer fertile ground for www.upa-network.org empirical and theoretical work on the representations of nature in the city by different stakeholders, on spatial and social segmentation, on the Site Coordinators: economic benefits ecosystem services, on environmental risk abatement Nairobi: Bernard Calas – IFRA-Nairobi - [email protected] through ecosystem-based land management, circulation of global Mumbai: Frédéric Landy – Université Paris Nanterre models, multi-scale interactions, etc. [email protected] Cape Town: Estienne Rodary – IRD/IFAS - [email protected] Rio de Janeiro: Louise Bruno – Institut Libertas - [email protected] UPURBAN PROTECTEDA AREAS NETWORK 3fold-en.indd 3 12/03/12 20:44 In Emerging Countries & Cities UNPEC: A Learning Partnership In close collaboration with local park and city managers, interdisciplinary teams of researchers will undertake three waves of fieldwork in each site, punctuated by three international meetings: Rio de Janeiro –2012 // Cape Town – 2013 // Paris – 2014 Nairobi National park CROSS-CUTTING THematic AREAS Tijuca National park The Emergence SANJAY GANDHI NatiONAL PARK - MUMBAI, INDIA A defining characteristic of emerging economies is the sharpening of so- TABLE MOuntain NatiONAL PARK - CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA cial and spatial contrasts that arise from evolving lifestyles and economic Just as urban Cape Town continues to expand, its Sometimes expanding to subsume neighboring communities, at and cultural disparities. Cities are the vanguard of this transformation, emblematic national park also continues to acquire new other times yielding to over 200,000 slum-dwellers living within its which inevitably yet unevenly reshapes the relationship of urban people land. Informal settlements and wealthy communities territory, the SGNP is a densely-forested protected area embedded with urban nature. With special attention to the linkages between local, increasingly exert pressure on City and Park alike. in the fast-growing metropolitan area of Mumbai (pop. ~20 national and global scales, UNPEC aims to understand and articulate the Though largely unfenced, several important cross- million). A recent High Court ruling ordered the eviction of all implications of “emerging city” models and discourse across the socioeco- border flows into this protected area structure its informal residents from park land — an event with multiple nomic spectrum. interaction with the city: TMNP is a major driver of the unintended consequences for people and ecosystems alike. Boundaries & Flows local tourist economy, yet City authorities explicitly Increasing human-leopard conflicts, an ageing tourist Though each of these protected areas most often exhibits clearly demar- covet the direct revenue it generates; meanwhile, in infrastructure, contradictory visions over the future of adivasi (tribal) cated boundaries, multiple flows across these lines (wildlife, water, reve- spite of disputes over management of human-baboon settlements in the park, imbalanced predator-prey relationships, urban nue, people, etc.) mark a deep interdependence with their respective urban conflict predominates an otherwise robust and unique flood-mitigation potential and the overriding question of how the poor hosts. UNPEC will characterize the nature, perceptions and consequences mechanism for bilateral management. can realise their “right to the city” in the world’s densest metropolis – all of these flows. contribute to an exceedingly complex social-ecological system. Urban Solutions / Natural Solutions Just as protected areas can support the ecosystem services essential to NAIROBI NatiONAL PARK - NAIROBI, KENYA meet the needs of cities, the actions of urban people and institutions TIJUCA NatiONAL PARK - RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL Situated 7 km from central Nairobi, this protected area marks the northern shape the management of these protected areas. UNPEC will explore the Tijuca National Park, with the statue of Christ as symbol of Rio limit of seasonal wildlife migration from some nature of these dynamics. de Janeiro, is both the smallest and most visited in 2000 km² of semi-arid savanna. Along the park’s Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EbA) Brazil. Beyond its contributions to the local tourist northern and eastern boundaries, an electric Climate change has direct consequences both for the health of natural economy, this protected area also ensures the balance fence separates the urban and industrial growth systems and the well-being of urban people. UNPEC studies the role of of the local climate, while providing them with spaces of the capital city from the formally protected area within. protected areas in local adaptation and urban resilience. for recreation, cultural and spiritual expression. On the To its south, the park remains unfenced, allowing free movement park’s boundaries, however, expanding slums and wealthy * The maps on this page illustrate the four protected areas at identical scale – though totally of wildlife into the broader ecosystem. However, as Nairobi continues to removed from their urban contexts. An important aim of UNPEC will be to contextualize these communities exert direct pressure on the forest’s ecological integrity, while grow, land around NNP is increasingly coveted for uses incompatible with spaces as intrinsic components of the cities that have grown in their midst. persistent urban violence threatens its recreational potential. Given these conservation. Early pressure was concentrated on the park’s urban-facing deep interdependencies, municipal officials and park managers work boundaries, but recent years have seen increased activity in the southern on reducing urban impacts on the forest while still promoting a social- plains – historical home of Maasai pastoralists. Owing to a shared need for environmental balance along their boundaries through collaborative open spaces, the future of their traditional practices is deeply tied to the management. viability of this migratory corridor for wildlife. 3fold-en.indd 4 12/03/12 20:44.