Manual of Transnational Green Infrastructure Assessment – Decision Support Tool MA NUAL FOR CREATING EVIDENCE-BASED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS A Tool supporting Local Planning MANUAL FOR CREATING EVIDENCE-BASED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS - A Tool supporting Local Planning This English manual version was compiled as Output O.T3.2 of the Interreg Central Europe Project MaGICLandscapes “Managing Green Infrastructure in Central European Landscapes“ funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This publication is also available in Czech, German, Italian and Polish languages and can be downloaded from the project website. Lead Partner: Technische Universität Dresden Faculty of Environmental Sciences Department of Geosciences Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Prof. Dr. Elmar Csaplovics Helmholtzstr. 10 01069 Dresden Authors of this Manual: Gian Luigi Rossi1, Simone Ciadamidaro1, Mariarita Minciardi1, Christopher Marrs2, Simonetta Alberico3, Gabriele Bovo3, Florian Danzinger4, Mita Drius4, Martin Erlebach5, David Freudl6, Stefan Fuchs4, Anke Hahn2, Zygmunt Jała7, Henriette John8, Marco Neubert8, Sven Riedl9, Tomáš Slach10, Hana Skokanová10, Paola Vayr3, Dorota Wojnarowicz7, Thomas Wrbka4 1 ENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Italy 2 Technische Universität Dresden, Germany 3 Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy 4 University of Vienna, Austria 5 The Krkonoše Mountains National Park, Czech Republic 6 Thayatal National Park, Austria 7 Karkonosze National Park, Poland 8 Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, Germany 9 The Saxony Foundation for Nature and Environment, Germany 10 Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Czech Republic Editors: Gian Luigi Rossi, Simone Ciadamidaro, Marco Neubert, Florian Danzinger, Christopher Marrs Layout: Anke Hahn Cover Illustration: Anja Maria Eisen Suggested Citation: Rossi G.L., Ciadamidaro S., Neubert M., Danzinger F., Marrs C. (eds., 2020). Manual for creating evidence-based green infrastructure strategies and action plans - A tool supporting local planning. Interreg Central Europe Project MaGICLandscapes. Output O.T3.2, Torino. With contributions from: G.L. Rossi, S. Ciadamidaro, M.R. Minciardi, C. Marrs, S. Alberico, G. Bovo, F. Danzinger, M. Drius, M. Erlebach, D. Freudl, S. Fuchs, A. Hahn, Z. Jała, H John, M. Neubert, S. Riedl, T. Slach, H. Skokanová, P. Vayr, D. Wojnarowicz, T. Wrbka. Published online: https://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/MaGICLandscapes.html#Outputs This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - No Derivative Works 4.0 International License. Torino, December 2020 Table of Contents 1. Preface .................................................................................................... 3 2. What is green infrastructure and why should you adopt the GI approach? ...................... 4 3. Why do you need a green infrastructure strategy? What are the advantages? Who are the actors of the strategy? ...................................................................................... 9 3.1. Who should you use this manual? ................................................................... 10 3.2. Who are the actors of a strategy? .................................................................. 11 4. How should a strategy be structured? ................................................................ 13 4.1. Characteristics of a strategy ........................................................................ 13 4.2. The Public Benefits of Green Infrastructure ...................................................... 15 4.3. Structure of the Strategy ............................................................................ 19 4.4. The Action Plan ....................................................................................... 20 5. Strategies in the MaGICLandscapes Project ......................................................... 21 5.1. Transnational Framework of Green Infrastructure Assessment ................................ 22 5.2. Conceptual and Theoretical Background, Terms and Definitions .............................. 22 5.3. Transnational GI Assessment and Regional Maps of GI for each of the Participating Regions ................................................................................................................ 24 5.4. Green Infrastructure at European, Regional and Local Scale – Green Infrastructure Functionality Assessment .................................................................................. 28 5.5. Generating a Regional Green Infrastructure Functionality Map ................................ 29 5.6. Strategies for Intervention at European, Regional and Local Level ........................... 34 5.6.1. Process 1 ............................................................................................. 34 5.6.2. Process 2 ............................................................................................. 45 6. Strategies Summaries ................................................................................... 62 6.1. Case Study Area – Kyjovsko .......................................................................... 63 6.2. Case Study Area – Dübener Heide Nature Park ................................................... 69 6.3. Case Study Area – Karkonosze Mountains and Jelenia Góra Basin ............................. 77 6.4. Case Study Area – Krkonoše Mountains National Park and its Surroundings .................. 83 6.5. Case study Area - Tri-border region CZ-DE-PL .................................................... 89 6.6. Case Study Area – Western Weinviertel and Eastern Waldviertel .............................. 95 6.7. Case Study Area – Thayatal National Park ....................................................... 102 1 6.8. Case Study Area – Po Hills around Chieri ....................................................... 109 6.9. Case Study Area – Upper Po Plain ................................................................ 115 7. References ............................................................................................. 121 Appendix ................................................................................................... 124 2 1. Preface This manual is the final output of the MaGICLandscapes INTERREG Central Europe project. It is the culmination of research, consultations and field-testing of the various tools created within the project to aid in producing green infrastructure strategies and supporting action plans. The manual is based on the experiences, findings and lessons learnt by ten partners across five central European countries applying those tools to develop their own green infrastructure strategies and action plans for nine case study areas in cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders and decision-makers. The purpose of this manual is to enable and encourage planners, decision-makers and stakeholders alike to plan for and implement green infrastructure using a suite of interconnected tools operating at different spatial scales and aimed at delivering the greatest public benefit possible when investing and planning for green infrastructure and contributing to sustainable development. It enables various sectors such as city, regional and local planning, water management, forestry, agriculture and nature protection amongst others to identify shared objectives and deliver measures that meet common objectives and needs for their sectors. The manual will guide the reader through the various green infrastructure assessment approaches, transnational/regional, functional assessment and benefit assessment and present a series of case studies demonstrating how strategies and action plans were developed using the tools developed and outlined in this manual. With their varied socio-economic and environmental priorities and varied landscapes, it is hoped the reader can associate and identify with the case study area strategies and perhaps find inspiration to also implement the green infrastructure concept within their own regions, towns and landscapes and deliver the multiple benefits green infrastructure can provide and meet the challenges and requirements for sustainable development. 3 2. What is green infrastructure and why should you adopt the GI approach? The European Union describes green infrastructure as “A strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services such as water purification, air quality, space for recreation and climate mitigation and adaptation. This network of green (land) and blue (water) spaces can improve environmental conditions and therefore citizens' health and quality of life. It also supports a green economy, creates job opportunities and enhances biodiversity.” Green infrastructure (GI), nestling amongst the more identifiable grey infrastructure of development, has rarely attracted the same level of interest or investment, at least on the strategic level, with local-level investment often concentrating on a site by site basis taking into account recreational needs or the aesthetic requirements of changing development design trends over the years. Understandably, as settlements expand and change, the strategic potential of green infrastructure has remained a secondary consideration and opportunities have been missed