Co-designing nature-based solutions in Moon Lake Park

Co-designing nature-based solutions in Moon Lake Park

25 November 2020

November saw the kick-off of co-design for nature-based solutions in the proGireg Living Lab in Moon Lake Park in Ningbo, China. The living lab is implementing proGireg nature-based solutions new regenerated soil, community-based urban farms and gardens and local environmental compensation processes and is looking forward to involving stakeholders further.

The co-design in Ningbo, as per proGIreg’s robust co-design guidelines, entails involving the local stakeholders from planning to implementation to ensure shared ownership, responsibilities and mutual benefits. The Ningbo co-design kick-off on November 15th 2020 gathered representatives from The Forestry Bureau of Ningbo City, Ningbo Tianhe Aquatic Ecosystems Engineering Co. Ltd, Ningbo University, Ningbo Municipal Water Conservancy Bureau, Ningbo Municipal Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, Ningbo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Residents of Moon Lake Park Street to discuss the future of the Living Lab.  

The meeting focused on the participants’ long-term hopes for the Living Lab and identified stakeholders wanting to take part in the implementation of nature-based solutions. All participants were educated about ProGIreg six co-design principles:

  1. Be open, inclusive and diverse. Co-design processes should address different knowledge, perspectives and needs to allow for wider engagement and better distribution of benefits.
  2. Share goals and vision. One of the first and most important steps is to develop a joint vision, discussing and consequently aligning conflicting expectations, interests or values regarding the nature-based solutions to be implemented, as well as the desired change of the area.
  3. Be transparent. Transparency is crucial and helps to build trust and commitment to the project.
  4. Think long-term. Despite the encouraging short & medium term benefits of nature-based solutions such as carbon sequestration and a decrease in the urban heat island effect, it is crucial to plan long term, as the social or economic benefits as well as the envisaged urban regeneration are likely to manifest in the long-term.
  5. Be experimental and reflective. Living Labs are spaces for experimentation - stakeholders should be able to create and test new technologies, services and/or governance arrangements.
  6. Be flexible. A successful co-design process should allow for changes and flexibility as flexibility to respond to changing needs and priorities of stakeholders.

 

During the Moon Lake Park co-design kick off, all agreed that multi-party cooperation for the governance of the park would be crucial to ensure a thriving future for nature-based solutions in the Living Lab. Keep up to date on the latest developments here.

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 innovation action programme under grant agreement no. 776528. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the proGIreg project and in no way reflects the views of the European Union.