Towards a more resilient Lisbon UrbaN Green InfraStructure as an adaptation to climate change (LIFE LUNGS)

Under the changing climate, Lisbon faces increased risks of drought, seasonal flooding and extreme temperatures that have negative impacts on health and quality of life in the city. The LIFE LUNGS project aimed to increase the resilience of Lisbon by implementing the municipal climate adaptation strategy through green infrastructure and promotion of related ecosystem services. The objective was to increase Lisbon's resilience and resistance to climate change.

Through the implementation of a set of specific actions, LIFE LUNGS enabled the city of Lisbon to strengthen its climate adaptation strategy, contributing to the objectives and goals outlined for 2030, achieving the following results:

• Increased the city's urban green area by increasing tree, by planting a total of 116,551 trees and shrubs (113,252 forest plants and 3,299 alignment trees);

• Strengthened the water efficiency of the green infrastructure by, e.g., sowing 10.9 hectares of biodiverse meadows;
• Increased resilience and resistance to extreme precipitation events, through the implementation of a retention basin of 1,700 m2;

• Ensured the maintenance of the vegetation cover and soil of biodiverse meadows, using grazing (flock of sheep) as a non-mechanical urban agent for vegetation control in the Bela Vista Park;
• Reinforced investment with unplanned additional costs in planting alignment trees and other types of plantations, namely plant supports and pots;
• Promoted the change in behaviours regarding the more efficient use of water for irrigation, in more than 35% of the farmers in the Chelas Horticultural Park;
• Strengthened partnerships through the replication of good practices of Lisbon, in new contexts, such as being in the city of Malaga and the transfer of knowledge with other municipalities in the AML and parish councils of Lisbon;
• Involved 6,210 employees, citizens and volunteers in 28 tree and shrub planting actions in various parts of the city;
• Educated and promote participatory and responsible citizenship with the creation of the ecostation in the Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles Urban Park and the continuation of the dissemination of seasonal messages of information and public awareness, in the Bela Vista Park and in the Monsanto Green Corridor, pamphlet with guidelines on sustainability of water consumption and agricultural practices in horticultural parks;
• Ensured the transfer and replication of good practices associated with reinforcement of green infrastructure with forest plantations in parks, alignment trees, biodiverse meadows and urban gardens, in association with the Malaga case study and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.

In practice, it has been possible to substantiate a catalogue of technical and intelligent solutions, applied to the cities of Lisbon and Malaga, designed with the objectives of strengthening the green structure, promoting water efficiency, valuing climate adaptation, inspiring education for sustainability and climate literacy and involving the entire community in a continuous and inclusive way.

Most of the results achieved already allow us to value the importance of the investment made in Lisbon and Malaga, in increasing nature-based solutions and its immediate, medium and long-term direct impact, aimed at the present population and future generations (report here).