Innovative urban forestry initiatives for
corporate fundingKarishmaa Pai
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +65 9298 8035
India/Singapore
Urban Forests in Mumbai
Borders the NW Western Ghats,
an ecological hotspot with
1,800 endemic and 325 globally
threatened species
1 National Park (Sanjay Gandhi):
faces threats from poaching,
fires, urban encroachment
related conflicts
Mumbai has less than 16%
green cover for a population that
is 20 million
Financing Urban Forests
Corporate Social
Responsibility
Tax deferralsConservation
easements
Carbon and water quality
credits / offsets
Green investments / endowments
Corporate lending
FSC / PEFC
Diversify investment
portfolio
Projects in the Pacific Northwest
Clackamas County – Urban Lumber Pilot Project
City + corporate + public + private
Cluster, street tree and highway plantation
High value tree species
Biomimicry for urban design
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and carbon capture
2 million board feet removed in Portland from urban areas yearly
Mark McPherson – Carbon Credits for Urban Forestry
Climate change resilient species
Roll urban carbon into large-scale forest carbon
Peri-urban and emerging city green belt + green pockets
1 tree can absorb 0.024 tonnes of CO² / year
1 x 40 yr. old tree can sequester 1 tonne of carbon
25.6 million tonnes of
carbon valued at
$2 billion is sequestered
(estimated) in US urban
forests
Poplar or P-family Fixing Plantation on Brownfields
Soil remediation
Low property value but high central value
Plan Vivo certification or credits on clusters of <1 acre
PEFC or FSC certification for larger forest areas or afforestation
Tualatin Clean Water Services – Riparian Planting
Thermal stream control and quality mitigation
Cost savings of $150 million (compared to refrigerator cooling)
Sanitary Sewer Dollars
Portland saves $58 million or 40% of traditional sewage repair costs / year
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Inspection andAdmin
Tree Maintenance Tree Planting
8
25
2
35
40
15
PER
CEN
TAG
E (%
)
Urban Forest Cost Breakdown
$4-6
$4-20
$0.5-4
Projects in the Pacific Northwest
Role of the Community
Volunteer and grassroots action Citizen science Community monitoring
Role of Trusts + Funds
Negotiation and land acquisition
Management and efficient distribution of CSR funds
Safeguarding and monitoring corporate investments
Design + Technology
Biomimicry e.g. tree vaults Architectural and landscape design Zoning Storm water filtration and recycling
Urban Forestry FeasibilityTools of Assessment
iTree
iNaturalist
USFS Carbon calculators
Carbon protocols e.g. ACR
LiDAR
Health benefit savings
Application to India For Profit Conservation
Long-term investment and sustainability for high-value
forestsForest Legacy Construction excise
tax
Demand-side
market
Native species
Priority or highly threatened areas (HCVFs)
Urban heat island
Carbon sequestration
Return on Investment (ROI)
Dust and storm water