Free seminar. Trees for life A tool for building up the Green infrastructure of Barcelona.

Wednesday 19 June 2019, Barcham Trees

The lecture at Barcham Seminar will deal with the two instruments that the city council of Barcelona has for planning the green infrastructure: Barcelona Green infrastructure and biodiversity plan 2020 and Trees for life, a master Plan for Barcelona Trees. 2017-2037
Since 2013 Barcelona has the Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan, the strategic tool aiming to define the challenges, goals and commitments of the Barcelona City Council in relation to the conservation of greenery and biodiversity.
It outlines long-term actions for achieving a green infrastructure capable of:

■ Creating benefits for people
■ Providing environmental and social services
■ Creating havens of life within the urban environment
■ Bringing nature into the city

■ Connecting and reuniting the city with the broader territory.
■ Making the city more fertile and resilient in the face of future challenges

Trees are the main piece of Barcelona’s green infrastructure. Trees in the urban environment are living organism that live with people and provide them with a physical and emotional connection to nature. The city’s trees make it possible to interconnect the city’s green areas. For many people, trees are de fragment of nature that they have closed to hand, a living neighbour who is present throughout their lives, contributing to a healthier and more habitable city.
The master plan for Barcelona’s Trees 2017-2037 places emphasis on rethinking intervention, criteria and processes of the trees City’s management with the aim of achieving a more sustainable management and maintenance which improve the living conditions for Barcelona’s trees population and it is ordered in 10 strategic lines:

■ Tree heritage and biodiversity. Conserving the tree population, making it more sustainable and turning it into a bio diverse habitat
■ Knowledge. Increasing knowledge about trees and their values and services
■ Communication and participation. Inform the general public about the services and disservices provided by trees, encouraging them to participate in their conservation
■ Planning and connectivity. Planning the trees population as a more powerful, more interconnected green infrastructure which can provide more services
Preservation and protection. Preserving the tree population and its heritage and identity values, ensuring its protection
■ Tree health. Caring for the health of the trees, considering biodiversity and the general public
■ Plant material and planting. Working towards a good supply and appropriate planting of trees
■ The soil. Providing trees with a greater volume and higher quality of soils, developing strategies that make urban surfaces more permeable.
■ The water. The sustainable management of irrigation water, while obtaining maximum services.