Integrating artificial urban wetlands into communities : a pathway to carbon zero?
Rogerson, Robert J. and Horgan, Donagh and Roberts, Jennifer J. (2021) Integrating artificial urban wetlands into communities : a pathway to carbon zero? Frontiers in Built Environment, 7. 777383. ISSN 2297-3362 (https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2021.777383)
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Abstract
In their natural state, wetland ecosystems provide an optimum natural environment for the sequestration and long-term storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The loss of wetlands under advancing urbanization not only diminishes this capacity for storage, but increases methane and greenhouse gases as the land is disturbed. Nevertheless, there is growing scientific interest in using artificial or constructed wetlands as a way to mitigate the impact of global climate change, with most attention on their use for water management. Using a potential integrated urban wetland site in Glasgow as a case study, this paper critically examines how artificial urban wetlands can contribute to urban net zero targets in terms of their ability for carbon sequestration, and as part of sustainability initiatives more broadly. We find there are several barriers to implementing artificial urban wetlands for carbon drawdown alone, in particular regarding land ownership constraints, uncertainties in capture efficacy and capture quantitation, and eligibility for market-based crediting schemes. These issues make it currently challenging for the carbon reduction contribution of urban wetlands to be quantified and, say, certified to generate revenue to communities through market-based carbon crediting. However, if integrated within wider community-based sustainability initiatives, artificial urban wetlands can support multiple dimensions of sustainability, creating or supporting value far beyond water management and carbon sequestration objectives. Potential co-benefits range from areas such as health and wellbeing, biodiversity, education, food security, behavioural changes and social care. Our findings show that for these co-benefits to be identified, maximised and realised, a place-based approach to urban wetland development must be adopted, engaging stakeholders from the project outset to define and facilitate collaboration towards shared outcomes for society, community and environment. These findings will be relevant to any urban infrastructure development seeking to meet sustainability goals beyond carbon capture.
ORCID iDs
Rogerson, Robert J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6943-9263, Horgan, Donagh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0979-4743 and Roberts, Jennifer J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4505-8524;-
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Item type: Article ID code: 78591 Dates: DateEvent9 December 2021Published16 November 2021AcceptedSubjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > Environmental Sciences Department: ?? 15314 ??
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Social Work and Social Policy > Social Work and Social Policy
Strathclyde Business School > Work, Organisation and Employment
Faculty of Engineering > Civil and Environmental EngineeringDepositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 16 Nov 2021 15:26 Last modified: 11 Nov 2024 13:18 URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/78591