UPAURBAN PROTECTEDAREAS NETWORK

Further information :www.upa-network.org

Site Coordinators:Nairobi: Bernard Calas – IFRA-Nairobi - fracasses@wanadoo.fr

Mumbai: Frédéric Landy – Université Paris Nanterrefrederic_landy@orange.fr

Cape Town: Estienne Rodary – IRD/IFAS - estienne.rodary@ird.frRio de Janeiro: Louise Bruno – Institut Libertas - louise.bruno@yahoo.fr

Scientific Partners :

Urban National Parks

In Emerging Countries & Cities

unpecA research program supported by

Increasingly urbanized landscapes put growing pressure on the natural systems they transform: higher concentrations of people demand more land, water and opportunity than smaller populations. Yet to meet the needs of human communities, the natural systems they depend upon must be preserved. One common and effective strategy for this is to protect areas; but in urban settings, this can turn out to be particularly complex.

Over a four-year period (2012-2015), UNPEC will conduct an interdisciplinary program of applied research on Cape Town, Mumbai, Nairobi and Rio and their respective Urban National Parks. In such settings, the interdependence between people and nature may seem to be obvious – but often, it appears City and Park management are undertaken as though they were separate activities. UNPEC will work to understand the implications and consequences of decoupled dynamics.

For Protected Area Managers and Urban Institutions: UNPEC and the Urban Protected Area (UPA) Network offer an independent perspective on the interaction between each City and its adjacent National Park. The comparative dimension of this work will also afford several opportunities to interact directly with your counterparts from other Urban Protected Areas, as part of our ongoing interactive discussion about the specificities of managing nature in and for the benefit of urban settings.

For Researchers: UNPEC and the UPA Network offer fertile ground for empirical and theoretical work on the representations of nature in the city by different stakeholders, on spatial and social segmentation, on the economic benefits ecosystem services, on environmental risk abatement through ecosystem-based land management, circulation of global models, multi-scale interactions, etc.

Why UNPEC?

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SANJAy GANdhI NATIoNAl PARk - MUMbAI, INdIA

Sometimes expanding to subsume neighboring communities, at other times yielding to over 200,000 slum-dwellers living within its territory, the SGNP is a densely-forested protected area embedded in the fast-growing metropolitan area of Mumbai (pop. ~20 million). A recent High Court ruling ordered the eviction of all informal residents from park land — an event with multiple unintended consequences for people and ecosystems alike. Increasing human-leopard conflicts, an ageing tourist infrastructure, contradictory visions over the future of adivasi (tribal) settlements in the park, imbalanced predator-prey relationships, urban flood-mitigation potential and the overriding question of how the poor can realise their “right to the city” in the world’s densest metropolis – all contribute to an exceedingly complex social-ecological system.

NAIRobI NATIoNAl PARk - NAIRobI, kENyASituated 7 km from central Nairobi, this protected area marks the northern limit of seasonal wildlife migration from some 2000 km² of semi-arid savanna. Along the park’s northern and eastern boundaries, an electric fence separates the urban and industrial growth of the capital city from the formally protected area within. To its south, the park remains unfenced, allowing free movement of wildlife into the broader ecosystem. However, as Nairobi continues to grow, land around NNP is increasingly coveted for uses incompatible with conservation. Early pressure was concentrated on the park’s urban-facing boundaries, but recent years have seen increased activity in the southern plains – historical home of Maasai pastoralists. Owing to a shared need for open spaces, the future of their traditional practices is deeply tied to the viability of this migratory corridor for wildlife.

TAblE MoUNTAIN NATIoNAl PARk - CAPE TowN, SoUTh AFRICAJust as urban Cape Town continues to expand, its emblematic national park also continues to acquire new land. Informal settlements and wealthy communities increasingly exert pressure on City and Park alike. Though largely unfenced, several important cross-border flows into this protected area structure its interaction with the city: TMNP is a major driver of the local tourist economy, yet City authorities explicitly covet the direct revenue it generates; meanwhile, in spite of disputes over management of human-baboon conflict predominates an otherwise robust and unique mechanism for bilateral management.

TIJUCA NATIoNAl PARk - RIo dE JANEIRo, bRAzIlTijuca National Park, with the statue of Christ as symbol of Rio de Janeiro, is both the smallest and most visited in Brazil. Beyond its contributions to the local tourist economy, this protected area also ensures the balance of the local climate, while providing them with spaces for recreation, cultural and spiritual expression. On the park’s boundaries, however, expanding slums and wealthy communities exert direct pressure on the forest’s ecological integrity, while persistent urban violence threatens its recreational potential. Given these deep interdependencies, municipal officials and park managers work on reducing urban impacts on the forest while still promoting a social-environmental balance along their boundaries through collaborative management.

UNPEC: A Learning PartnershipIn close collaboration with local park and city managers, interdisciplinary teams of researchers will undertake three waves of fieldwork in each site, punctuated by three international meetings:

Rio de Janeiro –2012 // Cape Town – 2013 // Paris – 2014

CRoSS-CUTTING ThEMATIC AREAS

The Emergence A defining characteristic of emerging economies is the sharpening of so-cial and spatial contrasts that arise from evolving lifestyles and economic and cultural disparities. Cities are the vanguard of this transformation, which inevitably yet unevenly reshapes the relationship of urban people with urban nature. With special attention to the linkages between local, national and global scales, UNPEC aims to understand and articulate the implications of “emerging city” models and discourse across the socioeco-nomic spectrum.boundaries & FlowsThough each of these protected areas most often exhibits clearly demar-cated boundaries, multiple flows across these lines (wildlife, water, reve-nue, people, etc.) mark a deep interdependence with their respective urban hosts. UNPEC will characterize the nature, perceptions and consequences of these flows. Urban Solutions / Natural SolutionsJust as protected areas can support the ecosystem services essential to meet the needs of cities, the actions of urban people and institutions shape the management of these protected areas. UNPEC will explore the nature of these dynamics. Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA)Climate change has direct consequences both for the health of natural systems and the well-being of urban people. UNPEC studies the role of protected areas in local adaptation and urban resilience.

* The maps on this page illustrate the four protected areas at identical scale – though totally removed from their urban contexts. An important aim of UNPEC will be to contextualize these spaces as intrinsic components of the cities that have grown in their midst.

In Emerging Countries & Cities

Nairobi National park Tijuca National park

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