Urban trees count too in Uruguay’s REDD+ readiness preparations

Uruguay is taking an innovative approach to forest monitoring by developing a forest reference emission level (FREL) for urban tree cover, in parallel with its FREL for forests. The country is developing the urban FREL for trees located in cities with a population over 15,000 people. The methodology includes a combination of i-Tree tools for activity data, information from Uruguay’s national forest inventory, as well as urban tree inventories conducted in some cities across the country. 

In coordination with work on the urban FREL, the project is mapping the current extension of tree coverage in selected cities. The results of this mapping, together with information on permeable surfaces from the iTree Canopy work, will allow Uruguay to assess the potential to increase tree coverage in each city and to determine where the incorporation of new trees will have a larger impact. 

The FCPF has been supporting Uruguay’s REDD+ efforts since 2013, including work to prepare the country’s urban and forest FRELs. With technical support from the US Forest Service and the Universidad EIA of Colombia, the country has recently trained national REDD+ staff, as well as personnel from several Uruguayan municipalities on urban tree cover monitoring. 

This urban tree assessment in Uruguay is important considering the possible impact of climate change on cities and their inhabitants. Increased extreme precipitation could result in floods affecting urban infrastructure. Also, more heat waves could have a particular impact in cities and on urban citizens, due to the urban heat island effect (both of these possible climate change impacts are described in an educational video produced by Uruguay’s REDD+ project).

Increasing tree coverage can mitigate the effects of extreme precipitation and heat, as foliage provides shade and helps reduce runoff. Moreover, knowing the distribution of tree coverage in cities and combining it with current socioeconomic data will help direct efforts to maximize ecosystem benefits in areas with higher vulnerability.
 
At the end of this process, the REDD+ project in Uruguay will be able to provide information on the amount of tree carbon stocks that exist in urban areas, and assess the potential to increase stocks within cities. With the information resulting from the urban tree cover and FREL, decision makers will know the carbon stocks associated with their cities’ tree coverage and will be able to prepare strong and equitable adaptation strategies.