Innovative urban forestry initiatives for

corporate funding

Karishmaa PaiEmail:

karishmaapai@gmail.comPhone: +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 NorthwestClackamas 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

Inspection and Admin Tree Maintenance Tree Planting0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8

25

2

35

40

15

Urban Forest Cost Breakdown

Perc

enta

ge (%

)

$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