Page 49 - IJES Special Issues for AIEC2016

International Journal of Environment and Sustainability, 2016, 5(1): 35-45 39

- Ecosystem services (use of natural capital for carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame (IPCC
hazard alleviation) report), but it is present in much smaller
concentrations so that its total direct radiative
- Reforestation zones effect is smaller, in part due to its shorter
atmospheric lifetime. On the other hand, in
- Green bridges and green roofs addition to its direct radiative impact, methane
has a large, indirect radiative effect because it
- Green urban areas contributes to ozone formation. Shindell, (2005)
argues that the contribution to climate change
- Fish migration channels from methane is at least double previous
estimates as a result of this effect (NASA, 2007).
- Floodplain restoration and flood-retention
facilities as well as natural areas When ranked by their direct contribution to the
greenhouse effect, the most important are:
- High-value farmland and forest areas, which
demonstrate the advantages of nature-based Table 1
solutions to purely technical ones
showing ranking of greenhouse gas contri-
- Innovative planning approaches for intelli- bution to climate change (source, Kiehl and
gent, multi-purpose land use. Trenberth, 1997)

Advantages of GI Compound Formula Contribution
(%)
The impacts of climate change and extreme Water vapour and clouds H2O 36–72%
weather events can affect anyone, but people Carbon dioxide CO2 9–26%
living in certain types of neighbourhoods have Methane CH4 4–9%
the potential for more serious harm. Neigh- Ozone O3 3–7%
bourhoods that are more built up than others
are more likely to be associated with higher Figure 5: GHG generation (Source:
temperatures, especially during heat waves Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
(CCRA, 2012). They can also be associated with
higher rates of runoff from extreme rainfall, Fourth Assessment Report, 2007)
although this is also affected by other factors
such as drainage infrastructure and topographic In addition to the main greenhouse gases listed
characteristics (Houston et al., 2011). Green above, other greenhouse gases include sulphur
infrastructure is a tool to maintain the benefits
and services that the ecosystems provide. Green
infrastructure promotes multifunctional, con-
nected green spaces and the landscape
profession has a key role to play in delivering
climate change policy objectives, tackling harm-
ful emissions, and creating sustainable places
(Landscape Institute, 2015). Landscape
profession refers to people who specialize in
lawn care, landscape design and installation,
landscape maintenance, tree care, irrigation and
water management, and interior plantscaping
(NALP, 2015).

GHGs: - The contribution of each gas to the
greenhouse effect is affected by the charac-
teristics of that gas, its abundance, and any
indirect effects it may cause. For example, the
direct radiative effect of a mass of methane is
about 72 times stronger than the same mass of

Science Target Inc. www.sciencetarget.com