Potential of Urban Green Infrastructure for Climate Change Adaptation in Karongi Town, Rwanda

Abstract

Objective: This research aims at analyzing potential for green infrastructures to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Karongi city. Methods: This study used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) software for the multiple criteria decision-making method that was originally developed by Prof. Saaty, ArcGIS data and excel spreadsheet. Five main criteria (Geo-physical, accessibility, blue and green infrastructure, urban land, and Vegetation data), sixteen sub-criteria and climate factors were analyzed. The comprehensive literature review and observation on ground contributed to the selection of criteria. Each criterion was ranked by using scale (1-9). Sub-criteria weighting was performed by using pairwise comparison in AHP. Results: The results indicated that available green infrastructures did not fully facilitate city residents to enjoy their benefits. Additionally, 20 years ago, Karongi city faced a land use decrease in forested areas in favor of built-up space as well as variation in rainfall pattern. Accessibility to urban green infrastructure by urban communities was at a low level, and this was an indication of vulnerability to climate change. Conclusion: The multi-scale planning approach has an impressive contribution in ecological multi-scale connections between various ecological infrastructures offering the prospect of a more sustainable landscape for well-being, biodiversity and adaptability to climate change in Karongi city. Even though these issues may have more importance than a simple term, gathering them under the umbrella of a term like green infrastructure could accentuate their interconnections and dependence on each other, hence providing contribution to climate change adaptation.