Urban Agriculture Projects: Case Studies In The Cities Of Windhoek, Namibia And Berlin, Germany

Abstract

The protection of biodiversity within cities is becoming more crucial by the increasing number of people living in urban areas. Within this study urban agriculture projects (UAP) are analysed according to their ability to face this challenge. It was uncertain if UAP exist in Windhoek, this study proofs that they do. This research was undertaken in two cities: Windhoek, Namibia and Berlin, Germany under special consideration of two main research questions: (1) Does UAP have the ability to maintain local crop diversity? And (2) Can UAP be the source of alien invasive species impacting the surrounding area? A combination of different methods was necessary to gain a holistic overview about the phenomena, including: Expert interviews, questionnaire survey, field work and desk study. The study furthermore points out that stakeholders motivation is the main variable influencing the management purpose and biodiversity in UAP. In Windhoek, the motivation is shaped by hard factors (income generation and food supply), while in UA is undertaken due to soft factors (social, ecological and political reasons) in Berlin. These factors are directly influencing the biodiversity within the gardens. In Windhoek crops are grown in order to sell them, consequently a lot of one of its kind is planted. In Berlin’s case studies ornamental plants are part of the gardens as well as crop plants which enriches the biodiversity to a great extent. The origin of seeds is also affected by the motivation and knowledge of the stakeholder: In Windhoek awareness of local species is lacking. In opposition to this the awareness is present and local varieties are every so often on focus in Berlin. Consequently a potential exists to conserve local varieties in Berlin, but not in Windhoek.