Melbourne’s Urban Forest Strategy seeks to provide a robust, strategic framework for the evolution and longevity of Melbourne’s urban forest.
The City of Melbourne is facing the significant challenges of climate change, population growth and urban heating, placing pressure on the built fabric, services and people of the city. A healthy urban forest will play a critical role in maintaining the health and liveability of Melbourne.
The City of Melbourne’s Urban Forest Strategy seeks to manage this change and protect against future vulnerability.
The strategy aims to:
• Adapt the city to climate change
• Mitigate the urban heat island effect by bringing down inner-city temperatures
• Create healthier ecosystems
• Become a water-sensitive city
• Engage and involve the community.
Melbourne will achieve this by:
• Increasing canopy cover from 22 per cent to 40 per cent by 2040
• Increasing forest diversity with no more than five per cent of one tree species, no more than 10 per cent of one genus, and no more than 20 per cent of any one family
• Improving vegetation health
• Improving soil moisture
• Improving biodiversity, and
• Informing and consulting with the community.
There’s more information and detail available at melbourne.vic.gov.au.
