In all the content related…

In all the content related to climate change, natural heritage and 'greenspace', something is missing from this SEV. Why is there no direct reference to urban forests, nor to the important role of trees in the green infrastructure of cities? Numerous studies have shown that urban forests provide quantifiable benefits for cities, such as reduced heating and cooling costs, stormwater management, filtering out pollutants, habitat for wildlife...Further, urban forests reduce depression and anxiety, and generally make people happy.

The connection between urban forests and climate change (both mitigation and adaptation) should be mentioned in the SEV. Accordingly, any decisions regarding development should be forced to consider the impacts on urban forests. Expanding urban forests should also be a key priority of the SEV (i.e. developments must increase the area and/or connectivity of urban forests).