Rapid urbanisation and globalisation are bringing increasingly complex issues to the forefront. Improper planning of human activities and over exploitation of the surrounding natural resources has successfully damaged the biodiversity and the natural processes. Today humanity is at a stage where these ecosystem services are essential for our existence but the resources have been exploited beyond their capacity. In addition, climate change adds additional long-term threats due to erratic weather patterns and extreme natural events. Coastal Lagoons are one such geographical feature where such complexities are very visible. Given the high fertility of the surrounding land and the biodiversity hosted by the lagoons, they are rich resource banks for settlements to thrive on. This has led to issues like water pollution, loss of biodiversity and urban encroachment. Despite protection from the international communities like the Ramsar Convention, most wetlands are degrading everyday. The need of the hour is to find innovative middle ground solutions, where the services can be availed without degrading the environment. Further, to plan these services in a way that they are instrumental in reviving and enriching the lost ecosystem. This project attempts to present on such design and strategy for the Muni-Pomadze Lagoon (MPL) in Ghana. Considering the complexity of the issues, the project chose a interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to produce a holistic solution for the site. Further, it uses the principles of Nature-Based Design and 4-P framework (People, Planet, Prosperity and Project) to guide and reflect on the design. (van Dorst & Duijvestein 2004) This report attempts to contribute to the research on interdisciplinary design processes. Further, it aims to be a starting point and guideline for the Forestry Commission and Municipal body of Winneba, for better conservation of the Muni Lagoon. ... Read more

Wetlands are the most important ecosystems on Earth, which can be found in many parts of the world. However, demand for food and economic development in the last century had driven many wetlands in the world being completely drained for cultivation and to the extent that no longer retain any natural wetland characteristics such as the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) in the United States. The ongoing drainage results in large amounts of peat soil loss and following the decrease of crop production, which has brought the sunset to the agriculture in the EAA. At the same time, it is urgent in South Florida to stop the damaging discharges to the coastal estuaries, to restore the flow of clean water to the Everglades preservation area and to guarantee the freshwater supply in the whole region, which also requires the transformation of the EAA.
This thesis develops an integrated approach for returning the Everglades agricultural lands to nature in order to recover the lost ecological assets in South Florida while balancing the economic value and improving spatial quality. Water is conveyed from lake Okeechobee and adjacent agricultural lands into the restoration area to be retained and purified through bioremediation process. The purified water will be further recharged into the aquifer and restored as sheet flow into the southern Everglades. Raising the water level and connecting with the local topography create conditions for the natural occurrences. The typical landscape of subtleties varies by the centimetre of water level change is brought back and becomes a space for people to seek experience and to engage themselves with the restored natural rhythms, changing over time. This project demonstrates its potential to be expanded and replicated across a variety of agricultural contexts. It is crucial to balance the ecological and economic value, design through different scales, and include a spatial and experiential dimension during the transformation. ... Read more