The inequity of distribution of urban forest and ecosystem services in Cali, Colombia

Little is known about urban forest planning, management and its benefits in emerging countries. The uneven distribution of tree canopy cover and parks in urban area is related to environmental justice, especially with disadvantaged socio-economic and marginated communities. However, the inequity of urban forest in many cities of emerging countries where often found irregular and unregulated land use patterns and social and socio-economic inequities, is hardly highlighted. This study explores the inequity of distribution of tree canopy cover and public park in Cali, Colombia. Utilizing the traditional socio-economic indices, the stratification, linear regression analysis is conducted to describe relationship between total tree canopy cover, tree canopy cover of various land use types, number of parks and park area per capita. The result demonstrates that lower income communities have lower tree canopy cover, fewer parks and smaller park area than higher income communities. This paper discusses importance of accounting for urban forests and ecosystem service in city planning efforts and better strategies of reducing inequity in emerging countries. Addressing the inequity of urban forest could be a better strategy to create resilient, sustainable, safe and livable cities in emerging countries.