International Day for Biological Diversity: Be part of the Plan

Planet Earth – our shared home – is teetering on the brink of a sixth wave of extinction. As our world rapidly urbanizes, addressing the growing human footprint and swift ecosystem degradation has never been more critical.

In 2022, the world came together to adopt the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), setting goals and concrete measures to live in harmony with nature by 2050. Nature and its ecosystems are the lifeblood of human existence, powering the global economy and sustaining our way of life. But the significance of these ecosystems transcends mere economic metrics. Protecting nature and ensuring quality urbanization can prevent the collapse of human settlements that depend on these services, thus securing the well-being of both people and the planet.

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A commitment to biodiverse urban development

UN-Habitat is at the forefront of promoting sustainable urban strategies that prioritize urban biodiversity protection and monitoring. While unplanned urbanization poses a severe threat to environmental sustainability, well-managed urbanization offers solution through enhanced environmental value, energy innovation, sustainable settlement patterns, and improved health and well-being.

In 2023, the United Nations Habitat Assembly adopted the first resolution on biodiverse and resilient cities, signalling a crucial shift toward biodiversity-conscious urbanization. UN-Habitat endeavours to facilitate environmentally respectful urbanization and foster biodiversity preservation and restoration in its work.

In practice

In Morondava, Madagascar, for instance, UN-Habitat’s integrated approach to city-level infrastructure projects has allowed for the rehabilitation of mangroves, providing natural infrastructure sheltering the city against the impacts of extreme weather events such as Tropical Storm Cheneso in 2023. In Costa Rica, a project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) collaborates with the government to pilot a methodology providing local governments with information to predict, model and plan urban expansion that gives priority to biodiversity preservation. And in Kenya, the Go Blue project – a collaboration between UN-Habitat and UNEP funded by the European Union with support from the Government of Kenya – aims to advance the Blue Economy in coastal counties, including the management of marine protected areas to safeguard biodiversity hotspots in the Western Indian Ocean.

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These community-level interventions help enhance urban resilience, safeguard vulnerable populations, and strengthen biodiversity in human settlements while ensuring that conservation benefits local communities, notably through the provision of sustainable income opportunities.

Nature-based solutions and urban resilience

Biodiverse ecosystems mean that the impacts of climate change on biodiversity vary across regions. Recognizing the connections between nature and climate and implementing nature-based solutions is essential for building a more resilient urban future. Climate resilience demands collective efforts from governments, communities, and businesses to drive climate action at both local and global levels.

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Beyond restoration efforts, pro-biodiversity interventions in cities must incorporate direct nature-based solutions and land-sparing measures to protect natural habitats. Scaling up nature-based projects, equipping authorities with foresight and strategic decision-making tools, and accelerating proactive financing can position cities at the forefront of biodiversity and climate resilience, aligning with the ambitious targets set by the GBF.

In 2024, the International Day for Biological Diversity calls for everyone to be ‘part of the plan’. Co-hosted by UN-Habitat, the Innovate4Cities Conference, taking place in September 2024 in Montreal, will provide such an opportunity, with biodiversity and resilience at its core.

 

NOTE – This article was originally published in unhabitat and can be viewed here

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