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STAY IN THE LOOP

Keeping you up to date with interesting publications and news from our partners and network

 

 
Biodiversity Day 2021: cities and regions are part of the solution #ForNature
 
 

 

 

Cherishing the diversity of life is essential for our climate, health, sustainable livelihoods and food and water security. Biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can build back better, and cities and regions are vital players to help achieve this.

Celebrate the living world this Biodiversity Day: learn more, tell someone and tag and follow @UNBiodiversity on social media.
 
 
Restoring urban spaces, designing future proof cities – ICLEI’s UN Decade Launch Event
 

Join mayors and other urban leaders to envision cities full of life at this High-level Panel Event on 1 June hosted by ICLEI as part of the official launch programme of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

 
 
Share what your city is doing to reimagine, recreate and restore your ecosystems - World Environment Day and the launch of the UN Decade
 

Doing urban gardening, urban farming, tree planting, green corridors or nature-based solutions in your city? Share your actions on social media channels with the #GenerationRestoration and #WorldEnvironmentDay hashtags and be sure to mention @UNEP. It could be a picture of an ongoing ecosystem restoration activity or a quote from your mayor. UNEP’s graphic design team can help you create social media cards for your city - email them here (Catherine.Beltrandi@un.org) or here (Sophie.Loran@un.org). Planning your own event around World Environment Day?
 
U.S. government departments move on major nature campaign
 

President Joe Biden has stated that the USA should aim to conserve at least 30% of their lands and waters by 2030. The vision and principles for a ten-year, locally-led campaign to conserve and restore “America the Beautiful” are detailed in this new report. A group of more than 70 mayors are among the diverse alliance who have voiced their support.

 
 
 
 
Nature-based solutions can help cool the planet — if we act now
 

Leading scientists say that to limit global temperature rise, we must slash emissions and invest now to protect, manage and restore ecosystems and land for the future. An exciting new study shows how NBS affect global temperatures, rather than only how much carbon NBS can remove.
 
 
 
 
 
 
A neat way to explore nature-based solutions
 

This beautiful interactive tool not only shows different types of nature-based solutions and where they all fit in, but also provides handy fact sheets on each.
 
Nature 'more important than ever during lockdown'
 

Data have confirmed what many suspected: nature and green spaces have been a big comfort during lockdown. More than 40% of people in the United Kingdom say nature, wildlife and visiting local green spaces have been even more important to their wellbeing since the coronavirus restrictions began.
 
Singapore is building a ‘forest town' with abundant green spaces and underground roads'
 

Dubbed a ‘forest town’ thanks to its abundant green space including areas for community farming, Tengah will feature a 100-metre-wide ‘forest corridor’ that runs through the centre of the town. This will connect a nature reserve and a water catchment area, as well as providing safe passage for wildlife, and a recreational space for residents.
 
 
 
 
 
This is how nature can inspire us to create sustainable cities
 

Technological advances in computation and data analysis allow us to create digital simulations of the evolution of cities over centuries. These computational models draw on concepts from the natural world. The result is urban models based on variation instead of repetition.

 
This is your brain on trees: why is urban nature so good for our minds, and what happens when a pandemic isolates us from it?
 

Green space helps people feel less depressed and fatigued, and science is still exploring all the other ways it lifts our spirits. In a global crisis, we could all use more time in nature.

 
 
 
 
 
Africa's great green wall: can cities take it to new heights?
 

25 May 2021 | 13:00 - 15:00 CAT

This interactive session, part of RISE Africa 2021, will introduce the phenomenon known as The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel and investigate and explore the crucial role that cities can potentially play.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FEATURING OUR CITIES

We are proud to showcase the amazing work of our CitiesWithNature

 

 
Los Angeles becomes largest city in the USA to achieve citywide certification as a biodiversity haven
 

This certification by the USA’s National Wildlife Federation brings various benefits and is testament to the power of collective action by Angelenos, who registered 1078 residential yards, 34 schools and 140 "common areas" to help achieve this milestone.

 
To green or not to green - a documentary film about Barcelona
 

In this short documentary, the case of Barcelona is explored through the voices of those who are fighting for the right to neighborhoods that are both green and affordable.
 
 
 
Cape Town invests in a big way to secure water by clearing invasive alien plants
 

The City of Cape Town and The Nature Conservancy are working together to invest over 4 million US dollars to bolster efforts to clear thirsty invasive alien plants in the rugged mountains that feed the city’s important water supply dams.
 
Kochi inaugurates new pollinator and herbal garden in the heart of the city
 

The pollinator garden will provide a suitable food base for the native butterfly and moth species, which will help to enhance their population and support augmenting food production within the city.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

POST-2020

Keeping you up to date on key moments for biodiversity in the Post-2020 process

 

 
Post-2020 webinars
 

Where are we on the road to Kunming? Cities and regions can still rely on ICLEI’s monthly Post-2020 webinars to stay up to date about the unfolding participatory process ahead of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s major meeting later this year, COP 15. You can join our upcoming webinar - Rising to the restoration challenge: How cities and regions are preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems worldwide on 3 June 2021 - by registering at the link below.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Keeping you up to date with interesting publications and news from our partners and network

 

 
The health benefits of nature in cities
 

An innovative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that will make it easier for countries to measure the contributions of nature to their economic prosperity and well‑being was launched today by the United Nations and the Basque Centre for Climate Change.
 
 
GoGreenRoutes: A natural way to foster urban health and well-being
 

GoGreenRoutes is a €10.5m EU-funded project sowing the seeds for increased nature-connectedness across Europe, Latin America and China.
 
 
Are you building a collaborative city for the benefit of people and nature?
 

With a shared vision to promote transdisciplinary connections for the benefit of nature in cities, AIPH and TNOC encourage entries from cities that can demonstrate how they have integrated vocabulary, goals and values to build a city that is better for all people and nature.

 
New Policy and Planning Toolkit for Urban Green Justice
 

This report provides a library of 50 tools and policies used in many different contexts in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe to promote housing stability and affordability, while increasing the presence and accessibility of green public space in the urban fabric.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Have your say
Please share your stories of nature in your cities with us on this Google Form and stand a chance to be featured in the next CitiesWithNature Buzz.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The current global pandemic is calling us to increasingly connect online. CitiesWithNature, a first-of-its-kind initiative, is supporting an online community of practice and enabling learning and action around integrating nature in cities and reconnecting people with nature. We all need nature now, more than ever before. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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