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SEPTEMBER 2021

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

STAY IN THE LOOP

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

 

 
 
 

How can we adapt our cities to combat worsening heatwaves?
 

Heatwaves are set to increase in frequency, intensity and duration – but what does it mean for the world’s cities and how can they adapt to the change? The heat is on – by 2050, there are expected to be 970 cities, home to 1.6 billion people, with summer temperature highs above 35°C.
 
 
Ecomimicry: a nature-inspired approach to urban design 
 

“Blandscaping” is creating uniform green spaces, rather than more rich and diverse habitats. These areas often use the same materials across the world and have very similar management strategies. In contrast, “ecomimicry” looks to integrate the ecological functionality of the natural world into urban green spaces.
 
 
 
 
Indian wetlands internationally recognized
 

Four more wetlands in India have been recognised as wetlands of global importance under the Ramsar Convention, including the Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary near the city of Ahmedabad.

 

In recent years, Ramsar has also awarded the status of “Wetland City” for the conservation and wise use of urban and peri-urban wetlands. So far, 18 cities in China, France, Hungary, South Korea, Madagascar and Sri Lanka have achieved this distinction. Read more about the wetland accreditation scheme here. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Freetown the tree town
 

Sierra Leone’s capital is planting 2 million trees to combat landslides and enhance climate resilience. Community-based growers use the TreeTracker mobile app to monitor trees and receive mobile money micropayments for their efforts.
 
 
 
 
 
 
How urban gardens can boost biodiversity and make cities more sustainable
 

Much of the green in cities is in private gardens. How can people best plant their gardens to bolster biodiversity and increase resilience?
 
 
New online learning platform for African cities
 

Learn with ICLEI Africa is a platform for urban leaders and officials, researchers, development organizations and anyone with an interest in sustainable development to access a variety of learning experiences related to sustainability and resilience in African cities.
 
 
Learning to plan with nature for cities - virtually!
 

How can you plan with nature to enhance service delivery in your city? The Urban Natural Assets (UNA) project is equipping their project cities with the latest insights by launching this comprehensive online course starting Friday 3 September on the new Learn With ICLEI Africa platform. The course is taught by an ICLEI Africa facilitator, taking place over 11 weekly modules with a certificate awarded on completion. Register your interest for the next round below, which will be open to the public.
 
 
Urban nature pioneers in China
 

Cities such as Beijing, Kunming and Ningbo are collaborating with the UrbanByNature programme of CLEVER Cities and Connecting Nature to share good practices and enhance capacity for nature-based solutions through better stakeholder engagement, technical implementation and monitoring.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FEATURING OUR CITIES

We are proud to showcase the amazing work of our CitiesWithNature

 

 
Foliage is fashionable again in Medellín
 

“There’s no building that’s been designed by an architect that can’t be improved by planting a tree in front of it.” Leading architects in Colombia’s second-largest city are creating lush buildings that link to local parks.
 
 
 
New wildlife highway in Port Phillip, Melbourne
 

Native trees, shrubs and flowers along a new wildlife corridor in Melbourne are bringing back indigenous birds and bats, while high school students use the corridor as an outdoor classroom.
 
 
 
 
New policy and planning toolkit for urban green justice from Barcelona
 

How to provide affordable housing while ensuring that new green spaces enhance equity and benefit rather than displace local residents? A new policy and planning toolkit for municipal planners tackles this question, with insights from the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability, ICLEI and partners.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

POST-2020

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

 

 
IUCN Local Action Summit in September
 

During the IUCN World Conservation Congress various events will focus on Nature-based Solutions. On September 3, the IUCN Local Action Summit will host an interactive session on scaling up NbS, featuring CitiesWithNature. The groundwork for this summit was laid by four expert webinars.
 
 
 
2030 biodiversity goals should boost sustainable production and consumption
 

A new WWF report calls on parties to the CBD to adopt a milestone to halve the footprint of consumption and production by 2030 in order to safeguard the living world and human prosperity. It also finds that a nature-positive stimulus could create 39 million nature-positive jobs by reallocating current subsidies that harm nature.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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

 

 
Add your voice to the Cities4Forests call to action
 

Cities4Forests invites you to participate in the "Call to Action on Forests and Climate". Nearly forty mayors from around the world have already signed this declaration to advocate for national governments, businesses, and financial institutions to increase their support for the conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of forests. The declaration will be unveiled at a virtual event at Climate Week NYC in September 2021. City officials from all cities are welcome to sign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Take a walk in the park

“A Walk in the Park with Gil” is a series of free, bi-weekly webinars where Gil Peñalosa of 8 80 Cities and World Urban Parks invites knowledgeable guests to share fascinating stories and successful cases of urban parks, followed by a provocative and inspiring dialogue.

 
 
 
The Nature Conservancy helps Melbourne to flourish internationally

Resilient Melbourne in partnership with The Nature Conservancy have developed “Living Melbourne: our metropolitan urban forest” – a bold new strategy for a greener, more liveable Melbourne.

 
 
 
 
Smart, sustainable and resilient cities: the power of nature-based solutions

Nature-based solutions can help cities address urgent environmental challenges. Explore their transformational potential and best practices from around the world in this new UNEP-G20 report.
 
 
 
Urban Green Space Essential for Children's Development
 

Green spaces have numerous benefits for children's health and development. A new report from UNICEF recommends empowering communities to claim and maintain their local green spaces, securing government support to improve and create green space in cities, and prioritizing schools and child care centres for greening.

 
 
 

AIPH World Green City Awards 2022
 

These awards are recognising cities that are taking bold action for urban nature.
 
 
 
 
Urban Innovation Is Essential to Reach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
 

The Guangzhou Award report suggests ways to support and accelerate city-level innovation needed to reach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.
 
 
 
Municipal Governance for Nature-based Solutions
 

The Municipal Governance Guidelines explore a range of governance-related barriers inhibiting the effective integration of nature-based solutions in cities, and highlight a range of actions that can be taken to help overcome these barriers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HAVE YOUR SAY

We want to hear from you!
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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