Ecosystem services (supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural) are central to human existence, yet they are increasingly threatened by human actions in the water, on the ground and in the air. Climate change now increases the pressures on these cornerstones of life, especially in densely populated human settlements where the natural environment is non-existent or highly degraded: cities. So how can we protect, restore and fund nature in cities while responding to the negative impacts of climate change?

Resource mobilisation, access to finance and increased investment in nature-based solutions are key issues in the negotiations towards the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The conversation on finance for nature within an African context will form part of ICLEI Africa’s LoCS4Africa 2020 virtual congress from 3-12 November 2020.

The Edinburgh Declaration for subnational governments, cities and local authorities on the Post-2020 global biodiversity framework, is now available to access and is open for signature by subnational and local governments and networks, supportive organisations and supportive national governments up to COP 15.

Save the date and join us on 5 November 2020 for the next monthly Post 2020 webinar in the local and subnational advocacy for nature series! You can register for the webinar by clicking on your preferred time below. You can watch all previous webinars on our YouTube channel.

The ‘Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services: An EU ecosystem assessment’ has recently been published by the EU Commission, and presents an ecosystem assessment covering the total land area of the EU as well as the EU marine regions.

Growing interest in tree-planting has highlighted the importance of effective planting that benefits both the environment and communities. Scientists have curated the top 7 misconceptions regarding tree-planting to aid future planting efforts.

The University of Freiburg and its department for wildlife published a manual for municipalities in the State of Baden-Württemberg titled “Wildlife management in urban areas”. The manual provides advice to municipal authorities as to how far they can manage wildlife in cities, organize a friendly coexistence between animals and humans and how far physical circumstances can influence animal behavior.

The analysis from the Global Commons Alliance’s Earth Commission aims to uncover ways to formulate a ‘safety net’ made up of various, interconnected and ambitious goals as it is necessary to tackle nature’s afflicting decline. The scientific basis of restructuring the new set of biodiversity goals is outlined in this analysis.