Latin America and the Caribbean:
- The number of cities in the region has grown six-fold in the past 50 years.
- Urban sprawl caused by housing for low-income residents often occurs in important areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services, such as wetland or floodplains. These are mistakenly considered to be of marginal value by planners.
Europe and North America:
- In Europe, the current urbanization level is 70-80 percent, and urban growth in recent decades has mostly been in the form of land expansion rather than population growth.
- Many European and North American cities have exhibited trends of shrinking and/or shifting patterns of population in central parts of the cities, coupled with sprawl in outer suburbs and exurban areas.
The Cities and Biodiversity Outlook demonstrates how urban areas can play a central role in achieving 20 key biodiversity goals (known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets) which were agreed upon in 2010 by parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
For example, the restoration or ‘greening’ of ex-industrial sites or brownfield land by city authorities can support efforts to achieve Aichi Target 15, whereby 15 percent of degraded ecosystems are restored by 2020.
Cities can also help prevent extinction of known species (Aichi Target 12) through research and investment by zoos, aquaria and museums, many of which are managed by city authorities.
The Cities and Biodiversity Outlook was produced by the Secretariat of the CBD in partnership with the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) and Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI). The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity operates under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Source: CBD.
