What we are doing
We live in the urban century, and the evidence shows that globally we face unprecedented threats to nature and loss of biodiversity. This threatens our very survival, which depends on nature and natural systems. The decline of the natural world is recognized as a crisis even bigger than climate change. Cities operate and provide services at the local level, address problems on the ground and make tangible and practical contributions to protecting nature and the loss of natural systems. Cities are engines of innovation and can be the sources of innovative solutions to address the threats of biodiversity loss and climate change. The Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) endorsed the Plan of Action on Subnational Governments, Cities and Other Local Authorities in 2010. Integrating nature into local and subnational processes differs widely. Successful approaches include developing and implementing biodiversity strategies and action plans; integrating biodiversity considerations into land use and spatial plans providing legal protecting through identifying protected areas; increasing green opens spaces and corridors; using green and blue infrastructure solutions; and raising citizen awareness of nature’s value and benefits.
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