This article originally appeared on ICLEI USA’s website.

The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), through its Green City initiative, and ICLEI, through its Cities Biodiversity Center (CBC), announce a global partnership to collaborate on the CitiesWithNature partnership initiative, ahead of International Biodiversity Day on Friday 22 May.

Biodiversity is essential for sustainable development and human wellbeing; this is the message from the United Nations ahead of International Biodiversity Day on Friday. The theme this year is “our solutions are in nature,” which could not be more pertinent at this time, when our cities face many challenges.

AIPH leads global thinking on the successful integration of nature into the built environment. Through its Green City programme, it initiates projects and activities that create an awareness of the power of plants in contributing practical and economically sound solutions to many of the problems that our cities face. Our environment, human wellbeing, social cohesion, and economies are all improved by intelligently designed green space.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is an international organisation of over 1750 local and subnational governments dedicated to sustainability. ICLEI CBC acts globally on biodiversity and nature on behalf of ICLEI, and is secretariat of the CitiesWithNature partnership initiative, on behalf of the founding partners: ICLEI, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the growing network of supporting partners. CitiesWithNature provides a shared global platform for cities, researchers, practitioners, partners, and urban communities to connect, learn, share, act, and inspire each other to strengthen collective action in mainstreaming nature into our cities and surrounding regions. It enables the global celebration, enhancement, and protection of nature for the benefit and overall wellbeing of cities and people in cities.

This partnership aligns the common goals of the two organisations towards promoting sustainable urban development.

Chair of the AIPH Green City Committee, Bill Hardy, says: “Our partnership with CitiesWithNature enhances the capacity of AIPH to influence practice, and change the way our cities look and function.”

AIPH Technical Advisor, Dr Audrey Gerber, adds: “This partnership reinforces our serious green ambitions. Through joint activities, research, and shared resources, facilitated by this partnership, we will seek to inspire people worldwide — organisations, city councils, communities, and government administrations  —  to reignite our relationship with nature  and reap the benefits.”

For more information about the Green City programme, please visit AIPH website.

Ms. Kobie Brand, Global Director of ICLEI’s CBC, says: “We are thrilled to partner with the world’s champion for the power of plants. Plants are an important component of the biodiversity on which we critically depend, especially in our increasingly urban lives. Our cities are places where people and nature can thrive in harmony. On International Biodiversity Day and beyond, we are jointly committed to building CitiesWithNature.”

Mr Timothy Blatch, Global Coordinator of CitiesWithNature adds: “Our collaboration is exciting and timeous, and we welcome AIPH to the growing global network of partners dedicated to mainstreaming nature in all aspects of life. We are united in our vision as we embark on the journey to reconnect people with nature. The solutions to the challenges our cities face are in nature, as we shape a collective urban future that is greener and healthier.”

For more information about the CitiesWithNature Partnership Initiative, please visit the online platform.

For further details contact:

Dr Audrey Gerber, PhD MCIHort, AIPH Technical Advisor

Email: audrey.gerber@aiph.org

Rachel Wakefield, AIPH Communications Executive

Email: rachel.wakefield@aiph.org

Phone: +44 (0) 1235 776 160

Website: www.aiph.org

Follow AIPH on:

LinkedIn #AIPH

Facebook: @theAIPH

Twitter @AIPHglobal

For further details contact:

Mr Timothy Blatch, Global Coordinator: CitiesWithNature, ICLEI CBC

Email: timothyblatch@iclei.org

Michelle Preen, Senior Manager: Communications, ICLEI CBC

Email: michelle.preen@iclei.org

Website: www.cbc.iclei.org

Website: www.citieswithnature.org

Follow CitiesWithNature on:

Twitter @CitiesWNature

Notes for Editors:

International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH)

Since 1948, AIPH has united horticultural producers in an international community that thrives to this day. Much has changed in that time. Technologies advanced, cities rose from the ground, and we have become more connected than ever. As a result, our essential bond with nature has been weakened. AIPH strives to reignite and uphold an appreciation of plants that we believe is a basic human instinct. We support the work of grower associations globally and together we champion a prosperous industry, growing plants that enhance lives, advance societies, and sustain our planet, for this generation and the next.

Through the Green City initiative, we aim to develop an international standard for green cities as well as being a focal point for green city best practice and a source of expertise.  Through world activities, research and marketing, and shared resources, we seek to inspire people, organisations, city councils and government administrations to join this challenging movement and reap the benefits.

ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center (CBC)

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 1,750 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 100+ countries, we influence sustainability policy and drive local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development. Our Members and team of experts work together through peer exchange, partnerships and capacity building to create systemic change for urban sustainability. ICLEI’s CBC is located in Cape Town, South Africa, embedded in the Africa Regional Office of ICLEI. We offer cities a broad portfolio of supportive services through our dedicated team of passionate, skilled and dynamic biodiversity and urban development experts.

Through our ICLEI CBC programmes and initiatives we seek local solutions and promote innovation to address the complex issues surrounding natural capital and the degradation of ecosystem services in a rapidly urbanizing world. The CBC recognizes the crucial role that cities and local governments play in the pursuit of a greener existence through efficiently integrating urban development and biodiversity management at the local level.

As we celebrate the International Day for Biodiversity (22 May) and World Environment Day (5 June) this year, the COVID-19 pandemic provides a sobering opportunity to reflect on our relationship with nature. Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal and ICLEI Global Ambassador for Local Biodiversity, has penned a compelling letter, calling on mayors and leaders of local and subnational governments from around the world to jointly take action to halt and reverse the trends of biodiversity loss, especially as they develop their post-COVID-19 recovery plans. She outlines numerous ways that leaders can take strong, decisive action to create healthy, vibrant cities, where people and nature can thrive.

Read Mayor Plante’s letter below:

“As mayors and leaders of local and subnational governments, we have a unique opportunity and an important responsibility to protect our biodiversity and ecosystems in ways that will restore humanity’s relationship with nature, especially as we develop our post-COVID-19 recovery plans. Together, let’s take strong action to create healthy, vibrant cities, where people and nature can thrive.”

~ Mayor Valérie Plante of the City of Montréal & ICLEI’s Global Ambassador for Local Biodiversity

By Timothy Blatch, CitiesWithNature Program Coordinator

Locations: Los Angeles, Montreal, Melbourne, London, and Durban

In the time of COVID-19, cities are on the frontlines of response efforts. While the pandemic has shone a spotlight on our healthcare systems and our socio-economic disparities, it has also brought our relationship with nature to the fore. The links between ecosystem stability, the natural environment, and human health have never been clearer. According to UNEPP (2020), it is precisely because of the interconnected nature of all life on this planet, that an ambitious post-2020 biodiversity framework matters greatly, and why nature needs to take center stage in our efforts to “build back better” in the coming days.

Inger Anderson, Chief of UN Environment put it well when she said, “Humanity’s expansion on the terrestrial earth surface means that, today, human activity has altered almost 75 per cent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet. And yet, nature is critical to our own survival: nature provides us with our oxygen, regulates our weather patterns, pollinates our crops and produces our food, feed and fibre, but it is under increasing stress.”

Anderson goes on to say that “we need to take on board the environmental signals and what they mean for our future and wellbeing, because COVID-19 is by no means a ‘silver lining’ for the environment. Visible, positive impacts are but temporary, because they come on the back of tragic economic slowdown and human distress.” In her First Person Editorial Ms. Andersen calls instead for a profound, systemic shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.

As almost half of humankind have lesser or even no options to connect with nature in these trying times, many are realising anew just how essential our connection with nature is for own health and wellbeing, and how we long for it once we are separated from it. We all need nature, even more so in these unprecedented times where the fast-changing daily dynamics of COVID-19 are consuming and fundamentally altering our lives.

“Urban parks and green open spaces provide opportunities for urban communities to enjoy and connect with nature, improving health and wellbeing. While we cannot all access our parks right now, we know that nature never closes and its multiple gifts continue to benefit our cities. Together we stand in solidarity with our cities to celebrate the value of nature and our urban parks, as we build resilient CitiesWithNature” – Kobie Brand, Global Director, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center

Building urban resilience is critical

The COVID-19 pandemic is placing huge strain on our communities, our governments, our healthcare systems and our economies. Our cities still continue to grapple with massive sustainability challenges, and building resilience will be even more critical now and as we move forward during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

We need to protect and respect nature:

Nature provides diverse life-supporting and life-enhancing contributions to people. All cities critically depend on healthy interconnected ecosystems within and around them. There is a growing urgency for collective and large-scale action to protect biodiversity and respect nature in and around cities to prevent irreversible loss and damage to the natural systems that protect us.

Nature is good for everyone:

It is well known that spending time outdoors in nature can be good for mental and physical health and wellbeing. Levels of stress and anxiety have increased dramatically since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, so any activity that offers stress reduction and improved health is a gift. If people don’t have symptoms and cities aren’t in total lockdown, spending time in nature, where people maintain adequate physical distance, can be very beneficial.

We increasingly need to connect online:

The pandemic is calling us to increasingly connect online. CitiesWithNature, as a unique, next-generation initiative, is supporting an online community of practice, enabling learning and action around integrating nature in cities and (re)connecting people with nature. CitiesWithNature:

• Demonstrates innovative ways of engaging cities and regions, partners and individuals on urban nature
• Provides a platform for knowledge sharing and learning on the critical importance of nature in urban life
• Offers a space for collective action at the local level to realise global impact
• Invites partners to come on board and shape the initiative going forward e.g. the development of a pathway on the critical importance of urban parks
• Grows and strengthens a virtual community of practice that is resilient to crises and is not dependent on physical space or in-person interaction
• Facilitates mainstreaming of nature in and around our cities to secure our increasingly urban future

Join the journey today and be a part of this exciting global movement in pursuit of building CitiesWithNature, which is especially critical both during and after the pandemic.

Urban parks are of critical importance for the health and wellbeing of urban communities and for the resilience of our urban areas, which is especially apparent now, more than ever before. It is, however, essential that these benefits are distributed equitable across our cities and that access to urban parks and green open spaces is ensured in as far as possible. Online, virtual, and more sustainable engagement mechanisms are key to a new way of doing in 2020 and beyond.

World Urban Parks and ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability, through its Cities Biodiversity Center, are thrilled to announce our exciting, new partnership. The signing of our collaboration agreement formalizes a strong partnership between World Urban Parks and ICLEI for collaboration on the CitiesWithNature Partnership Initiative and the WUP Campaign. Leveraging the individual and collective strengths of our organizations, our joint work programme will help to mainstream, protect, and enhance nature and maximize the benefit derived from the ecosystem services and nature-based solutions. This partnership is timeous, given the current circumstances surrounding the pandemic and the need for us to fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world.

“The overall aim of this partnership is to reconnect communities with nature in and around urban areas and use the CitiesWithNature platform to facilitate this aim, for the benefit of all partners of the Partnership Initiative.  This partnership brings together two strong global organizations committed to advancing the protection and advancement of nature in urban environments for the health and well-being of all people and our planet” – Jayne Miller, Chair of World Urban Parks

Both our organisations look forward to working together to advance our joint vision for greener, healthier CitiesWithNature.

The COVID-19 International Parks Expert Roundtable Statement

On April 2^nd, the World Urban Parks with its key global partners, including ICLEI’s Cities Biodiversity Center, held the first COVID19 International Parks Expert Panel to discuss how to further collaborate both during and after this global crisis on the importance of urban parks for people in our rapidly changing world.

From the statement of collaboration, there is overwhelming endorsement that parks are a critical public health and social resource and we recognize that stay-at-home measures and physical distancing will likely take a toll on our mental health, especially during high-stress and anxiety-producing global public health emergencies. We also know from medical research how important nature is in urban life and how access to parks and open space provides that “nature fix” for human survival – providing opportunities for physical activity and regaining our emotional, psychological and mental balance.

The world has changed substantially and the COVID-19 crisis needs a response that is far from business as usual. The COVID-19 International Parks Expert Panel of core members have agreed to work together, leveraging our individual and collective strengths, through leadership and collaboration, the co-creation of a clear vision, knowledge sharing and communication of clear, positive, time-sensitive messaging.

#NatureNeverCloses

ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center was also a core partner in the World Urban Parks Park Week campaign: #NatureNeverCloses that ran from April 25^th– May 3^rd 2020.

With COVID-19 is affecting each country, region and city differently. For World Parks Week 2020, World Urban Parks, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center, and partners challenged all urban citizens to explore how and in what ways they are experiencing nature in their own circumstances. For example, some cities have completely closed off access to urban parks and green open spaces at this time. In some cities, residents are not allowed to leave their homes except for essential grocery store and pharmacy visits. However, some cities have allowed limited access to parks and green spaces and some have even kept their parks wide open to the public, with differing degrees of social distancing regulations. Even at this time, there are ways we can experience nature in our daily lives. This may take the form of birdwatching from the window or looking after the house plants. The pandemic has shown us that even when we seem to be locked down, nature never closes.

World Parks Week 2020 was an opportunity for us to share how and in what ways we are exploring nature!

During Parks Week, ICLEI CBC hosted a CitiesWithNature webinar on The Benefits of Access to Nature for Urban Communities During and Beyond Pandemics and Associated Movement Restrictions. The webinar brought together a panel of five city officials from major cities across the globe to share their experiences and learnings from the pandemic and to showcase how more than ever before, we need nature in and around our cities. The list of cities represented included Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Durban, and Montreal.

“Life is all about connections, dynamics, and relationships. In cities, parks are essential places of contact with nature’s biodiversity. Parks are also places where people like to gather. Social distancing in parks is understandably a big and complex change that sparks important discussions. And while we navigate through restrictions in this sensitive context, we can bring to light the positive message that important well-being and health benefits can still be experienced, through immersion in nature, contemplation, and inspiration, which may be optimal when visiting a park alone. Discovering the unnoticed ‘nearby nature’ in smaller neighbourhood green areas can also bring positive and unsuspected discoveries for families, close to home. For so many reasons, biodiversity protection in cities is vital.” – Joëlle Roy LeFrançois: Planning Advisor, Urban Biodiversity Division, Parks and biodiversity management Department, Ville de Montreal

“This pandemic has reminded us that the available open space in an urban setting is inadequate, especially in our disadvantaged communities and also indicated how important these recreational areas are for our physical and mental health. We need to investigate the open space access indicator from not only the native wildlife standpoint, but also from the environmental justice perspective. Another valuable and obvious lesson that we learned is how clean the air and water have become while the world shelters in place. Many wildlife sightings in our open space (national parks) and urban environment reflects our adverse impacts on native faunas and that more access for all to open spaces and parks will have unintended consequence of adversely impacting native fauna.” – Mas Dojiri: Assistant General Manager at LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) and LASAN’s Chief Scientist, Los Angeles

Mr Errol Douwes: Senior Manager: Restoration Ecology Branch, Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department, EThekwini Municipality (City of Durban) presented a collection of images of the nature in and around the City of Durban, in South Africa. Noting that South Africa’s response to COVID-19 has, to date, come with strict movement restrictions and citizens not being able to access green spaces or parks, Errol’s photo montage was a stark reminder of how beautiful nature is and how we long for it, especially when we cannot access it. Errol’s key message was that “globally, we need to integrate nature and open spaces into all our urban environments. This improves air quality, sequesters carbon, reduces stress levels and helps to protect biodiversity. Cities and local governments can be the leading proponents in this work.”

The case of London was presented by Peter Massini: Lead – Green Infrastructure, Development, Enterprise & Environment, Greater London Authority, which stands in contrast to the Durban experience.

“In London, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, continued access to parks was permitted provided users abided by the social distancing rules. The reduction in the background noise of traffic resulted in a surge in the numbers of people reporting hearing and appreciating birdsong. But there is a caveat; the data suggests that it is younger, more affluent Londoners who have been using parks more. This reflects, perhaps, that it is this demographic who are most likely to be able to work from home, and have shifted their exercise routine. Londoners in lower socio-economic groups and other disadvantaged groups seem not to have significantly increased their use of parks.

We need to redouble our efforts to provide access to green space and nature for all Londoners, especially for the most vulnerable groups and for those who’s working patterns or caring responsibilities limit their opportunity to make regular trips to the local park. We need to provide some of the benefits of visiting a park part of everyone’s everyday experience.”

In Melbourne, all outdoors spaces are closed but public parks and gardens may still be used for essential daily exercise. The exercise exemption has been a life-saver for residents while schools are closed and parents are working from home. According to Mr. David Callow: Acting Director for Parks and City Greening for the City, families especially have been finding headspace in parks by running, walking and cycling. However, residents are not allowed to sit and enjoy these spaces, which highlights the importance of fostering green spaces at home. The city’s program to increase biodiversity in home gardens is seeing more volunteer teachers participate now that the ‘home visits’ are conducted online.

Our ‘Paris moment’ for nature

The coming weeks and months will be critical in shaping our collective urban future. Our response to the pandemic and to the socio-economic recovery should be one that is nature-centric. It should transform our economic, social, and environmental systems as we pursue greater resilience in the face of increasing natural disasters, climate change impacts, and even pandemics. We are dependent on nature and our lives are better for having nature in them. We need to respect and protect nature to ensure that are cities are filled with the multiple benefits it provides, both in our response to the pandemic and beyond.

We have a unique opportunity now to define how we build back better after COVID-19. This allows us to ask the question ‘What if?’. What if your city was a National Park City? The National Park City vision aims to create cities where nature and people are connected. The Universal Charter for National Park Cities is a monumental document has been written to inspire people, create a common understanding of what National Park Cities are and to encourage positive collaborations. Developed by the National Park City Foundation in partnership with World Urban Parks and Salzburg Global Seminar, people from more than 50 countries have commented on and contributed to its development. Through the National Park City foundation, a movement is growing, drawing people together to take action in transforming our cities into CitiesWithNature.

This World Biodiversity Day is the perfect moment for us to reflect. It is a time for us to see nature from behind our windows and long to be in it. This longing reminds us how much we value nature: in our homes, in our cities, and in every aspect of our urban lives. It is also a critical moment for nature as our leaders negotiate the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that will guide the global agenda over the next decade.

In our rapidly urbanising world, it is critical that we design, build, and sustain CitiesWithNature, now more than ever before. Cities are at the forefront of implementing the new framework, and cities are mobilising to take collective action for global impact. The voice of local and subnational governments is growing ever louder, as we stand united, ready to take up our role in contributing to the most ambitious global biodiversity agenda ever adopted. This is the ‘Paris moment for nature.’

World Urban Parks (WUP) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, through its Cities Biodiversity Center (CBC), are thrilled to announce an exciting partnership. The signing of a collaboration agreement formalizes the strong partnership between World Urban Parks and ICLEI for collaboration on the CitiesWithNature partnership initiative and the WUP campaign. Leveraging the individual and collective strengths of the two organizations, this partnership will establish a joint work programme on establishing sustainable urban areas that mainstream, protect, and enhance nature, and maximize the benefit derived from the ecosystem services and nature-based solutions that nature provides for all people and cities.

“The overall aim of this partnership is to reconnect communities with nature in and around urban areas and use the CitiesWithNature platform to facilitate this aim, for the benefit of all partners of the Partnership Initiative.  This partnership brings together two strong global organizations committed to advancing the protection and advancement of nature in urban environments for the health and well-being of all people and our planet,” says Jayne Miller, Chair of World Urban Parks.

ICLEI CBC acts globally on biodiversity and nature on behalf of ICLEI, representing the local and subnational government constituency in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and is secretariat of the CitiesWithNature partnership initiative, on behalf of the founding partners: ICLEI, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the growing network of supporting partners.

World Urban Parks serves as the global voice for urban parks, nature and nature-based solutions providing advocacy, best practices, and bench-marking through global collaboration to resolve issues and increase knowledge and capacity for urban park professionals around the globe.

“We welcome World Urban Parks as a partner on CitiesWithNature. Urban parks and green open spaces provide opportunities for urban communities to enjoy and connect with nature, improving health and well-being. While we cannot all access our parks right now, we know that nature never closes and its multiple gifts continue to benefit our cities. Together we stand in solidarity with our cities to celebrate the value of nature and our urban parks, as we build resilient CitiesWithNature,” said Kobie Brand, Global Director: ICLEI CBC.

Both organizations look forward to working together to advance our joint vision for greener, healthier CitiesWithNature.

Contacts:

 WUP Secretariat Coordinator

office@worldurbanparks.org

1-780-644-6976

ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center

https://cbc.iclei.org/

biodiversity@iclei.org

CitiesWithNature

www.citieswithnature.org

info@cwn-wp.lndo.site

We continue to stand together, in solidarity, as we are increasingly faced with loss and hardship as a result of the pandemic. Furthermore, we applaud the dedication and hard work of healthcare workers who are on the front lines in treating the sick. We continue to acknowledge the role of local and subnational governments for their rapid response in the face of this crisis.

Nature provides diverse life-supporting and life-enhancing contributions to people. All cities critically depend on healthy interconnected ecosystems within and around them. There is a growing urgency for collective and large-scale action to protect biodiversity and respect nature in and around cities to prevent irreversible loss and damage to the natural systems that protect us. The COVID-19 pandemic is placing huge strain on our communities, our governments, our healthcare systems and our economies. Our cities still continue to grapple with massive sustainability challenges, and building urban resilience will be even more critical now.

Due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic, many event dates in the lead up to the 15^th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have changed their dates, their locations, and in some instances, their overall method of delivery. Thus, the “Super Year for Nature” has been extended through to 2021, when COP 15 will take place. While much uncertainty remains, and more changes are likely, the journey towards COP 15 will continue with the same rigor and momentum as before.  The ongoing mobilisation of the local and subnational government constituency will ensure that actions by cities and regions are consistent, transformational, and sustained to turn every year into a “Super Year for Nature.” An updated timeline, with the most recent event dates and details can be seen below:

The Edinburgh Process for Subnational Governments, Cities and Local Authorities on the development of the Post 2020 global biodiversity framework is currently underway, as arguably one of the most significant opportunities for the voice of the local and subnational government constituency to be heard loudly in the lead up to COP 15. Given the COVID-19 context we find ourselves in, the event has been transformed into a dynamic and interactive online consultation process. The event aims to consult the local and subnational government constituency on the Zero Draft Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the review of the Plan of Action on Subnational Governments, Cities and Other Local Authorities for Biodiversity, and recommendations for a new dedicated and stepped-up decision that builds on a renewed Plan of Action toward 2030, and in co-developing the Edinburgh Declaration, as joint outputs from the event that will feed into the SBSTTA-24 and SBI-3 consultation processes.

An overview of the where we currently are in the process can be seen in the figure below:

A series of successful Regional Information Sessions were held throughout the week of 5-8 May 2020 as follows:

• Europe/North America: 5th May
• Africa: 6th May
• South America: 7th May
• Asia Pacific: 8th May

These sessions provided a useful introduction to the process as well as background and guidance for participants to make their inputs. On 12^th May 2020, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center hosted the first of the Thematic Webinars that are shown above. The topic of the webinar was: Monitoring and Reporting Tools for Local and Subnational Governments. The virtual session brought together a range of partners to share the metrics and tools they are working on to support the local and subnational government constituency in measuring their success and progress. In terms of the upcoming webinars, we would like to draw your attention to the thematic webinar on the topic of Nature-based Solutions and Capacity Building, which will be hosted by the ICLEI European Secretariat on World Biodiversity Day (22^nd May 2020). For more details of the upcoming Thematic Webinars that will take place up until 12 June 2020, register for the Edinburgh Process.

The online consultation process opened on 30^th April 2020, and remains open for participants to make inputs until 29^th May 2020. If you have not done so already, we encourage you to register for the Edinburgh Process. This can be done by expressing your interest in participating at: enquiries-subnationalworkshop@gov.scot

Successful registration will allow you access to Attendify, the platform where the Edinburgh Process consultation documents, resources, links to webinars, and webinar recordings will all be housed. For more information, click here.

The event is being organised by the Government of Scotland and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in collaboration with partner organisations such as ICLEI, REGIONS4 Sustainable Development, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the Group of Leading Subnational Governments toward Aichi Biodiversity Targets (GoLS), the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish National Heritage, the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the Government of Quebec and of Wales. For more information, and to stay up-to-date with the unfolding details, click here.

ICLEI continues to host its monthly Post-2020 webinar series to keep up to date on the unfolding participatory process on the roadmap to COP 15: The Paris Moment for Nature. Visit our website to see more on our local and subnational advocacy for nature and to get involved. In case you have missed the previous webinars in the series, the recordings are available on our YouTube Channel.

The next webinar in the series will take place on the 14^th May 2020 and is titled “Nature, food, nutrition and health in the time of COVID-19.” Click to register for your preferred timeslot (SAST) below:
at 10:00 am SAST (GMT+2)
at 03:00 pm SAST (GMT+2)

As we co-develop the collective and consolidated position of the local and subnational government constituency in the lead up to COP 15, the call to action for local and subnational governments to mobilize is clear now, more than ever before. Below are 6 things each actor in the constituency can do to support the Roadmap to COP 15:

1. COMMIT to taking ambitious action and set local and subnational targets that are aligned to the Post-2020 GBF
2. JOIN networks like CitiesWithNature that will support and enable this action
3. PARTICIPATE in key roadmap events and the Post-2020 process to make your voice heard and to contribute to the development of the constituency’s emerging position
4. COLLABORATE with all levels of government and other actors
5. CALL ON CBD Parties to endorse the consolidated position statement and support the adoption of a stepped-up, dedicated decision that enables active participation by local and subnational governments
6. ENGAGE with your communities about the benefits of living in CitiesWithNature

Successive Global Biodiversity Summits of Local and Subnational Governments have been co-convened by ICLEI, host governments, and key partners as official events in parallel to the CBD COPs since COP 9 in 2008. Since the first Summit, there has been at least one official COP decision dedicated to local and subnational governments emerging from each Summit’s negotiations. This is testimony to CBD Parties’ and the SCBD’s recognition of the vital role that cities and regions play in contributing to the CBD objectives.

As COVID-19 is offering us a time for deep reflection, so too should we reflect on the previous Summit communiques, resolutions and declarations that have been presented to CBD Parties over the last decade, to set the scene for the 7^th Global Biodiversity Summit, a key moment to mobilise the local and subnational government constituency, that will be hosted in the margins of COP 15. These documents have been key to advancing our global advocacy agenda, and the links to the Summit outcomes, since 2008, are provided below:

• Bonn Call for Action on Cities and Biodiversity (Mayors Conference – Local Action for Biodiversity, COP9 in Bonn, Germany 2008)
• Aichi/Nagoya Declaration on Local Authorities and Biodiversity Support of Plan of Action on Subnational Governments, Cities and Other Local Authorities for Biodiversity (City Biodiversity Summit, COP10 in Nagoya, Japan 2010)
• Hyderabad Declaration on Subnational Governments, Cities and Local Authorities for Biodiversity (Cities for Life: City and Subnational Biodiversity Summit, COP11 in Hyderabad, India 2012)
• Gangwon/Pyeongchang Resolution for Cities and Subnational Governments for Biodiversity (Biodiversity Summit For Cities and Subnational Governments, COP12 in Gangwon, Republic of Korea 2014)
• Quintana Roo Communique on Mainstreaming Local and Subnational Biodiversity Action (5th Global Biodiversity Summit for Cities and Subnational Governments, COP13 in Cancun, Mexico 2016)
• Sharm El-Sheikh Communique for Local and Subnational Action for Nature and People (6th Global Biodiversity Summit for Cities and Subnational Governments, COP14 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt 2018)