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Delivered by Kobie Brand, – Kobie Brand, Deputy Secretary General: ICLEI  The famed author, Fyodor Dostoevsky, once wrote that “every blade of grass, every insect, ant, and golden bee, all so amazingly know their path.” It seems that, unfortunately, human beings may be the only element of nature deflecting from this natural path, with consequences […]

The second UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) Cities and Regions Summit challenges us to see cities as champions of nature and accelerators of a sustainable future. Experts and city leaders will speak about the value of nature-positive strategies in rethinking the way cities are planned, and how to scale up action for nature. Various CitiesWithNature partner […]

How cities can contribute Wetlands are our most powerful ecosystems to combat climate risk, yet they are among the most threatened ecosystems and more than a quarter of wetland species globally, are threatened with extinction. The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation […]

City and regional governments can look forward to exciting new offerings on the CitiesWithNature and RegionsWithNature platforms, including global insights, tools to develop local solutions, and new ways to connect with each other and partner organisations. This year, forward-thinking governments from cities and regions will continue looking for opportunities to work with nature to build […]

New York City has become the 200th city to join CitiesWithNature, a global partnership initiative that strengthens collective action and impact to protect biodiversity and reconnect urban communities with nature. New York is taking up this leading position alongside London, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Cape Town, Barcelona, Montreal and Melbourne. This comes in the wake […]

Urban food gardens, measuring ecological performance in cities, and San Antonio in Texas. What do all these things have in common? They feature in the newest edition of the CitiesWithNature Buzz, of course! Don’t miss the latest roundup of urban nature news, opportunities and events from around the world in the November edition. Click here to […]

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are all the rage, and rightly so. Working with nature makes sense. But urban systems and ecosystems are complex, so using NbS requires smart governance and technical know-how. Find what you need on the CitiesWithNature Tools & Resources Hub! By Pieter Botha, CitiesWithNature Global Coordinator: Technical Development and Knowledge Management Nature-based solutions […]

Wetlands are an important component of our global climate system, and crucial for water security and resilience. As the world meets on climate change in Glasgow, the Convention on Wetlands (also known as the Ramsar Convention) is hosting several events highlighting the multiple benefits of wetland conservation and restoration. The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands […]

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched their new handbook on 3 November at COP26 in Glasgow. The handbook provides detailed guidance to help the world’s cities address warming, which is occurring at twice the global average rate in urban areas. Beating the Heat: A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities, prepared with RMI, states that by […]

 The UpLink BiodiverCities Challenge is live!The BiodiverCities Challenge is a global call for innovative solutions that are enabling cities to become nature-positive and fulfil their potential as engines of equitable and sustainable development, resilience, and well-being.This challenge aims to identify, select, and showcase innovative solutions that have been successfully implemented and contribute to advancing the […]