ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Centre (CBC), will host and lead a series of five webinars, with the support from partners: United Nations Environment Programme, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Interna-tional Union for Conservation of Nature, Regions4 and the European Committee of the Regions, to explore the key role of subnational and local governments in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Considering the role of subnational and local governments was a “game changer” at COP15 in December 2022, it is important to keep momentum while focusing on strategies for the implementation of the GBF as we start preparing for COP16 in 2024.
While urbanization can bring health, social and economic benefits, rapid and unplanned urbanization can have many negative impacts, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Target 12 of the GBF refers to the power of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) in urban areas to improve communities health and wellbeing.
Access to green and blue spaces is more important than ever, therefore it is vital that GBI is delivered across and within different spatial scales in order to contribute towards a patchwork of projects that caters a wide range of users and addresses multiple thematics. Considering this, the session starts with a keynote speech from Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN Habitat.
The session continues with a technical presentation on: what is GBI and how to implement it at the local level with the purpose of aiding biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes to improve health and wellbeing. The session ends with four city-case studies on GBI with a segment of Q&A. The speakers will share their experiences -including practical examples of putting theory into practice- and perspectives of nature to support integrated planning for health and wellbeing within the urban context.