Mayor of ICLEI Member Montreal (Canada) Valérie Plante has been appointed ICLEI’s Global Ambassador for Local Biodiversity. In this role, Mayor Plante will highlight the role of cities in addressing biodiversity loss and will advocate for the protection of biodiversity by local governments.

In May, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released a report, which estimates that, globally, one million species are threatened with extinction and these rates are accelerating.

Half of the global population lives in cities and, according to 2018 World Bank statistics, 76 percent of the population of the European Union live in urban areas. This fact, paired with increasing urbanisation, illustrates the critical role that cities and urban communities must play in addressing the biodiversity extinction crisis.

Mayor Plante has spoken to this, explaining: “Now is the time for urgent action. Nature underpins our very existence and livelihoods and is integral to the effective functioning and well-being of urban communities.”

At the European level, ICLEI has also recognised the importance of protecting biodiversity. ICLEI Europe’s Regional Executive Committee (REXCom) has assigned REXCom member Cheryl Jones Fur, Deputy Lord Mayor of Växjö (Sweden), responsible for the Porfolio “Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Green Infrastructure.”

Alongside stepping up a commitment to the protection of local biodiversity through the appointment of a Global Ambassador and European Portfolio Holder, ICLEI is also active on a number of related projects and platforms. CitiesWithNature – a global initiative founded by ICLEI, the IUCN, and The Nature Conservancy – offers a platform for cities and regions to connect and inspire one another to protect and work with nature. CitiesWithNature is endorsed by the Secretariat on the Convention on Biological Diversity as the official platform for cities and subnational governments to share and report on their ambitions and commitments to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

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