Urban sprawl is rapidly depleting biodiversity and degrading natural ecosystems, while poor land-use planning is resulting in social and economic issues within and around cities.

In order to create a healthy environment to live and work in, local governments must reconcile their development ambitions  with  nature  by  integrating  multi-functional,  biodiverse  and  interconnected  green  and  blue  spaces  in  their  cities.  These  can  act  as  Nature-based  Solutions  (NBS),  tackling  challenges  such  as  poor  air  quality,  vulnerability  to  climate  change-related  risks  like  flooding  or  heat  waves,  deteriorating  health  of  citizens,  and  bringing urban communities closer together. As a long-term advocate of the importance of urban biodiversity and  green  spaces, ICLEI  Europe  supports  local  governments  in  embedding  NBS  into policies and planning processes. By working with cities to implement NBS and promote biodiversity, ICLEI Europe also helps them to reduce the impacts of climate change, thus creating a cohesive urban society and nature-positive economy.

ICLEI Europe's global flagship programme Urban By Nature, and European resource centre NetworkNature are two of the flagship initiatives designed to support local, regional and international cooperation to maximise the impact and spread of nature-based solutions.

Click on our Biodiversity & Nature-based Solutions factsheet to read more.