Despite occupying a tiny fraction of the Earth’s land surface, they account for the lion’s share of natural resource consumption and contribute disproportionately to climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution. Their impacts are felt almost everywhere, even in the remotest remnants of wilderness. Yet, as home to the surging majority of humanity, cities are also hotbeds of innovation and beacons of culture. They carry promises of renewal and harbour our greatest hopes of building a truly ecological civilisation.

Architects, engineers, planners, policymakers, investors, developers, citizens, and all the many others actively shaping cities, can embrace ecological urbanism to build a better world for all. How? By protecting critical ecosystems from conversion to human settlements; by promoting compact integrated development and curbing urban sprawl; by adopting nature-inclusive design principles to accommodate urban wildlife; by deploying nature-based solutions to address pressing urban challenges; by enhancing the efficiency of urban utilities to minimise waste and pollution; by greening supply chains to shrink ecological footprints; and by fostering pro-environmental attitudes grounded in ecological literacy.

This webinar is co-organised by the IUCN Urban Alliance with the following objectives:

  1. Identify tools and approaches for subnational governments and their partners to enhance urban nature and achieve a sustainable ecological footprint;
  2. Present metrics and methodologies for measuring urban ecological performance; and
  3. Highlight the work of IUCN constituents on urban dimensions of nature conservation and determine how IUCN can play a more effective role in shaping our collective urban future.

Speakers: To be determined.