1.Welcomes efforts to quantify and draw attention to the challenges and solutions associated with current patterns of urbanization, such as the publication of
TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers, the global assessment
Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services:
Challenges and Opportunities,
78 and the Urban Biodiversity and Design group’s research agenda on urban biodiversity priorities, and encourages their broad dissemination and use;
2.Invites Parties to increase their efforts to enable, support and guide strategic and sustainable urbanization by working together with subnational and local governments for the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, especially in promoting local and subnational biodiversity strategies and action plans;
3.Calls on Parties to incorporate biodiversity considerations into their urban, peri-urban, land-use and infrastructure planning, such as “green infrastructure”, among others, as appropriate, and to strengthen capacities of subnational and local governments to incorporate biodiversity into urban and other spatial planning processes;
4.Invites Parties to support relevant initiatives that are contributing towards achieving sustainable patterns of urbanization, such as, inter alia, the advisory committees of the Global Partnership on Local and Subnational Action for Biodiversity, the Urban Biosphere Initiative, the Maritime Innovative Territories International Network and the MediverCities network;
5.Encourages subnational and local governments to contribute to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 by, specifically: integrating biodiversity considerations into plans for sustainable urbanization and land use including local transport, spatial planning, water and waste management; promoting nature-based solutions; monitoring and assessing the state of biodiversity and progress to preserve it; promoting biodiversity conservation as a significant contribution to addressing climate change; and prioritizing biodiversity issues by showcasing the positive effects of biodiversity, and ecosystem functions and services for other topics, such as health, renewable energy and livelihoods;
6.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to increase efforts:
(a)To mainstream biodiversity into the work of relevant agencies and key partners involved in work at the subnational and local levels;
(b)To assist Parties and subnational and local governments, and their partners, to more effectively integrate the contribution of subnational and local governments to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;
(c)To collaborate with other United Nations agencies, international organizations and other stakeholders, including biodiversity-related conventions, on issues related to subnational and local implementation, such as working with the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) on urban and peri-urban wetland issues.
