Cities in Finland Working Together to Reconcile Development and Biodiversity

Cities in Finland want to encourage cities to help preserve nature internationally. The leaders of Finland’s 10 largest cities commit to concrete targets for halting the loss of biodiversity.

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Cities in Finland want to encourage cities to help preserve nature internationally. The leaders of Finland’s 10 largest cities commit to concrete targets for halting the loss of biodiversity. Photo: Visit Tampere, summer colors in Arboretum. Drone: Laura Vanzo.

Urbanisation and increasingly dense development weaken local nature. As Finland is famous for its clean nature, its growing cities want to maintain their residents’ connection with nature.

The mayors of the 10 largest cities in Finland commit to working together to stop the loss of biodiversity. City leaders promise to take care of the parks, forests and water areas in their cities. Concrete actions and targets to halt biodiversity loss will be included in city strategies alongside climate change mitigation. Of the approximately 5.6 million Finns, about 2.4 million live in the 10 biggest cities.

Finland has previously committed to halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing it. Now cities have agreed to join forces to draw up an implementation plan for the EU Nature Restoration Law.

Work in Finnish cities has a global basis

Akanksha Khatri, Head of Nature and Biodiversity at the World Economic Forum (WEF), challenges cities to take concrete actions for nature. Only 37% of the 500 largest cities in the world have a plan for improving the state of nature. If there are goals, they are often upper-level.

‘It is vital and strategically necessary that cities take coordinated action for nature given the climate, health and infrastructure challenges in cities,’ says Khatri.

According to Khatri, more than 40% of the gross domestic product of cities worldwide is threatened because of biodiversity loss.

‘We have a chance if we design and build cities differently and focus on urban consumption, which also has impacts outside cities.’

Khatri spoke at the Urban Nature Forum in Tampere, organised now for the first time. The forum discussed the reconciliation of development and the biodiversity as well as the significance of nature for the well-being of city residents.

Link:

Declaration of the cities | www.tampere.fi

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