Indicate which actions have been carried out to implement this Resolution :
Capacity-building
Convene stakeholders/Networking
Education/Communication/Raising awareness
Scientific/technical activities
Describe the results/achievements of the actions taken:
The implementation of the resolution has just started. With the support of the Arcadia Fund, the IUCN Urban Alliance was launched in September 2018. In the spirit of the IUCN one-programme approach, the initiative is being hosted by an IUCN Member, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and chaired by an IUCN Councillor, Jonny Hughes.
The vision and goals of the IUCN Urban Alliance have been agreed by the Strategic Board, which consists of representatives of IUCN Members, Commissions, Council and Secretariat. The vision is “a world in which nature thrives in cities delivering solutions to multiple environmental, social and economic challenges.” The goals are to: i) create a platform for debate and knowledge exchange on the urban dimensions of nature conservation; ii) catalyse new projects and partnerships for greener cities; and iii) develop a ‘City Nature Index’ to monitor the health of urban ecosystems.
The IUCN Urban Alliance was presented in side events at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in November 2018.
An IUCN Urban Alliance Twitter page has been created with the handle, @IUCNurban. Content is shared on a daily basis.
Scottish Wildlife Trust published in 2018, Living Cities, towards ecological urbanism - https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/living-cities-towards-ecological-urbanism/
The Council Urban Task Force has convened twice in 2018, and discussed the plans for setting up the IUCN Urban Alliance, the urban initiatives that continue to be taken forward by both the Secretariat and the Commissions, to include the urban / cities agenda as a major theme within the emerging IUCN Programme 2020-24 programme and to create strong visibility of urban conservation issues at the IUCN World Conservation Congress through an urban pavillion.
What challenges/obstacles have been encountered in the implementation of this Resolution and how were they overcome :
Scottish Wildlife Trust has facilitated the financing the implementation of the resolution, mobilising support from he Arcadia Foundation for the establishment of the IUCN Urban Alliance for a period of 3 years. This funding has supported the recruitment of a coordinator for the initiative hosted by the Scottish Wildlife Trust in Edinburgh and developed a collaboration agreement with IUCN providing financial support to the IUCN Secretariat for technical advice, quality assurance and to create integration with existing urban initiatives platforms and IUCN projects as well as consistency with IUCNs principles of excellence, transparency and scientific credibility and advice on the development of a legacy strategy for the project.
Briefly describe what future actions are needed for the implementation of this Resolution:
- To achieve the goals of the IUCN Urban Alliance, it is essential to identify the urban activities of IUCN Members and Commission experts, as well as an inclusive process for consultation of IUCN constituency on the development of a City Nature Index, establishing science based targets for cities, needs to be put in place;
- To be successful, the IUCN Urban Alliance will have to function a platform for exchange and provide tools that support cities and subnational governments of any size across geographic locations in the world, in reducing their impacts on biodiversity and to upscale the implementation of nature-based solutions - this requires working in close collaboration with cities as partners to develop a product and services that respond to their needs and align with available capacity, resources and data;
- A fundraising and legacy strategy as well as recommendations for integration of urban aspects of nature conservation in IUCNs global programme 2021-2024 and IUCNs organisational structure need to be developed to strengthen the urban dimensions of IUCNs across the union;
- The establishment of strategic collaboration with key global cities networks, such as C40, ICLEI, 100 Resilient Cities, Covenant of Mayors, will be necessary to work towards commitments of cities to contribute to global and national biodiversity targets, as well as integrate and mainstream nature in urban design, planning and development
Are these actions planned for yet:
