Cities 4 Biodiversity

Africa is urbanizing late but fast. This brings many benefits but, as this report shows: thus far, urbanization in Africa, unique in a number of respects, is having deleterious and largely unchecked impacts on the natural environment; the degradation of natural assets and ecosystems within African cities carries tangible economic, fiscal and social costs; there are important opportunities to change the current environmental trajectory of African cities so that they move towards a more harmonious relationship between their natural and built environments.

The Madrid 360 Environmental Sustainability Strategy, presented in September 2019, already pointed out in its introduction that “the compelling need to curb climate change led the European Union to establish clearer and more ambitious limits on gas emissions in cities”.

Such solutions have the potential to integrate natural habitats, processes, and services as part of a coherent and holistic approach to water management, particularly in the urban context. They can provide multiple functions beyond conventional flood mitigation, generating a range of benefits by restoring and conserving natural capital, improving the live ability of urban spaces, increasing resilience, and contributing to more sustainable outcomes.

Biodiversity in Los Angeles is truly unique. On one hand, LA includes the highest population density of all major U.S. cities according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and is known to be one of the most “park poor” cities in the country1, 2. On the other hand, LA falls within a “Global Biodiversity Hotspot” and the City includes an exemplary range of biodiversity and large natural areas. This study documents approximately 1,200 different native species recorded within the City, and perhaps more than double that are present, but unrecorded.

This 2021 Report Card on Ecosystem Health provides an in-depth look at the region’s efforts in moving toward a more resilient environment and community for people and native wildlife. A healthy and improved ecosystem requires protecting and restoring high-quality habitats and native biodiversity; reducing ecosystem threats like wildfire and invasive species; and ensuring every Angeleno has access to nature and its benefits such as clean water, shade, and respite through policy solutions that address the region’s inequities.