Urban Nature Forum launches a new global initiative - URBIS

Urban Nature Forum official message to the ICLEI World Congress 2012:

Over the past two days the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center in partnership and with thanks to the City of Belo Horizonte, SEBRAE and the Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has hosted the third Urban Nature Forum here in Belo Horizonte. This has provided a unique science-policy-implementation interface for stimulating discussion, and importantly, leading to positive action on urban biodiversity and ecosystem management. The message from this forum is that:

As more and more of us move into cities we may feel increasingly disconnected from nature. However, biodiversity still underpins our wellbeing, security, and resilience as much as ever: the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the medicine we take, the natural beauty that inspires us, our very existence.

However, our ecological bank account is being pillaged. We are witnessing the largest extinction event since that which ended the reign of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Unsustainable urbanization is undoubtedly part of the problem. Yet, cities offer enormous hope: social organization, resource mobilization, communication, education, efficiency gains, innovation and leadership.

Tools and techniques are available. Many cities are taking action, but we need more, we need to upscale, to implement, to promote learning exchanges, to foster partnerships, to think out the box and ultimately take on the challenge and take responsibility. This is why, today, a broad spectrum of partners convened during the Urban Nature Forum to launch a new global initiative called URBIS which will serve to transcend the science-policy interface.

The Urban Nature Forum sends a challenge to the World Congress to mainstream and integrate biodiversity into addressing and achieving the ICLEI agendas and thus contributing to implementation of the strategic plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The imperative has never been clearer; the impetus has never been stronger. Let’s all take responsibility.