Abstract
Urban biodiversity offers important benefits to residents and may be crucial to reaching global biodiversity conservation targets, but little research has been conducted on how cities actually plan for biodiversity. In this study, we conducted a mixed methods content analysis of biodiversity plans by 39 cities around the world to determine whether they measured their actions, how they did so (via quantitative indicators and qualitative outputs), and what topics these actions and measures covered. We based our analytical framework on the Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity (also known as the City Biodiversity Index), a widely applied 23-indicator index that helps cities track their progress in biodiversity planning. The Singapore Index groups its indicators into the following three core components: native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and governance and management. For actions and measures not classifiable by the Singapore Index, we inductively derived additional categories. Across all plans, we identified 2,231 actions, 346 indicators, and 444 outputs. We found that all of the plans included actions, while 82% included measures (67% included indicators and 72% included outputs). Only 29% of actions were associated with a measure. Overall, the plans covered all of the categories in the Singapore Index, particularly within the core components of native biodiversity and governance and management, though some plans had a narrower focus. The 20 additional urban biodiversity topics that were not covered by the Singapore Index framework included socioeconomic considerations, data collection, genetic diversity, urban agriculture and forestry, green infrastructure, human-wildlife conflicts, indigenous concerns, and citizen science. Indicators were the most common measures for native biodiversity and ecosystem service topics, while outputs were the most common measures for governance and management. Our results may inform the revision and development of urban biodiversity indicators in the post-2020 framework and of other initiatives that guide cities in contributing to local and global biodiversity goals.
Highlights
Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and the United Nations projects this percentage to reach 68% by 2050 [1]
Our research suggests that while the Singapore Index (SI) can serve as a relevant framework for urban biodiversity planning, it does not provide a complete description of relevant elements
Most (71%) of the plan’s action statements were not linked with accountability measures, almost all (98%) of outputs and most (71%) of indicators were linked with actions
Summary
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and the United Nations projects this percentage to reach 68% by 2050 [1]. Biodiversity contributes significantly to human wellbeing [2], and its loss adversely impacts urban dwellers as well as others [3] Urbanites have both local and long-ranging impact on biodiversity, as indicated by their large ecological footprints [4, 5] and the telecoupled impacts of cities across long distances [6]. As the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 come to an end in 2020, the world’s governments are discussing the successor to the Strategic Plan, which is known as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework [10, 11]. Far, relatively little research has been conducted on how governments track these efforts or on how such metrics on urban biodiversity might be incorporated into planning at the city level
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
