Using the IPBES Conceptual Framework to Study Governance, Institutional Arrangements and Drivers of Biodiversity Loss in Two Indian Cities

Abstract

This article draws on a study that used the Conceptual Framework (CF) offered by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to examine the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) theme of Cities and Biodiversity in the Indian metropolitan cities of Chennai and Bengaluru. The focus is one element of the IPBES_CF in particular, ‘Institutions and governance and other indirect drivers’. These cities, with populations already comparable to those of the largest urban agglomerations globally, are poised for exponential growth. The biodiversity and ecosystem-services related governance challenges that they face in this regard, are substantial. As governance itself is all-encompassing, the primary research in this study was delimited to exploring two key things. The first is the institutional architecture related to, and levels of awareness on biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as the synergy or lack thereof, within the local administration of these cities. The second is on the real estate housing sector as an emerging game-changer in the evolving scenario. Governance of this largely private industry is being attempted through voluntary certification and other soft policy approaches. Examples of good practices by a few builders/companies do exist. However, the scale and pace at which transformative change needs to be facilitated, and the ways and means by which this message can be effectively leveraged, remains a concern.