1.Front section - IUCN

Urban dwellers and protected areas: natural allies 3
one of their main purposes is to foster international
exchange of information and experience. UNESCO
has set up a network of committees for this purpose
(UNESCO, 2004).
Although several biosphere reserves exist in urban
areas, their role has generally been limited to
coordinating conservation activities. The idea of a
distinct category of urban biosphere reserve is being
considered in several countries. In October 2003, an
international conference was held by Columbia
University and UNESCO in New York to discuss the
concept (CUBES, 2004). Proposals for urban
biosphere reserves are most advanced in Cape Town,
New York, and Seoul. The Cape Town Urban
Biosphere Group has suggested that guidelines for
such areas provide for cultural, as well as natural,
cores; include protection of human and cultural, as
well as natural, diversity; and allow for applying the
zoning system (core, buffer, transition) “in a
functional way, and not necessarily spatially specific
as with traditional rural biosphere reserves” (CUBES
CT, 2003; Stanvliet et al., 2004).
The proponents of the new category of urban
biosphere reserve are a lively and creative group. They
offer a different perspective on the people-city-nature
triad. Their ideas and energy could also help to
invigorate the biosphere reserve concept, a good idea
that has yet to reach its potential.
Local authorities and
international conservation
Although most organizations active in international
conservation are based in large cities, few of them
make connections between their international work
and urban conservation in their own cities. And it is
rare for local governments to become involved in
international environmental matters, except in cases
where transboundary issues affect them directly.
London is an unusual exception. One of the
fourteen policies in its Biodiversity Strategy,
discussed above, states that “The Mayor will promote
London as a world centre for biodiversity
conservation, working with London’s world-class
organizations for greater influence globally and to
learn from experience at home and abroad.”
This is elaborated as follows: “The Mayor will
foster working links and exchanges with international
bodies and organizations in other major cities, to give
a lead in urban greening and biodiversity
conservation. The Mayor will support enterprising
new flagship projects for urban nature conservation
and people’s enjoyment of the natural world, which
may further London’s reputation as a World City. The
Mayor will encourage the formation of a partnership
for excellence in global biodiversity conservation,
harnessing the skills and expertise of London’s centres
of excellence.”
This partnership includes the Greater London
Authority, the London Zoo, the Natural History
Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and the UK
Environment Agency (London, 2002).
Other major cities might well follow London’s
example.
Needed policies
Two fundamental policy changes are needed to meet
the needs of city dwellers and build stronger urban
constituencies for nature conservation. These are
adopting an ecosystem approach to managing cities
and their surroundings, and making a serious
commitment to provide ways for urban people to gain
access to nature.
Adopting an ecosystem approach to
managing cities and their surroundings
The disconnections between cities and protected area
systems are part of a bigger problem. What is needed
first and foremost is an ecosystem approach to policy
making and policy implementation that recognises the
interdependence of cities and the larger environment.
An ecosystem approach to natural resource
management treats a region as a system of interrelated
parts – environmental, social, economic – and
embraces the major governmental and other interests
affected. In some places, the larger environment is
simply the local watershed. In other places, cities
reach much farther afield. Los Angeles, for example,
receives its water supply from protected areas many
hundreds of kilometres away.
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