Urbanization threatens biodiversity

By Joseph Siror in Finland

The current trend of urban expansion poses a major threat to the environment, human health and development, a first global assessment released on Monday by United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (UNCB) in Stockholm warns.

The analysis found that most of the urban areas have routed its ecosystem due to lack of proper planning and consideration to environmental effects.

Dubbed “The Cities and Biodiversity Outlook” the assessment singles out Africa as the fast growing continent but confronted with weak governance structures, high levels of poverty and low scientific capacity.

The report projects that the population would occur mostly in cities populated with less than a million people. This steady growth, according to the assessment, would depend highly on water and food from areas within or in the city.

“This urban expansion will draw heavily on water and other natural resources and will consume prime agricultural land,” said Braulio Dias, Executive Secretary of the CBD.

"The way our cities are designed, the way people live in them and the policy decisions of local authorities will define, to a large extent, future global sustainability,” added Dias.

He pointed out that the only resources available could be utilized since new innovation and infrastructure might not provide a solution to the exploding population in urban cities.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive Director, Achim Steiner, said the report makes strong argument for greater attention to be paid by urban planners and managers to nature-based assets within the city.

“More than half the global population already resides in cities. This number is projected to increase, with 60 percent of the population living in urban areas by 2030,” said UNEP’s boss.

He said sustainable urban development that supports valuable ecosystems presents a major opportunity for improving lives and livelihoods, and accelerating the transition to an inclusive green economy.

The assessment cobbled by 123 global experts comes in the wake of recent warning by immediate director of Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), Dr Julius Kipng’etich that the one of the landmark national park in Nairobi faces imminent threat.
Dr Kipng’etich warned that the park and other ecosystems could be lost due to urban developments.

According to statistics, there are about five million people living in Nairobi alone, with other urban areas expected to experience steady population growth.

Globally, the urban population is set to hit 4.9billion mark by year 2030. Concerns have been raised by lobby groups over the worrying trends of lack of urban planning and poor control of management.

Experts are now warning that urban expansion which is fast occurring in areas close to biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and coastal zones could have negative implications to the environment and human health.

“Cities need to learn how to better protect and enhance biodiversity, because rich biodiversity can exist in cities and is extremely critical to people’s health and well-being," said Professor Thomas Elmqvist of the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Scientific Editor of the report.

Sub-Saharan Africa, India and China are among the fast growing cities with shrinking resources to implement urban planning, according to the report.

The report, however, states that 60 percent of the land projected to become urban by 2030 has yet to be built. “This presents a major opportunity to greatly improve global sustainability by promoting low-carbon, resource-efficient urban development that can reduce adverse effects on biodiversity and improve quality of life,” it says.

The report seeks integration of ecosystem to urban planning and development for economical benefits and prevention of potential health hazards. It also highlights the vital obligation for states being part of global biodiversity targets of restoring 15 percent of degraded ecosystems by year 2020.