Urban Rewilding: the value and co-benefits of nature in urban spaces

UrbanRewilding Thevalueandco-benefitsofnatureinurbanspaces Contents Preface3 ExecutiveSummary5 Acknowledgements6 Introduction7 Deliveringurbanrewilding21 Urbanrewildingcasestudies24 Conclusion56 Appendix:InterviewsandReferences59 ©VilledeMontréal Coverphoto©VilledeMontréal Frédéric-BackParkinMontréal,Canada,anambitiousrehabilitationprojectofaformerlandfillsiteintoavastre-naturalizedpublicpark.Theiconicwhitespherescoverlandfillbiogascapturewells. Naturesustainslifeonearth.Italsoinfluencesallaspectsofourlives,fromthefoodandwaterweconsumetoourhealthandwell-being,andthisisastrueincitiesasitisinruralareas.Butnatureisunderthreatasneverbefore. “Since2016,wehaveinvestedmorethan£28million ingreenspaceandtreeplantingprojects,includingaRewildLondonFund,whichwillrestoreorcreateover365hectaresforplantsandanimalstothrive.” Citieshavethepotentialtobeidealhomesforexcitingwildlifeandhostthrivinghabitatsifwearewillingtotakeonthechallengebeforeus.InLondon,weareattheforefrontofthiseffort.Since2016,wehaveinvestedmorethan£28millioningreenspaceandtreeplantingprojects,includingaRewildLondonFund,whichwill restoreorcreateover365hectaresforplantsandanimalstothrive.TheresultswillbefeltbyallLondoners:cleanerriverstoswimin,saferairtobreathe,andthejoyofsharingourcitywithmorebeaversandbugs,beesandbats! Despitetheprogresswehavemade,Iamacutelyawarethatmoreneedstobedonetotackletheecologicalemergency,whichiswhyIbroughttogethertheLondonRewildingTaskforcetoexploremoreopportunitiestorewildourcity.Byidentifyinglarge-scalespaceswhere,withhelp,naturecanrecoverandbyencouragingLondonerstoengagewiththenaturalenvironmentaroundthem,wecangofurtherandfaster. Asthisreportshows,cityleaderscanlearnfromeachotheronhowwecandomore.AtthemostrecentUNBiodiversityConference(COP15),IsignedtheMontrealPledgeonCitiesUnitedinActionforBiodiversityledbyMayorPlante,whichincludes15actionsthatcitieswilltaketoreducethreatstobiodiversity.ThroughthisinitiativeandC40’sUrbanNatureAccelerator,IlookforwardtosharinglessonsfromLondonandlearningfromothercities. AsC40Chair,Iwouldliketoextendmysincerestthankstoeveryoneinvolvedfordemonstratingonceagainthatcitiesaredoers,notdelayers.Ourcollectiveeffortstoprotectnatureandaddressthebiodiversitycrisisareatemplatefornationstofollowandwillhelpensuretheviabilityofourplanetforfuturegenerations. SadiqKhan MayorofLondon AsMayorofMontréal,C40SteeringCommitteeMemberandViceChairforUrbanNature,Iamdelightedbythereleaseofthisreportonurbanrewilding.Protectingandnurturingurbannatureiskeytoambitiousclimateaction. InMontréal,weareacceleratingtheecologicaltransitionbyputtingbiodiversity,aswellasgreenandbluespaces,attheheartofourdecision-making.Thecity’sstrategicplan,Montréal2030,ourClimatePlanandourNatureandSportsPlanconcretelysupportthisthroughtargetedandlarge-scaleactions. AttheCOP15inDecemberof2022,theinternationalcommunityadoptedthehistoricKunming-MontréalGlobalBiodiversityFramework(GBF).CitiesandlocalgovernmentshaveonceagainrecognisedtheurgencytoimplementthisGBF.Theclockisticking. Tostreamlineefforts,Montréalhasinvitedcitiesfromacrosstheglobetomakeacommitmenttoprotectingbiodiversitythroughfifteentangibleactions.Dozensofcitiesfromallovertheworldhaveacceptedthechallenge Urbanrewildingprojectsandnature-basedsolutionsarekeytofightingbiodiversitylossandrespondtotheclimatecrisiswhilepromotinghumanhealthandwell-being.Bothlarge-scaleprojectsandtargetedinitiatives canhaveco-benefitsthatgobeyondaccesstogreenandbluespaces.Weneedtoletnaturelead!Citiesarefullofgreatinitiatives.Iamthrilledthatthisreportwillallowsomeofthemtoshineand,hopefully,inspireothers. “AttheCOP15,inDecemberof2022,theinternationalcommunityadoptedthehistoricKunming-MontréalGlobalBiodiversityFramework(GBF).” andsignedtheMontréalPledge.ValeriePlante MayorofMontréal Transformationalchangeinurbanareasiscrucialtoreversingbiodiversitylossandtacklingtheclimatecrisis.Citiesareincreasinglyexperiencingecologicaldegradation,oftenmadeworsebytheeffectsoftheclimatebreakdownwithrisingtemperaturesandmoreextremeweather.Itiswidelyagreedthatthebiodiversityandclimatecrisesareinseparable andmustbesolvedtogether.Urbanrewildingisaholisticapproachwiththepotentialtoincreasebiodiversitywithinbuilt-upareasand,atthesametime,tackletheclimatecrisis. Urbanrewildinghasamultitudeofenvironmental,climatologicalandsocialbenefits.Thesebenefitsincludecreatingbiodiverseandself-sustainingecosystems,helpingtomitigateandadapttoclimateimpacts,andimprovinghumanhealthandwellbeing. Urbanrewildingaimstointegratenaturalprocessesandstructuresintourbanspacesbycreatingandrestoringhabitatsandreintroducingindigenousfloraandfauna.Urbanrewildingprojectsshouldbeacriticalelementofabroaderambitiontodevelopanetworkofinterconnectedgreenandbluespacesandcorridorsacrosstheurbanenvironment,whichwillfacilitatehuman-naturecoexistence. Thisreportsummarisesresearchthatcomprisedthreekeyelements.Thesewerealiteraturereviewofonlineandacademicpublications,interviewswithexpertsfromkeyorganisationsandcities,andidentificationofurbanrewildingcasestudies.Thesynthesisofthisr