Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Biodiversity

Biodiversity loss now ranks as one of the most significant global drivers of
environmental change. In an increasingly urbanized world, there is enormous potential to address this problem through conservation, restoration,
and creation of new urban ecosystems. This chapter explores how naturebased solutions (NBS) can contribute to addressing the urgent problem of
biodiversity loss in a way that goes beyond just greening gray environments.
It then explores the alignment (and misalignment) between the ways in which
NBS is framed as a nature conservation tool globally and the ways in which
biodiversity is considered in urban approaches to NBS. Finally, the chapter
explores the ways in which NBS might become an essential part of the
solution to biodiversity and ecosystem decline. It discusses how NBS can be
effectively leveraged to address the biodiversity crisis in urban areas, through
conservation, restoration, and efforts to create thriving places for both
people and nature. Although the concept of NBS in urban areas is fairly
divorced from its nature conservation origins, reconnecting with those
ecological roots is important for creating biodiverse, resilient cities. In so
doing, NBS could offer a unified concept for environmental management in
urban areas that integrates the ecological benefits of nature conservation
with an innovative focus on confronting major societal challenges. Though
this is a demanding task, it could provide a fit-for-purpose approach for
conserving biodiversity and supporting functional ecosystems in the
Anthropocene.