PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Biodiversity, the rich diversity of life on Earth, is being lost at an alarming rate, according to the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The population sizes of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have seen an alarming average drop of 68% since 1970. With the loss of biodiversity, nature's ability to provide us with ecosystem services (including clean water and air, food and natural resources) will decline. More than half of the world’s GDP depends on nature and its services, and the 3 largest economic sectors – construction, agriculture and the food industry – depend heavily on it. The more functioning and more diverse ecosystems there are, the better equipped we are for human existence and able to withstand environmental pollution and adapt to climate change.
The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 aims to stop the loss of green urban ecosystems and calls on cities with at least 20 000 inhabitants to develop plans including measures to create biodiverse and accessible urban forests, parks and gardens, tree-lined streets, urban meadows, etc. The strategy also foresees the improvement of connectivity between green spaces, limiting excessive mowing of urban green spaces and other practices harmful to biodiversity.
OBJECTIVES
The urbanLIFEcircles project will demonstrate a systematic approach to leading a biodiversity-oriented change in the management of urban greenery. It brings together a consortium of lighthouse cities, led by Tartu, with the aim of improving city-wide biodiversity management for restored connectivity and ecosystem health.
The project will improve the condition of biodiversity in participating cities (Tartu, Riga, Aarhus) by creating ‘urban LIFE circles', continuous stretches of restored valuable habitat types and green urban areas supporting biodiversity. It will do so by connecting existing green areas and introducing new green corridors and a network of high-nature value connectivity ‘stepping stones’. Green corridors connecting Natura 2000 sites, valuable grasslands and urban green areas will be designed to allow species to expand their habitats from reserves towards the city centre. Nature reserves and Natura 2000 grassland habitats will act as sources of biodiversity for urban green areas, and, to increase this potential, habitat quality in these areas will be improved.
The specific objectives are to:
- Engage communities in cities to actively participate in conservation;
- Assist businesses to develop supporting products and services;
- Establish synergies for biodiversity-oriented governance;
- Deploy science-based methods for adaptive management; and
- Demonstrate in practice that system change is possible.
