The IUCN Local Action Summit took place on 3 September 2021—the opening day of the IUCN World Conservation Congress—in Marseille, France. Subnational governments, IUCN Members, international organisations, and companies convened to showcase and galvanise conservation efforts in cities and regions, make the case for a nature-based recovery to COVID-19, and announce ambitious action pledges for nature.
The Summit was organised by the IUCN Urban Alliance and the IUCN European Regional Office, with the financial support of Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, and CITEO, a sustainable waste management company. In-kind support was provided by the IUCN French National Committee, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, French Office for Biodiversity, Expertise France, the World Commission on Protected Areas and IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation.
“Subnational governments, cities, and regions are central to the success of the conservation agenda and to achieving a nature-based recovery from COVID-19”
– Zhang Xinsheng, outgoing IUCN President
The French Minister of Housing, Emmanuelle Wargon, together with outgoing IUCN President, Zhang Xinsheng, opened Summit. Proceedings entailed two high-level political segments and four thematic roundtables before the French Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Bérangère Abba, drew the event to a close.
Conservation action pledges
“We are interested in changing the logic of urban development… We want to open doors to reconnect with nature.”
– Marina Robles, Secretary of Environment for Mexico City
Political leaders of some 13 cities and regions announced ambitious action pledges to help deliver the Nature 2030 IUCN Programme and, by extension, the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
- Lord Provost Philip Braat announced the City of Glasgow’s targets to achieve net-zero carbon and reverse biodiversity decline by 2030;
- Mayor Souad Abderrahim of Tunis announced plans to restore the city’s network of public parks;
- Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris announced plans to eliminate single-use plastics as a legacy of the 2024 Olympic Games;
- Minister Patricio Lombardi announced the protection of vast tracts of forest in the Province of Misiones to support native wildlife;
- President Valérie Pécresse of Ile-de-France pledged to create four new nature reserves;
- President Oscar Mora of Curridabat renewed his municipality’s commitment to the ‘Sweet City’ vision of developing in harmony with nature;
- Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher highlighted his city’s comprehensive climate action plan with over 400 concrete measures;
- President Martine Vassal of Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence vowed to slash marine plastic pollution by 2025;
- Lord Provost Frank Ross announced the City of Edinburgh’s target to plant a million trees by 2030;
- Genoa Assessor Massimo Nicolò pledged to electrify the city’s entire public transport system and green its famous port by 2025;
- Secretary of Environment Marina Robles announced ecological restoration commitments as part of Mexico City’s ambitious Environment and Climate Action Plan; and
- Deputy Mayor Michèle Rubirola, on behalf of Mayor Benoît Payan, explained how the City of Marseille will provide land and subsidies to support biodiversity research projects.
- Chairman Christophe Madrolle, on behalf of President Renaud Muselier of Region Sud, committed to reducing flood risk by restoring catchments.
“Nowadays, local authorities have a critical role to play in conserving and restoring nature. We are facing major problems: a health crisis, a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis; they are all interlinked.”
– Michèle Rubirola, Deputy Mayor of Marseille
Roundtables
Financing the green recovery
Moderated by IUCN’s Acting Director for Europe, Chantal van Ham, the first of four thematic roundtables focused on “Financing the green recovery.” Experts deliberated over how to build a nature-positive economy, sharing insights and experiences from across the public and private sectors.
“The foundation of a healthy planet is stable biodiversity, but this can only be achieved if we make social and natural capital part of our global wealth and recovery actions.”
– Chantal van Ham, Acting Director for Europe, IUCN
The transition to a green economy requires knowledge, understanding and recognition of the links between human well-being, economic development and healthy ecosystems. New and unconventional partnerships are required to catalyse change. Veronica Scotti, Public Chairperson of Swiss Re—a reinsurance company—spoke of the significant risks posed by biodiversity loss and climate change, and the ways in which insurance companies can respond.
Cristophe Nuttall, Executive Director of R20 Regions of Climate Action, presented the Sub-national Climate Fund. This US$150 million blended fund is designed to help subnational governments finance low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure.
Ahmed Almalk, Director of Nature and Wildlife Reserves at the Royal Commission of Al Ula, presented experiences of mobilising resources to conserve the natural and cultural heritage. He announced a target to conserve 80% of Al Ula as natural habitat.
Cyrille Barnerias, Director of International Relations at the French Biodiversity Office, stressed that a green recovery must not only increase financing for biodiversity but also reduce subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity.
Deploying Nature-based Solutions
The second roundtable focused on deploying nature-based solutions (NbS). Discussions stressed the essential role of NbS in the fight against climate change. Globally, there is increasing alarm about the costs of climate change and biodiversity loss but there is also increasing awareness of the benefits of NbS, which are now widely recognised as effective responses to a range of pressing challenges. Subnational governments, it was argued, can champion the adoption of NbS to create more resilient, liveable, and sustainable communities.
To support the design, implementation and verification of NbS actions, IUCN has developed the first-ever Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. It aims to ensure the quality and credibility of NbS while expediting deployment.
Jean-Enrique Paquet, Director-General of DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission, emphasised the momentum gained by NbS in terms of delivery and political commitment, with NbS now featuring prominently in multiple EU and national strategies. He announced a new partnership between the European Commission and IUCN to integrate NbS into the Horizon Europe Missions.
IUCN French National Committee President Maud Lelièvre spoke of the agency of local governments to take action for nature while Kobie Brand, Deputy Secretary-General of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, provided an overview of CitiesWithNature, a global collaborative network fostering nature-positive urban development. WWF France’s Cities Expert Canddie Magdelenat stressed the need to integrate biodiversity into urban planning, and presented a new WWF report, ‘Urban Nature-based Solutions,’ comprising inspiring case studies from across the world.
Realising environmental rights
The third roundtable gathered experts to discuss the role of sub-national governments in recognising and protecting environmental human rights. The conservation agenda, it was argued, should give greater attention to promoting access to nature’s benefits in the places where people live.
David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, reminded the audience that States have an obligation to protect environmental human rights. Such rights include clean air, nutritious food, a stable climate, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. He asserted that everyone everywhere has a fundamental right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. He exclaimed, “The time for talk is over; the time for action is now!”
Ines Hernandez, Conservation Leader of the University of Cambridge, presented the results of her research on ‘Environmental Human Rights and Urban Nature.’ A key challenge for environmental human rights, she noted, is in bridging the gap between international law and local government. Environmental human rights are context-specific but require an active international dialogue. Subnational governments can play a crucial role in bridging this gap.
PlanAdapt’s Sumetee Gajjar launched a new technical paper, ‘Climate Justice for People and Nature through Urban Ecosystem-based Adaptation: A focus on the Global South.’ The paper gathers practical examples of urban ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) interventions and explores their links to climate justice.
Advancing ecological urbanism
The fourth and final roundtable focused on ecological urbanism i.e., urbanism which places nature at the heart of the design process. Jonny Hughes, IUCN Urban Alliance Chair, made a compelling case for renaturing cities outlining a range of benefits. He described urbanisation as a huge opportunity for humanity to redefine development and begin healing the planet.
Robin Grossinger, Director of the Urban Nature Lab at San Francisco Estuary Institute, announced a new collaboration with IUCN Urban Alliance and Google Urban Ecology Program to develop the Making Nature’s City report into a digital toolkit, with a view to educating urban planners.
Pablo Lopez of Urban Biodiversity Hub, presented the new IUCN Urban Nature Index, a tool for measuring urban ecological performance. This index, he explained, has been beta-tested in six pilot cities, namely, Curridabat, Mexico City, Lagos, Paris, Saanich and Singapore.
Darlene Upton, Vice President at Parks Canada announced her country’s new National Urban Park Programme to strengthen and expand urban parks in collaboration with municipalities, provinces, indigenous peoples, farmers and conservation organisations.
“We have learnt through our experience that urban parks can really support three important outcomes: they can support nature, including biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation; they connect people by being welcoming and accessible; and they can support reconciliation with indigenous people by promoting indigenous knowledge and voices.”
– Darlene Upton, Vice President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation at Parks Canada
Next steps
The Summit showcased a range of impactful conservation measures implemented at the subnational level, made the case for a nature-based recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic, and exacted over a dozen pledges for conservation action. To this end, the Summit achieved its objectives.
Discussions on local action for nature ensued throughout the IUCN Congress, not least at the Urban Planet Pavilion. On the final day, IUCN Members adopted a historic resolution to create a new membership category for subnational governments, essentially paving the way for the voices of cities and regions to be heard in the heart of the conservation community. IUCN is now fully committed to welcoming subnational governments into the IUCN family and to partnering with them to deliver conservation outcomes at scale.
A strong signal of such intent can be found in the Marseille Manifesto, the key outcome document of the IUCN Congress. It comprises a Union-wide commitment “to expand universal access to high-quality green spaces and to enhance urban biodiversity in 100 cities, representing around 100 million citizens by 2025, and assess their impact according to the IUCN Urban Nature Index.”
“It is not a small change, it is a transformational change that is needed. Science is ringing the alarm bells but at the same time it is telling us that we can do it, if we use all the knowledge we available… A new alliance is needed; this is why we believe that working with subnational governments is key!”
– Bruno Oberle, Director General, IUCN
A full recording of the Summit is available to view here.