Cities: Future Biodiversity Refuges?
Ana Tuñas Matilla For centuries, cities have been driving biodiversity out of their land to accommodate buildings, roads, streets, and all kinds of infrastructure dominated by concrete and asphalt. However, they can become a refuge for species, such as birds and pollinators, whose land is being robbed by agriculture.
The objective is to involve cities in the fight against biodiversity loss , the major environmental crisis facing the planet alongside climate change, explained to EFEverde SEO/BirdLife Cantabria technician Ignacio Fernández, author of the manual "100 measures for the conservation of biodiversity in urban environments . "
Bringing nature into the cityTo halt the loss of flora and fauna, we must integrate biodiversity conservation into all territorial areas, "including cities, where most citizens live and work" (...) "It is no longer enough to reserve 10 or 15% of the territory via natural parks and other protected areas; the crisis is so serious that it requires including cities as well," the biologist asserted.
This integration is also necessary so that urbanites do not become disconnected from nature, something of vital importance, because we only protect and conserve what we know , warned Ferández after recalling that the majority of the world's population lives in cities (already more than 50% and it is expected that by 2050 it will exceed 75%), surrounded by asphalt and concrete and far from it.
Nature provides direct benefits to people's health , as many studies have demonstrated, emphasized Fernández, a defender of biophilia, a concept that expresses that humans have an innate need for contact with nature as an animal species.
"To live a healthy and happy life, we need to be in daily contact with nature," so it's essential for nature to enter our cities.
To achieve this, it is essential that the design of green areas integrates an environmental variable , in addition to the aesthetic variable and the sports/leisure variable.
This means that in addition to being "pretty" and having swings or sports areas, they must be designed to be habitable for species that are disappearing due to the growth of cities or activities such as agriculture.
Among the techniques he proposes is practicing "less intensive gardening," which includes simple measures such as reducing the frequency of mowing and pruning; increasing the use of native species; or integrating natural elements that are absorbed by cities but are of great interest, as was the case with Las Llamas Park in Santander, which included the conservation of 3.5 hectares of a wetland absorbed and degraded by the city.
Other simple measures to attract biodiversity include installing nesting boxes and insect hotels, vertical gardens, connecting biological corridors, etc. All of these are compatible with the public use of the spaces and their cultural and landscape values, he asserted.
"Any space, even a small tree pit, can benefit from measures to improve biodiversity," according to Fernández, who noted that more and more people value the presence of herbs and flowers in flowerbeds, slopes, or ditches because they "reconnect them with natural cycles."
"The aesthetics of 30 years ago aren't the same as they are today; tastes keep changing. Furthermore, mowing slopes where no one walks or constantly pruning wastes resources."
For the expert, among the species that can benefit most from these actions are forest birds and pollinators (bees, bumblebees, butterflies, etc.), which are disappearing and are vital for generating much of the food required by a growing global population.
In Santander, they have been working for 15 years on a project to conserve the European scops owl , a small owl that breeds in tree holes and is listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
To help the species, more than 100 nest boxes have been installed in 36 parks and green areas across the city, with great success in colonization and occupancy: more than 250 pairs have nested.
Despite being a vulnerable species after losing 20% of its range and 30% of its population across Spain, in Santander "we have managed to maintain a healthy population in an urban setting."
In his opinion, examples like this demonstrate that cities can become refuges for species that are disappearing from the wild due to the expansion of monoculture plantations and the use of toxic substances, such as pesticides and herbicides. EFEverde ATM
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