The initiative follows an historic biodiversity workshop in the Croatian capital of Zagreb attended by 20 cities from across the globe.
The event was convened by Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB), which was pioneered in 2006 by the City of Cape Town and eThekwini, and is a project of the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).
According to Sebastian Winkler, Director of the World Conservation Union's Count Down 2010 project, cities occupy just 2 percent of the surface area of the planet, but absorb 75 percent of the world's natural resources.
"The war for biodiversity will be won in the cities. Through LAB, cities will be able to access a range of tools which will assist them in implementing biodiversity plans," he said.
LAB is probably the first project in the world to bring local governments from all continents together in discussing the role of cities in promoting biodiversity.
Other cities at the workshop were Sao Paolo, King County, Edmonton, Ile de France, Barcelona, Brussels, Johannesburg, Seoul, Liverpool Council (Sydney), Leicester, Waitekere (Auckland), Joondalup (Perth), Tilburg, Ekhuruleni, Walvis Bay, Nagoya and Amsterdam.
South Africa is regarded as a biodiversity hotspot and a world leader in planning and managing biodiversity. Cape Town is host to the LAB project's operational centre.
"Cape Town has showed us the way forward and we are grateful for their work in initiating and hosting LAB. I believe LAB will grow into a significant global initiative," said Monika Zimmermann, head of ICLEI's Biodiversity Task Force.
Alderman Nicki Holderness, who attended the meeting said: "Biodiversity is the rich pattern of life. In South Africa, 2010 means focusing on the Soccer World Cup. But it is also the year by which significant progress must have been made in stemming the loss of biodiversity."
Cape Town's Biodiversity Report was presented by Dr Pat Holmes, biological specialist at the city.
It listed the destruction of endangered habitat, through conversion to agriculture, and in recent decades, rapid urbanisation, as the primary threat to the city's biodiversity management plans.
Other primary challenges listed by Cape Town and other cities included invasive vegetation, climate change, poor communication, and lack of capacity.
"LAB will raise the profile of biodiversity in cities by launching five new biodiversity projects in each of the 20 LAB cities by June 2009.
"This amounts to 100 new biodiversity projects in urban areas around the world - a substantial benefit to the planet's resources," said Stephen Granger, Chairperson of the LAB Steering Committee and Manager of Major Projects in the city's Environmental Resource Management Department.
"This is a significant global initiative that recognises the importance of biodiversity as an underpinning of modern urban living", Granger added.
Source: BuaNews
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