The Urban Nature Forum brought together decision-makers and experts from municipalities, businesses and NGOs to discuss how to reconcile urban growth with nature and the link between urban nature and human well-being. The first Urban Nature Forum was hosted by the City of Tampere on 11 September.
At the Nature Forum, the leaders of the 10 largest cities signed a historic declaration to halt biodiversity loss and enhance biodiversity. The leaders of Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa, Oulu, Turku, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lahti and Pori recognise the importance of biodiversity for human well-being, health, the economy and the vitality of cities, and the seriousness and urgency of addressing biodiversity loss.
Lahti’s commitment to biodiversity and nature protection
The statement is based on the EU’s biodiversity strategy, which aims to stop the loss of nature by 2030 and start recovery immediately after.
Lahti is currently preparing to become nature-positive, which means changing the human impact on nature from negative to positive. As part of this, Lahti will measure its environmental footprint this year, in cooperation with LUT University.
This fall, several nature-related plans are being reviewed by Lahti’s city authorities, such as the urban tree plan, nature conservation program, forest management principles, groundwater protection plan, and green area program. All of these aim to protect and develop the city’s natural environment.
Declaration of the cities (Tampere.fi)