Participating local governments of the CitiesWithNature program can now gain more recognition for the critical role they play in protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity with the launch of the new CitiesWithNature Action Platform. 

The CitiesWithNature initiative provides a shared platform for cities and their partners to engage and connect, working with shared commitment towards a more sustainable urban world. ICLEI’s CitiesWithNature program recognizes the growing urgency for collective and large-scale action to protect nature and biodiversity in and around cities and prevent irreversible loss and damage to the natural systems we depend on. Through the Action Platform, the initiatives of individual cities can be aggregated and reported into the global Biodiversity Convention framework.

Pieter Botha, the Global Coordinator for CitiesWithNature and RegionsWithNature from the Cities Biodiversity Centre offered a demonstration of how the Action Platform can be used to bolster local government actions.

Three leading ICLEI Oceania member cities, the City of Melbourne, City of West Torrens and Wollongong City Council, participated in a trial of the new Action Platform presented a range of urban nature initiatives which could be featured on the Action Platform. Lee Harrison, an ecologist from the City of Melbourne, outlined their “Nature in the City” strategy and Biodiversity Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Framework (BMERF). Amy Bruckman, environmental sustainability officer from the City of West Torrens, shared how their Urban Heat Mapping and Greening projects aligns with the Action Platform nature pathway which can reinforce and inform climate change adaptation strategies. Paul Tracey, Acting Director of Infrastructure and Works, Open Spaces and Environmental Services provided examples of the actions Wollongong is taking toward Urban Greening and Climate Adaptation, like partnering with residents to increase street tree shading in shared pathways.

The new Action Platform launched on the 26th of March and is now open to other CitiesWithNature participants. Find out more about the CitiesWithNature Action Platform by visiting the CitiesWithNature Website here.