Urban Nature for All: Building Capacity for Inclusive Urban Conservation

Cities offer real potential to engage diverse communities with nature, but at the moment the way that nature is being brought into cities potentially ignores or actively excludes those who may benefit most. This session will build capacity on how urban nature strategies and nature-based solutions can be designed to contribute to social inclusion and social justice. Nature-based solutions are projected to deliver multiple benefits across a range of social and environmental challenges. Yet, a great number of initiatives are being developed without taking into account how nature-based solutions can lead to gentrification and social exclusion. This interactive session will build the capacity of participants to pursue biodiversity-positive, climate-resilient and healthy urban habitats while ensuring that social inclusion goes beyond tokenistic gestures to lead to empowerment, and that initiatives are designed to deliver social justice alongside benefits for the environment and society.