The Urban Biodiversity Hub: A City-to-City Web Tool and Interactive Database

Urban biodiversity protection is a key component of the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Urban biodiversity has been demonstrated to increase resilience and improve ecological and human health and well-being; however, many local governments currently lack the capacity to develop and manage urban biodiversity strategies. The Urban Biodiversity Hub (UBHub) is a new web tool that increases the capacity of cities to make decisions for urban biodiversity planning and management. One of the main goals of UBHub is to support local governments through providing resources, connections, and ultimately by funneling funding to those who most need it.

By 2018, UBHub will have published our resource repository as an online map of urban biodiversity activities around the world, covering hundreds of activities and frameworks. We will be in the beta development phase of our experts forum and biodiversity indicator tracking system. In the long term, we seek to promote biodiversity mainstreaming, the integration of associated tools, and awareness of biodiversity planning.

During this interactive networking event, we will:

1. Announce the pre-launch of our platform and tell UBHub’s founding story,

2. Promote the early partners who have helped us develop the web tool so far,

3. Demonstrate the web portal live for the first time publicly,

4. Invite attendees to provide feedback on the web tool’s usability and content.

UBHub was founded in 2016 at the 13th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity by like-minded individuals who saw the need for a one-stop shop for all things on urban biodiversity. It has since grown into an international all-volunteer powerhouse that has produced the largest known urban biodiversity database and is developing the first customizable tool for biodiversity indicator development for local governments. Our partners include international NGOs and academic groups as well as leading cities. Early partners (tentative) include the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN), the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), the Urban Biodiversity Research Coordination Network (UrBioNet), the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN), the University of British Columbia, the American University of Armenia, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

We will demonstrate the user interface for the searchable map database and our highlighted resources. The database currently has over 900 entries, featuring urban biodiversity plans, reports, guides, and activities from around the world. They are organized in a searchable and filterable map, selectable by location and category, with descriptions of highlighted features. We will seek participant input on what attendees perceive as key urban biodiversity planning and management challenges, as well as on how UBHub may best serve the needs of the community, using the a World Cafe participation method, a simple and flexible format for hosting large group dialogues. Attendees will also be invited to participate directly in our goal of linking urban biodiversity efforts and supporting cities with their urban biodiversity strategies. Finally, participants will be invited to join as partners, supporting cities in their region or efforts in their field.