1. URBIS and Rio +20: Developing a global research &
policy agenda for urban sustainability and
biodiversity
Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
Topical Lunch
13 Dec 2012

2. OBJECTIVES
• Develop an inter-disciplinary research
program focusing on sustainability,
biodiversity, social-ecological systems
resilience, and ecosystem services in cities.
• Address gap left by other global
sustainability initiatives, such as the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which
pay only minimal attention to urban
ecosystems.
• Build and support the URBIS global urban
biosphere policy initiative.
• Contribute to writing and launching the
Cities Biodiversity Outlook.
• Increase Cornell University visibility at Rio
+20 and side events.

3. ACTIVITIES
• Urban Nature Forum - 2 day conference in Belo
Horizonte, Brazil
• ICLEI World Congress (a Rio+20 parallel
event)—Belo Horizonte
• Rio+20—various meetings and presentations
(next slide)
• official launch of the URBIS Initiative at the
ICLEI World Congress in Belo Horizonte
• the pre-launch of the Cities Biodiversity
Outlook at the Global Town Hall in Rio De
Janeiro,

4. Marianne Josh Keith Kathy
Environmental Education and Facilitator, ICLEI Urban Nature Overall delegation Panelist: U.S. Side Event at Rio +20
Social-ecological Systems Forum Session: Sound Science coordination.
Theory. ICLEI Urban Nature for Sound Policy. Thursday, Putting Words to Action:
Forum. Belo Horizonte, Brazil. June 14, 2012 Stockholm Resilience Center Implementing the Rio +20 Fisheries
14 June 2012. Rio +20 Science to Policy Recommendations
Interdisciplinary collaboration Media project assistant
for meeting urban ecological director. Participant: Global Oceans Day at Rio
Resilience, Learning, and
goals. ICLEI World Congress. +20 (sponsored by the Global Oceans
Environmental Education. ICLEI
Belo Horizonte, Brazil. 15 June History of the Urban Forum and IOC-UNESCO) (a parallel
World Congress. Belo
2012. Biosphere initiative. ICLEI event)
Horizonte, Brazil. 16 June 2012.
Urban Nature Forum. Belo
Horizonte, Brazil. 14 June Participant: Advancing Sustainability
Urban landscapes as learning 2012. through Communication and
arenas for sustainable Collaboration, (an official UN side
management of biodiversity Greening in the Red Zone: event hosted by the University of
and ecosystem services. Cities Urban Biodiversity as Colorado)
and Biodiversity Outlook Opportunity in Post-disaster
Launch. Rio+20 meetings. Rio and Post-conflict Contexts. Participant. Oceans at Rio+20: Toward
de Janeiro, Brazil. 18 June Cities and Biodiversity Implementation of the Rio Ocean
2012. Outlook Launch. Rio+20 Commitments (an official UN side
meetings. Rio de Janeiro, event hosted by International Coastal
Brazil. 18 June 2012. and Ocean Organization, Secretariat of
the Global Oceans Forum)
Presentations

5. Launch of Urban Biosphere Initiative
At a signing ceremony
overseen by Dr. Braulio
Ferreira de Souza Dias,
Executive Secretary of the
Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), Professor
Thomas Elmqvist of
Stockholm Resilience Center,
Cllr David Cadman, President
of ICLEI – Local Governments
for Sustainability, over 30
organizations joined the
network thereby agreeing to
contribute good-practice case
studies to a global database
and participate in learning
exchanges known as URBIS
Dialogues.

6. Launch of Cities Biodiversity Outlook
• A Global Assessment of the Links between Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystems
• Combines science and policy - analyzes how urbanization and urban growth impacts
biodiversity and ecosystems, delivering key messages on the conservation and the
sustainable use of natural resources to decision-makers.
• Cities, local authorities and sub-national governments showcase their practices on
sustainability and biodiversity and learn from existing experiences how to incorporate
those topics in their agendas and policies.
• Cornell University involved in multiple chapters of this effort. See here.

7. Partnerships, Future Funding, Future Directions
• URBIS funded by ICLEI, IUCN, CBD
• MOU w Stockholm University/Stockholm Resilience Center
• high degree of collaboration with Urban Theme
• Civic Ecology exchange fellows program begun
• Funding from multiple international sources
• MOU with USFS NYC Urban Field Station
• Joint project funded by TKF Foundation (> $500,000.00)
• Multiple joint publications
• Participation in response to the City of NY/NPS’s RFEI for a
Jamaica Bay Science and Resilience Center
• Formation of US/Japan Working Group on Nature & Human
Security in peopled landscapes - Japan Society for Promotion of Science proposal
• Tidball elected co-chair of Ecology & Peace Commission of
International Peace Research Association
• Next annual meeting in Turkey on Ecology, Resilience and Peaceful Sustainable Cities

8. Results, Future Funding, Future Directions
• Launch of Nature of Cities blog collaborative (w/ Sound Science
LLC)
• Weekly average of 800-1000 hits per week, from average of 81 cities and 19 countries
• Since launching at Rio +20 --- 26000+ views, 791 cities, 95 countries
• Katherine E. Bunting-Howarth leading efforts for Cornell to
join the US Depart of State initiated US Water Partnership
• public-private partnership that seeks to mobilize U.S.-based knowledge, expertise and resources
to improve water security around the world – particularly in those countries most in need.
• Marianne Krasny leading EPA’s national environmental
education training program with strong emphasis on urban
audiences
• teaching online course on urban stewardship (civic ecology)
• conducting research/outreach on participatory approaches to ecosystem services monitoring in
cities