Developing biodiversity conservation in the urban landscape

Effective planning for biodiversity and natural resources in cities and towns is growing into a major priority. As urban areas and the resident human populations grow, it becomes essential to attain conservation, as ecological communities share ecosystem functions and services which the humans depend on. Expanding the scope of land, natural resources and biodiversity conservation plays an important role in developing a substantial and rapidly growing body of knowledge in the communities and urban landscapes. There is a need for environmental learning to grow in a more practical and professional space. Only then will it attract young students and professionals to explore the scopes of it. Biodiversity conservation and the collaboration of indigenous communities will not only increase their knowledge, but also push forth the potential for incorporating such information into regional-level planning in the cities and towns. Nature would be the teacher and our cities will be where we implement the knowledge. UNESCO leads the global agenda of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and actively encourages education on biodiversity. The Organization has conducted activities to strengthen education and learning in biodiversity, in both teacher training and the development of learning content in the context of biodiversity reserves, UNESCO Global Geoparks and World Heritage sites, with the inclusion of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) and UNESCO Chairs.

One of their pioneer works includes the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems programme, where they worked with the native Mayangna people of the BOSAWAS Biosphere Reserve in Nicaragua. They encouraged the people to document their knowledge on the conservation of turtles and fish, and to educate in schools. Through the initiative, education and awareness about the Mayangna knowledge was brought into the classroom, encouraging students and teachers to engage more widely with the knowledge of their community members and bring it to the mainstream. For any such initiatives that include mainstreaming the traditional knowledge of indigenous people and working in biodiversity conservation, the same principle applies. We need to go to the ground level to understand how to go about things. If you are a young person who is interested in environmental conservation or just curious about nature, get involved with it. There is a duality when it comes to economic sectors which come under the 'green sector'. Renewable energy producers like wind energy etc, are largely a hogwash. It's just another way for capitalists to make profit. There are environmentally ethical practices, but on a larger scale the execution is still, more focussed on profit. So if a young person wants to start off, they must learn from nature first, and then work with larger organizations and corporations who are part of the green economy. What we will truly learn in the fields, we can never experience in universities and offices. 

It is true that not everyone can leave their lives in cities and be a part of forest, but there are institutions in urban areas which are working towards nature preservation. People are working towards land restoration, species conservation, supporting nesting colonies of birds or trees etc. In Bangalore itself there are many organizations and activist groups. For instance, there is Atrieri which is a research-based organization working on urban issues and related environmental changes. There is resource and knowledge everywhere. We just have to put in effort and find out what is going on in our place and who is doing it. In the current times it is much more convenient to learn and connect with the internet and technology, so it is just about the thought of doing it.