The birds, the bees and biodiversity in Stockholm

The Swedish capital launches an action plan that is a reflection of critical thinking on that issue

This Monday, 30 November, the Stockholm City Council adopted the Swedish capital’s first-ever action plan for biodiversity. The key here is the new mindset of the authorities that overall responsible development is unthinkable without the constant promotion and maintenance of this environmental factor. Furthermore, this is not just a job for the officials – everyone needs to be involved, residents, associations and property owners.

To that end, on Friday, 4 December (10:00 am), an online panel discussion will be organized by City Hall on its website that will serve as an official launch of the action plan and sharing of know-how and good practices that can be followed by everyone in order to preserve nature in the city for the generations to come.

An action plan as a guideline and as a manifesto that reflects residents’ wishes

These days it is trendy to speak of sustainability and role of biodiversity in it, but what exactly is biodiversity and why is it important in an urban environment?

“Biodiversity is the variation in nature, both variation within and between species and variation of different habitat types and ecosystems. In the city of Stockholm, we have surprisingly high natural values ​​in some places, while we have values ​​in other places that need to be strengthened. The action plan will help with that,” answers Gunilla Hjorth, an expert ecologist working for the city administration.

It might be necessary for all of us to understand that apart from poetic beauty of having greenery and birdsong all around us, the way nature has evolved over millions of years if disrupted can have terrible consequences for our quality of life as a whole.

Biodiversity is needed as a supportive ecosystem service, that is, a prerequisite for all other ecosystem services to work properly. This variation needs to be maintained if we want an urban biome that helps regulate the temperature in the city, gives us oxygen, lowers noise pollution, pollinates plants and purifies water.

If you also consider that more needs to be done about biodiversity in your own city, follow the upcoming articles where you can learn more about concrete steps you can take in order to maintain and enrich it.