Citizen knowledge and engagement can enhance urban biodiversity, a pilot project in 10 European cities shows
"BiodiverCities" sheds light on citizen-led urban biodiversity efforts with its Atlas, revealing collaborative processes between citizens and public institutions. It provides insights for EU Missions, such as the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, stressing the crucial role of citizen engagement for the Green Deal success.
How is knowledge on impacts and adaptation used at territorial level?
BiodiverCities was a pilot project led by the Commission’s Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (CC-DEMOS), at request of the Directorate General for the Environment, in the context of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Conference on the Future of Europe. Between 2020 and 2022 it collected inspiring case studies around practices to engage citizens in co-creating visions around urban nature, monitoring, and solutions to improve urban biodiversity in the fields of planning and policy-making.
Its key result is the BiodiverCities Atlas: A Participatory Guide to building Urban Biodiverse Futures. This guide showcases case studies from ten European cities (Palermo, Regalbuto, Varese, Lisbon, Valongo, Palma, Leiden, Maribor, Novi Sad, and Vilnius) selected to develop and execute a co-creation process, locally involving citizens to enhance urban biodiversity initiatives.
Each case illustrates how local residents can be engaged in addressing environmental issues, and participate in initiatives e.g., aiming to increase the green spaces available in a neighbourhood or co-producing a strategic development plan. Researchers of the Competence Centre argue that technical and scientific expertise alone cannot tackle complex, urgent to address and contested societal issues like climate change. The approach sees citizen participation as a mean to tap into the practical knowledge of everyone involved in or affected by an issue. The goal is to make decisions that are well suited to addressing the problem at hand.
Some of the main highlights related to knowledge co-creation are:
· All cities engaged scientific and technical experts, but not exclusively, valuing citizens as equally important stakeholders and knowledge-holders.
· Knowledge isn't merely transferred from experts to non-experts; it's co-produced, enhancing the quality of science (as seen in "Teaming up to fight floods in Yorkshire").
· Public institutions and organisations need to learn, first-hand, how to engage citizens. BiodiverCities offered an experimental setting and capacity building to do that.
Useful insights for the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change
Already in 2003, Bruna De Marchi, former head of the Emergencies Programme (PEM) at the Institute of International Sociology of Gorizia, stressed the need to supplement scientific insights with inputs from civil society in risk governance. She highlighted that determining which risks to address, how to approach them, and what constitutes a solution extends beyond scientific inquiry. Incorporating experiential and local knowledge in disaster risk prevention and management, alongside the local population's right to information, reduces the risk of creating new vulnerabilities, as evidenced by past disasters like Love Canal and Seveso. Today, the importance of transdisciplinary research and involving all stakeholders in problem management for improved outcomes is even more pressing.
BiodiverCities and participatory approach can offer valuable insights to advance various policy initiatives, including the EU Missions on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities or the Adaptation to Climate Change. BiodiverCities presents diverse citizen engagement strategies, which can inform and enhance progress in these areas.
For disaster prevention and governance, the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy possesses the expertise, tools, and methods to bolster participatory approaches in research and policymaking. Collaborating extensively with practitioners across the EU, it stands ready to offer guidance and support to interested institutions and organisations.
From science to policy: key take-away messages
BiodiverCities underscores the essential role of citizen involvement for the Green Deal's successful implementation. Engaging citizens allows local and regional authorities to tap into their knowledge, expertise, and ideas, tailoring policies to local needs and priorities. Citizen commitment is crucial, especially for green policies, which directly affect their daily lives.
Interested in knowing more? Write to [email protected] and join the upcoming Citizen Participation and Deliberative Democracy Festival (12-14 June, Brussels), dedicated to the green transition.
Reference: Quaglia, A., Guimaraes Pereira, Â., De Schiffart, J., Ferreira, J.M., Ferrigno, M., Godienė, G., Gómez Llabrés, M., Isidoro, C., Junyer Puig, H., Klumpers, S., Lacarac, D., Manica, M., Marando, F., Marsh, F., Mendes, R., Misiune, I., Mota, J.C., Noguera Ferrando, M., Pinho, P., Princé, K., Bizjak, K.R., Simonič Korošak, T., Tennås Holmen, A., Zulian, G. and Gueorguieva, A., BiodiverCities Atlas: A participatory guide to building urban biodiverse futures, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2023, doi:10.2760/547958, JRC133253.
