Urban biodiversity refers to the variety and variability among living organisms found in a city and the ecological systems in which they occur. Biodiversity provides ecosystem goods and services and also has benefits such as flood control, water security, food security, improved human health, pollination, climate change mitigation, pollution abatement, livelihood generation and aesthetics.
The CapaCITIES project is supporting Indian cities in building resilience to climate vulnerabilities by Improving the local biodiversity management:
In Rajkot, a detailed vegetation analysis was carried out to help the city identify locations as well as tree species for tree plantation initiatives.
In Siliguri, the City Biodiversity Index and Natural Asset Map was developed and a Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is being developed under Phase 2 of the project.
