Opportunities for Biodiversity Conservation via Urban Ecosystem Regeneration

Conservation traditionally focuses on at-risk species and relatively intact ecosystems. As the human population and our global impact have risen, many more species and ecosystems are at risk and fewer intact ecosystems remain, with urbanization being a major contributing factor. Cities and their inhabitants are here to stay, and the prevalence of urbanization, often in the vicinity of areas of high conservation value, requires reconsideration of the conservation value of urban ecosystems and urban green spaces. Our aim is to explore the practical aspects of such actions. Urban ecosystem regeneration will require the incorporation of strategies for urban ecosystem regeneration into an overall conservation policy. The novel paradigm of urban ecosystem regeneration, advocated here, maximizes the capacity of urban spaces to support biodiversity while reducing undesirable outcomes and enhancing human wellbeing. The potential for cities to exacerbate biological invasion, climate change, and other ecosystem-degrading factors requires particular attention in devising a strategy for conservation in urban spaces, made essential by the predicted further spread of cities across the globe.