Protecting Urban Biodiversity: Policies and Initiatives

Cities are expanding at a rapid pace, and with that growth comes a pressing question – how do we protect the plants, animals, and ecosystems that share urban spaces with us? Urban biodiversity, the variety of life found within and around cities, faces constant threats from construction, pollution, habitat loss, and unregulated trade. Fortunately, a multi-layered system of international agreements, national laws, and grassroots community action exists to safeguard this biodiversity. Let’s explore how these protection measures work at the global, national, and local levels.

Global frameworks for biodiversity conservation
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
CITES: regulating wildlife trade
National conservation measures in India
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002
Local efforts and community involvement
Biodiversity parks: Delhi’s pioneering model
People’s Biodiversity Registers: citizen-led documentation
How these layers work together

Global frameworks for biodiversity conservation

The protection of urban biodiversity does not start at the city level – it begins with international cooperation. Two major global frameworks play a foundational role: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The CBD is the first global agreement to address all aspects of biological diversity – its conservation, the sustainable use of its components, and the equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources. It was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and came into force in December 1993. Today, 196 parties have ratified the convention, with the notable exception of the United States.

What makes the CBD particularly relevant to urban biodiversity is its most recent action plan – the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in December 2022. This framework sets ambitious targets for halting biodiversity loss worldwide. Among them, Target 12 specifically addresses urban areas. It calls on countries to significantly expand the area, quality, and connectivity of green and blue spaces in cities and densely populated regions. The target encourages biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, the enhancement of native species, ecological connectivity, and contributions to sustainable urbanisation.

According to UN-Habitat, roughly 70% of the world’s population will be urban dwellers by mid-century. Countries with the greatest biodiversity are projected to see the highest rates of urban population growth. This makes the KMGBF’s urban-specific targets critically important – cities must become active participants in biodiversity conservation, not passive contributors to its decline.

The CBD also requires its member nations to prepare National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which serve as the primary policy instruments for implementing the convention’s goals at the national level. These plans are expected to mainstream biodiversity considerations across sectors, including urban planning and infrastructure.

CITES: regulating wildlife trade

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is another crucial pillar of global biodiversity protection. Drafted in 1973 and entering into force in 1975, CITES aims to ensure that international trade in wild animal and plant specimens does not threaten their survival. As of 2025, the treaty has 185 parties and protects over 40,000 species.

While CITES primarily targets cross-border wildlife trade, its implications for urban biodiversity are significant. Cities are major hubs for the consumption and transit of wildlife products – from exotic pets and ornamental plants to traditional medicines and fashion goods. CITES operates through a system of three appendices: Appendix I prohibits commercial trade in the most endangered species, Appendix II regulates trade in species that could become threatened, and Appendix III allows individual countries to seek international cooperation in protecting specific species.

By controlling the demand side of wildlife trade – which is heavily concentrated in urban centres – CITES helps protect species whose habitats may be far from cities but whose survival is directly affected by urban consumption patterns. The treaty also serves as a tool against illegal wildlife trafficking, a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise that threatens ecosystems worldwide.

National conservation measures in India

India is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, home to roughly 7-8% of all recorded species globally despite occupying only about 2.4% of the Earth’s land area. To protect this rich biological heritage, India has established a robust legal framework, with two laws being particularly relevant to urban biodiversity: the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

This is one of the earliest and most significant environmental legislations in India, aimed at protecting wild animals, birds, and plants and ensuring the ecological security of the nation. The Act provides for the establishment of protected areas – national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, and community reserves – which form the backbone of India’s habitat protection strategy.

For urban areas, this law matters because many cities in India are located near or contain pockets of ecologically sensitive zones. The Act restricts activities like hunting, poaching, and habitat destruction within and around protected areas. The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2022 introduced stricter penalties, brought the regulation of exotic species under its ambit, and aligned Indian law with CITES requirements. This means that urban markets dealing in wildlife products face greater legal scrutiny than before.

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002

India’s Biological Diversity Act was enacted to meet the country’s obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity. It focuses on three core objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.

What makes this Act particularly relevant to urban areas is its three-tier governance structure:

National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) – a statutory body headquartered in Chennai that provides regulatory, advisory, and facilitative functions at the national level. State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) – established in each state to regulate access to biological resources and advise state governments on conservation matters. Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) – constituted at every local body level, including municipal corporations in urban areas, for promoting conservation, sustainable use, and documentation of biological diversity.

This decentralised model ensures that biodiversity governance reaches down to the grassroots, including city wards and municipalities. The Act also empowers state governments to designate Biodiversity Heritage Sites – areas of special ecological importance. So far, 44 such sites have been notified across 16 states in India.

The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 further refined the law by simplifying compliance for researchers, promoting cultivation of medicinal plants, and encouraging greater participation of local communities – all of which have direct implications for how biodiversity is managed in urban settings.

Local efforts and community involvement

While international and national frameworks provide the legal backbone, the actual work of protecting urban biodiversity often happens at the local level. Two of the most impactful local-level mechanisms in India are biodiversity parks and People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs).

Biodiversity parks: Delhi’s pioneering model

Delhi stands out as a remarkable example of how urban biodiversity can be actively restored and conserved. The city is home to seven biodiversity parks spanning approximately 820 hectares – possibly the only city in India, or even the world, to maintain such a network. These parks include the Aravalli Biodiversity Park (280 ha), Yamuna Biodiversity Park (185 ha), Neela Hauz Biodiversity Park, Tilpath Valley, Tughlaqabad, Northern Ridge, and South Delhi Biodiversity Park.

These parks are not mere gardens or recreational spaces. They are nature reserves that harbour hundreds of native plant, animal, and microbial species living in ecologically sustainable communities and providing vital ecological services such as carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge, and urban cooling. They were developed through a collaboration between the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) at the University of Delhi.

The story of the Aravalli Biodiversity Park is especially compelling. Until the early 2000s, the area was severely degraded by sand mining, and invasive species had taken over the landscape. Today, abandoned mining pits have been repurposed into conservatories for butterflies, ferns, and orchids. The park was even declared India’s first “Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures” (OECM) site in 2022, a recognition of its conservation value.

India has also scaled up urban greening through the Nagar Van Yojana, launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2020. This initiative aims to create 1,000 urban forests and gardens across Indian cities by involving local communities, NGOs, educational institutions, and urban local bodies.

People’s Biodiversity Registers: citizen-led documentation

The People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) is a repository of local flora and fauna species, livelihoods, and traditional knowledge, mandated under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Every local body in India – whether a rural panchayat or an urban municipal corporation – is required to constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee and prepare a PBR in consultation with local communities.

A PBR is not just a species checklist. It documents the folk knowledge of species status, their uses, historical changes, and the forces driving those changes. This participatory process involves gathering information through questionnaires, group discussions, and published secondary sources. In urban settings, ecologically important spots – lakes, wetlands, old groves, vacant lots with native vegetation – are identified and documented.

The impact of PBRs can be seen in real examples. In Bengaluru, the BMC recorded a century-old woodland near Manyata Tech Park in the city’s PBR in 2024, a step towards protecting this half-acre site that hosts over 20 tree species and numerous bird species from encroachment and development.

Kolkata was the first major metropolitan city in India to prepare a detailed PBR, setting a precedent for other large cities. Nationally, over 2.67 lakh PBRs have been created, forming a bottom-up knowledge base that empowers communities to protect the biodiversity around them and ensures that traditional ecological knowledge is not lost to urbanisation.

PBRs also serve a protective legal function. They help prevent biopiracy – the unauthorised commercial exploitation of biological resources or traditional knowledge – by creating a documented record that can be used as evidence of prior knowledge and community rights.

How these layers work together

The strength of urban biodiversity protection lies in how these different layers of governance interact. The CBD sets the global vision and targets. CITES controls the international trade that affects urban wildlife markets. India’s national laws – the Wildlife Protection Act and the Biological Diversity Act – translate these global commitments into enforceable rules. And local mechanisms like biodiversity parks and PBRs bring these rules to life in cities and neighbourhoods.

However, challenges remain. Rapid urbanisation continues to outpace conservation efforts in many Indian cities. Enforcement of existing laws is inconsistent. Many BMCs, particularly in smaller towns, lack the funding and technical expertise to prepare comprehensive PBRs. And public awareness of urban biodiversity – what it is, why it matters, and how individuals can contribute – is still limited.

The path forward requires stronger integration of biodiversity considerations into city master plans, greater investment in urban green infrastructure, and more active citizen participation in documentation and conservation efforts. The frameworks are in place; what’s needed is the political will and public engagement to make them work.

What do you think? Does your city have biodiversity parks or green corridors that support local wildlife? How can everyday residents contribute more meaningfully to documenting and protecting the biodiversity in their own neighbourhoods?

References

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Table of Contents

Global frameworks for biodiversity conservation 🔗

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 🔗

CITES: regulating wildlife trade 🔗

National conservation measures in India 🔗

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 🔗

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 🔗

Local efforts and community involvement 🔗

Biodiversity parks: Delhi’s pioneering model 🔗

People’s Biodiversity Registers: citizen-led documentation 🔗

How these layers work together 🔗