The changing role of municipal governments in the protection of

biodiversity and natural areas

Jim Barborak* and Cat SeverCenter for Protected Area Management and Training

Colorado State University

*Member, World Commission on Protected Areas IUCN / WCPA

and Cities and Conservation Specialist Group, WCPA

Municipal governments already play a vital role in conserving natural heritage

• Local park systems conserve unique species and ecosystems; many are in biodiversity hotspots

• Local governments increasingly control land use planning and regulation in many countries

Image: Central Park, New York City, New York; photo by brooks215; courtesy of sxc.hu

• Local governments manage thousands of protected areas and millions of hectares

• Municipal protected area (PA) systems often receive more visitors than national/federal systems

• Municipalities are investing in turning stream corridors, brownfields and landfills into parks

• Form corridors and buffers for national/regional PAs• Provide environmental services vital to growing urban

populations, particularly water and outdoor recreation• Are important sites for

environmental education• Play a role in fighting the

obesity crisis and improving physical and mental health of urban populations

• Often combine natural and cultural values

• Help protect against natural disasters (landslides, flash floods, etc.)

Image: São Paulo, taken from Pedra Grande in the Cantateira State Park - the most visited State Park in Brazil; photo by Glen Hyman

The importance of municipal protected areas

Traditionally, the role of local governments in green issues in many nations was limited

• Weak fiscal autonomy, dependence on central government transfers

• Land registries, taxing and planning managed by central governments

• Local governments focused on "brown" issues in environmental departments

• Limited citizen involvement in decision making

• Most urban parks infrastructure-intensive for active recreation, playgrounds

• Highly centralized governments• Limited human, institutional capacity• Lack of dedicated funding sources• Little focus on green infrastrucure

Image: Hampden Park in Eastbourne Borough, U.K.; photo by Mark Hansen; courtesy of sxc.hu

There has been much reform in the past 2 decades

• Legal and institutional frameworks changing—local elections, greater acceptance of the subsidiary principle, more public participation

• Local governments with more revenue and authority for land registration and valuation, property taxing land use planning

Image: Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan; photo by Jacky Sen; courtesy of sxc.hu

• Professionalization of staff, particularly in large urban municipalities

• New protected area and municipal governance laws require local authorities to consider green issues

• Greater local government and urban population concern for urban and peri-urban biodiversity conservation

• Municipalities of all sizes are active in PA planning and management

The situation continues to change ...

• Co-management of protected areas by sub-national authorities and civil society now accepted in many countries

• Bilateral and multilateral donors support these trends

• Creation of environmental departments and municipal systems of protected areas is a growing norm

• Promotion of local environmental strategies/Agenda 21• More than 50% of the world’s population now lives in cities

(http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/ucpe/)

Image: Tiergarten Park, Berlin, Germany; photo by beedubz; courtesy of wikipedia.org

Promising examples • Over 1400 local nature reserves in England • Regional government supports municipal parks in Risaralda, Colombia• Perth Biodiversity Project supports local governments in natural areas management• Inclusion of municipal PA management categories within recent legislation and

constitutions in several countries, such as Ecuador• Array of examples in major urban centers of the Atlantic Rainforest region of Brazil

(Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, etc.)• In Guatemala, creation of regional parks by

municipalities• Co-management of PAs by local

governments, NGOs in Honduras• 38 per cent of Hong Kong has been

designated as country parks• Expanded role of municipalities in PA

management committees world-wide

Image: Perth, Australia and city parks; photo by Allan; courtesy of http://www.yourglobaltravelguide.com/1757/western-austalia-perth/

Image: Sea Point Promenade in Cape Town; photo by Glen Hyman

Promising example: Cape Town, South Africa

• “A coordinated and integrated approach to conservation and biodiversity from a citywide perspective across line functions;

• Biodiversity goals based on citywide biodiversity targets;

• Equitable distribution of, and access to, biological wealth;

• Improved and redistributed benefits to disadvantaged communities arising directly from the conservation of biodiversity;

• Participative, open, and transparent approaches to conservation of biodiversity, rather than restrictive ones;

• Creative approaches to protection and enhancement of biodiversity;

• Partnerships with external and donor organizations”

(Katzschner et al. 2005. The City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Strategy. In Ted Trzyna, ed., The Urban Imperative. California Institute of Public Affairs, Sacramento, California).

The City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Strategy strives to introduce a paradigm shift, including:

• Among the largest urban parks in the world and surrounded on 3 sides by Mumbai, India’s most populous city

• Its many lakes contain 8% of Mumbai’s municipal water supply• Lakes are managed by Bombay

Municipal Corporation• Park is administered by State

Forest Department• SGNP has rich biological, hydrological,

historical, recreational, educational, and spiritual values• Over 800 species of flowering plants and 4

forest types• Sizable populations of mammals, including

many big cats, reptiles, butterflies, amphibians, invertebrates, and birds

• Management of encroachment and human-wildlife conflict requires cooperation and collaboration between park and city

Promising example: Sanjay Gandhi National Park The Lungs of Mumbai

Image: View of Mumbai from, a small zoo within SGNP; photo by

Himanshu Sarpotdar; courtesy of

wikipedia.org

Image: SGNP is green area in north of Mumbai; map by Arun Ganesh;

courtesy of wikipedia.org

Image: Place Holder for woman on lion safari; currently obtaining permission for

use

Promising example: The Mountains to Plains Project, Colorado, USA

• The Laramie Foothills-Mountains to Plains Project is a collaborative land protection effort between willing landowners, city (Fort Collins) and county (Larimer) authorities, The Nature Conservancy, Legacy Land Trust and Great Outdoors Colorado.

Image: Red Mountain Open Space; photo by Rick Price; courtesy of Larimer County Natural Resources Department

• Land protection in this culturally and ecologically diverse landscape, have protected 20,000 ha • Corridor links to much larger national forests, grasslands and parks and wilderness areas to the east and west

Image: Laramie Foothills-Mountains to Plains Project; courtesy of the Fort Collins Master Naturalist Program

Promising example: Xochimilco, Mexico City

Image: Xochimilco Canals In Mexico City; photo by Vixander; courtesy of sxc.hu

Image: Cows grazing in the Parque Ecológico de Xochimilco; photo byJflo23; courtesy of

wikipedia.org

Image: A farmer weeding his crops on one of Xochimilco's remaining chinampas; photo

byJflo23; courtesy of wikipedia.org

• Located 28 km south of city center• Agricultural, historical, cultural and

biological values

• Inter-county management of New York’s Catskills

• Successful national-local government co-management models in Ecuador (Cuenca and Cajas NP) and Brazil (Tijuca NP, Rio de Janeiro)

• Growing interest in scenic routes and trail systems (San Cristobal, Mexico) and Hong Kong

• In Panama City, the creation of Curundú Metropolitan Park

More promising examples

Image: Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; photo courtesy of www.rioturismoradical.com.br/hiking.htm

Image: Delaware River in New York’s Catskills; photo courtesy of the Catskill Association for Tourism Services

Image: Cajas National Park in Ecuador, near Cuenca; photo by Delphine Ménard; courtesy of wikipedia.org

• Local and regional protected areas often form corridors or buffer national PAs

• Local parks provide environmental services vital to a growing urban population, particularly water

Protected areas managed by local governments complement the role of national governments

• They are important outdoor laboratories for environmental education

• They are used for outdoor recreation by growing urban populations

• They preserve unique species and ecosystems

Image: City park near Melbourne’s Central Business District, Australia; courtesy of sxc.hu

• National and regional governments should support local initiatives and allow local governments to play a greater role in the management of national protected areas

• Multilateral, bilateral and private donors need to provide more support to local government protected area systems

The role of other actors

• Municipalities need to help each other through their own national and regional associations

• International, national and local NGOs can partner with municipalities as well as play a role in "monitoring"

• Municipalities can promote improved private land management through PES payments, easements, TA

Image: Central Park, New York City, New York; photo courtesy of www.nycvisit.com

• Continue to improve the legal framework: Environmental and municipal clauses in

constitutions Laws on environmental service payment

systems Laws that enable local governments to

create and manage their own PA systems and comanage others

Laws that make water users pay costs of watershed management

Land use planning codes and ordinances Laws regarding private reserves and

easements

Recommendations

Image: Khoroshevsky Forest Park, Moscow, Russia; photo by Vladimir Fofanov; courtesy of sxc.hu

• Create model municipal natural areas• Strengthen role of national, regional governments in providing funding

and TA to local government for conservation programs

• Strengthen individual and institutional capacity of municipal environmental departments; create them where they do not exist

• Accept merit promotion and continuity in office and depoliticize the technical bodies of municipalities

• Reform tax and fee policies to create incentives for conservation on private land in municipalities: PES, payments for mitigation, biodiversity offsets; appropriate municipal service rates

More recommendations

• Complete cadastral studies of tenure, and prepare and implement land use ordinances and plans

• Control squatting on and degradation of peri-urban natural areas

• Make urban natural areas user-friendly to a wide cross section of society to strengthen public support

Image: City park in Utrecht, the Netherlands; photo by Timo Balk; courtesy of sxc.hu

Image: Ramsar Wetland near Guayaquil, Ecuador; courtesy of Ministry of Environment, Ecuador

Thank you! Gracias! Mercí!Jim.Barborak@colostate.edu

For more information, please visit the websites of:

IUCN WCPA Cities and Protected Areas Specialist Grouphttp://www.interenvironment.org/pa/index.htm

Larimer County Natural Resources Departmentwww.co.larimer.co.us/naturalresources /laramie_foothills.htm

Center for Protected Area Management and Traininghttp://warnercnr.colostate.edu/cpam-home/

Natural England: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/lnr/default.aspx