Could reconnecting urban citizens with nature lead to more biodiverse and heat resilient cities? The Rewilding Community of Practice and Rewilding Academy invited Cain Blythe, CEO of Ecosulis, Juat Ying Ng, an assistant director of the sustainability office of Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, and Hakim El Amrani, biophilic designer and founder of Studio NousNous to discuss the ecological and social importance of restoration in cities.

With more than a half of the world’s population currently living in the cities, these urban areas became the primary habitats of humans. Disconnected from the natural world, the expansion of cities inevitably contributes to climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. Our concrete jungles have lost the ability to naturally absorb carbon from the atmosphere. At a time we are urgently looking for carbon sequestration opportunities, this “missing sink” threatens the climate resilience of our cities.Cities are often 5-10 °C warmer than their rural surroundings and are now hit by extreme heat waves, water shortages and mega floods. This affects the safety, health and well-being of millions of people.

Learning from ecosystems as a guide for urban development can help cities to become more climate resilient. This includes the implementation of nature-based solutions in urban areas that have important biodiversity and human well-being co-benefits.

Green and blue beat the gray

Based on past efforts to green up Singapore as quickly as possible for shade and access to green spaces, the city is restoring nature in the city through reserves, green buildings, parks and streetscape for climate resilience. The iconic Gardens by the Bay developed a new wetland restoration initiative, providing a sanctuary to native flora and fauna in the city.

“When the project started, the idea was to provide green space for people to connect with nature and to balance [city] development with nature”, says Juat Ying Ng, assistant director of the Garden’s sustainability office. Now water cascades and streamlets create microhabitats for biodiversity to flourish. Gardens by the Bay is located downtown Singapore and provides people with an opportunity to relax in a natural environment, which improves the well-being of its citizens.

The wetland’s lush green and blue spaces not only provide a refuge for people and wildlife escaping the urban heat, but are also important for carbon storage and sequestration. The site is now a testbed for climate solutions and,in that way, is contributing to Singapore’s emission offsetting goals.

“In terms of our water resource management, our lakes are an extension of the Marina Reservoir next to it””, says Juat Ying. “We also have plants to filter nutrients with aquatic reed beds and the clean water is used again to irrigate our plants. That flows back to the reservoir so it's a circular water system”.

Education and awareness raising are important as well. Through its Community in Nature Initiative, the Garden’s have launched their first Citizen Science Mangrove Monitoring programme, so members of the public can actually help with collecting data and in return they get to learn more about our biodiversity.

Cities in the flow

Cain Blythe of Ecosulis provided a UK perspective on rewilding cities. He defines rewilding as “a space of innovation in conservation, characterized by a desire to restore ecosystem processes at various scales, often through the reintroduction of species or natural disturbances”.

“People are central to developing rewilding programmes”, Cain explained. “Our approach to city rewilding is to take a helicopter view, mapping the different important features throughout the city, like different habitats that can provide spaces for nature, with the help of remote sensing data, interviews, historical records and also field surveys to map out exactly what's going on in the city”.

Water flows in a city are an important component for developing restoration plans. Apart from removing dams or other obstacles, an important measure is to restore gravel beds to increase variability in the water flows and levels. This also provides the substrate that allows nutrients to be recycled and water to be cleaned. There's a good reason for focussing on water flows and wetlands, because they not only support a vast array of biodiversity but they can store and lock up carbon for a long period of time.

“There are some restrictions or limitations within a city environment that makes it a little bit harder, such as letting nature lead and working at nature's scale”, says Caine. “ But we believe it is possible that we can start to integrate these sorts of principles in future city design in a much more meaningful way so that we can really adopt the full range of rewilding principles that are available”.

The art of rewilding

Although cities are habitats created by and for humans, latest studies show that urban dwellers are in fact not thriving in them. Many people living in cities are disconnected from nature and each other, and as a result they are more vulnerable to mental or neurological disorders.

Hakim el Amrani’s mission is to challenge all boundaries between space and nature, inside and outside. As an artist and expert in spatial design, he believes biophilia and biomimicry can tackle our urban challenges through a holistic approach. This angle also includes an inclusive pathway, dissolving boundaries between designers and local citizens to come to solutions in a truly co-creative process.

“We first need to establish the ‘Why’ and then we can go to the ‘How’”, says Hakim. “We need to have the right mindset first in order to understand and revalue nature, before we can even start talking about designs”.

Using nature elements, biomorphic shapes and bio-based materials, Hakim’s biophilic design is about connecting things, connecting people, connecting green spaces, providing a dynamic, organic space for development and recreation.“There’s a lot of evidence that even the simplest engagement with nature, [...] really benefits people’s health and wellbeing and hopefully that leads to reducing the amount of disconnection between people and the natural world” adds Cain Blythe. 

Connecting nature with cities and educating people about the benefits of the connection is one of the important foci of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Rewilding our cities is an essential step in the transition towards a sustainable future.

Learn more about restoring cities through a MOOC on Urban Rewilding developed by a team of Wageningen University and the Rewilding Academy: https://rewilding.academy/courses/urban-rewilding-restore-your-local-ecosystem/

Text by: Arend de Haas & Jonas Skutka

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and partners, covers terrestrial as well as coastal and marine ecosystems. As global call to action, it will draw together political support, scientific research and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. Find out how you can contribute to the UN Decade. Follow #GenerationRestoration