BiodiverCities by 2030 and the Opportunities of Climate Adaptation in Cities

This 90-minute high-level session will showcase the experience of the BiodiverCities Network of Latin America and the Caribbean as a platform to promote a more inclusive, resilient and nature-positive urban development model that connects adequate housing, sustainable habitat, biodiversity and climate resilience. Latin America and the Caribbean faces a profound housing and urban habitat crisis. While quantitative housing deficits remain significant, the region’s main challenge is increasingly qualitative: millions of urban residents live in informal settlements or in neighborhoods with insufficient access to infrastructure, public space, green areas and environmentally healthy urban environments. At the same time, unplanned urban expansion continues to accelerate biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate vulnerability. The event will be organized into two 40-minute panels. Panel 1: Adequate Housing and Sustainable Habitat from the BiodiverCities Experience. This panel will bring together local authorities from cities within the BiodiverCities Network to discuss how Nature-based Solutions, urban regeneration, neighborhood upgrading and green infrastructure can simultaneously improve living conditions, reduce climate vulnerabilities and protect urban biodiversity. The discussion will also explore how cities can integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services into housing and territorial planning strategies, particularly in vulnerable urban areas. Panel 2: Financing BiodiverCities and Sustainable Urban Habitat. This panel will focus on global, regional and multilateral financing opportunities for projects promoting adequate housing, sustainable habitat and biodiversity protection. Special emphasis will be placed on innovative financing instruments, subnational capacities and the structuring of bankable urban projects capable of delivering environmental, social and climate co-benefits. Through both discussions, the event aims to position BiodiverCities as a strategic framework for advancing more green, just and prosperous cities aligned with the New Urban Agenda, the SDGs and global climate commitments.