Pollinators in the urban environment
Organised by Promote Pollinators, the Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators
The webinar aims to share knowledge on the relevance of pollinators in the urban environment and to showcase examples of urban pollinator policies and initiatives. We want to enhance attention with other cities and city-influencers and identify facilitators that help cities to develop and implement pollinators strategies. The webinar will last about 2 hours and will be divided into two parts: presentations and panel discussions between experts.
Speaker Katherine Baldock is a Contributing Author of the IPBES Pollination Assessment. Find her work in chapter 2 on 'Drivers of change of pollinators, pollination networks and pollination.'
Program
Presentations
The presentations about pollinators in the urban environment will be held by various experts.
- State of the art science
by Katherine Baldock - The national perspective
from Mexico, by Sol Ortiz Garcia (TBC) - What is happening in cities?
- Montreal – by Michel St-Germain
- Tallinn – by Meelis Uustal
- Nairobi – by Wanja Kinuthia
- The Bee City and Bee Campus USA Initiatives
by Mace Vaughan
Panel discussion
The presentations will be followed by panel discussions. Leading questions:
- what are critical success factors for good urban pollinator initiatives?
- (how) can urban pollinator initiatives contribute to science and awareness?
- how can other governmental levels support the development of urban pollinator initiatives?
About Promote Pollinators
Driven by the IPBES Assessment, during the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) in Cancun, Mexico, 11 countries expressed their concern about the decline of pollinating species and their habitats worldwide, and their willingness to act. According to these countries, working together and sharing knowledge will motivate countries to take measures and putting them into effect. With this as a starting point, they united to establish such an alliance. On Sunday the 4th of December they announced their intention to collaborate in a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ on pollination and the protection of pollinators.
Top photo by Dan Mullen on Flickr: mating Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). 365 U.S. cities have now committed to the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge program. In 2022, mayors and heads of local government, together with local partners like schools, community-based organizations and volunteers, created 832 acres of monarch habitat through the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge.