Cape Town’s Exceptional Biodiversity

The City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews, participated in an international webinar in celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2025, under the theme ‘Harmony with nature and sustainable development’.

The Deputy Mayor emphasised the complexity of sustainable development in the context of a rapidly growing city with globally significant biodiversity.

Alderman Andrews was hosted by ICLEI’s Cities Biodiversity Centre (CBC) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD). The virtual session was titled ‘Integrating Biodiversity and Urban Development: Local Action for Sustainable Cities’, with the focus on the critical role that cities and subnational governments have in achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular on the SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

‘Sustainable development is a challenging concept and even more so in a city like Cape Town, where we are striving to address the pressing need for development while protecting some of the world’s most threatened biodiversity,’ said Alderman Andrews.

The City of Cape Town has made significant strides in integrating biodiversity into its spatial planning, supported by tools such as the fine-scale biodiversity spatial plan known as the BioNet. The BioNet informs all City spatial planning products, and the City is currently finalising a policy to formally adopt it as the Cape Town Biodiversity Spatial Plan.

‘Sound spatial planning that takes biodiversity informants into account, alongside a proactive protected area expansion strategy, are key to meeting development needs while conserving our natural heritage and creating vibrant, healthy spaces for all,’ said Alderman Andrews.

‘It’s not just about targets, but also about building widespread understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues and instilling a sense of responsibility in every resident and sector,’ said Alderman Andrews.

He noted the importance of local-level conservation planning, as this is where the direct impacts of development are felt and where action is often most effective.

‘Conservation implementation in urban spaces is undoubtedly complex. Land is scarce, and the competition for it is intense. Our task is to demonstrate that conservation is not a luxury, but a critical land use. It must deliver tangible benefits to communities through creating safe, accessible, well-used spaces that reflect the richness of our natural heritage and contribute to the wellbeing of all who live here,’ said Alderman Andrews.

The webinar reinforced the growing role of local governments in global sustainability and biodiversity efforts. As the world enters a critical five-year window to achieve key environmental targets by 2030, Cape Town remains committed to transformative, inclusive action that places biodiversity at the centre of sustainable urban development.