While sports and nature often occupy and compete for the same green spaces in cities, well-planned sports infrastructure can make positive contributions to urban biodiversity. A new guide published today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), identifies key ecological criteria that city officials and sports venue developers can apply to incorporate the needs of nature in their planning.
The new guide, published as part of the IUCN-IOC partnership and titled Sports and urbanbiodiversity: a framework for achieving mutual benefits for nature and sports in cities, explains how investing in urban biodiversity provides an opportunity for sports federations, venue owners and operators, local organising committees as well as city planners and investors to build a long-lasting and socially-positive legacy in cities.
“Sports and urban nature both play essential roles in the wellbeing of city dwellers, contributing to a liveable urban environment. New sports infrastructure and events present unique opportunities to create space for biodiversity and strengthen the health and resilience of our cities”, said IUCN Director General Bruno Oberle. “This guide provides an important tool for urban planners, developers and operators of sports venues to make the most of these opportunities.”
“We hope that this guide, together with other guides in the series, will help the sports community to better understand its relationship with nature and inspire it to take concrete actions to help address today’s immense environmental challenges,” said IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper.“Sporting activities must benefit nature if we want to continue enjoying them, while striving to achieve our vision of ‘building a better world through sport”.
The guide outlines a planning framework containing seven ecological criteria that determine the biodiversity impact of sports infrastructure, including: habitat patch size; connectivity across the urban landscape; quality of the landscape matrix surrounding a habitat patch; diversity of habitats available; native vegetation; special resources like water and nesting locations; and, wildlife-friendly management.
( source- https://www.iucn.org/news/business-and-biodiversity/202011/new-iucn-ioc-guide-demonstrates-how-sports-can-benefit-nature-cities )
