The Forum of Mayors has brought together mayors from all UNECE member states to discuss important issues of the future. These include biodiversity as well as climate protection, housing and mobility. Bonn has been nominated as a participating city by the German government.
Mayor Dörner: "I very much welcome the fact that mayors are exchanging ideas under the umbrella of the UNECE and jointly sending out impulses for more sustainability. Intact nature and the protection of biodiversity are the basis of our life and make our green city Bonn so livable. And cities have an important role to play when it comes to nature and species conservation or sustainable land use."
City is committed to nature and species conservation
Bonn is characterized by a lot of greenery in the cityscape. Around 50 percent of Bonn's urban area is under nature and landscape protection. In addition, there are other green areas such as parks or cemeteries. The proportion of forest in Bonn is as high as 30 percent. In her virtual forum contribution, Mayor Dörner has addressed Bonn's commitment to nature and biodiversity in the city.
Since 2019, the City of Bonn has been one of only a few major cities to be awarded the label "Stadtgrün naturnah" in silver. With this award, the "Communities for Biodiversity" alliance honors exemplary commitment to promoting biodiversity on urban green spaces. In its Biodiversity Action Program, the City - together with many stakeholders in and outside the city administration - wants to create awareness for the natural environment and species richness in Bonn and set a new course for innovative action concepts.
For example, the city administration is working together with the Bonn/Rhein-Erft Biological Station on the "Lebensstätte Friedhof" project to promote biodiversity in Bonn's cemeteries. Since 2018, insect-friendly flowering meadows have been created as part of this; recently, an insect nesting wall was erected. In the "Blossoms for Insects" project, children, educators and parents are working together to create flowering meadows or flowering beds in selected daycare centers in Bonn. For several years now, the City has also been using insect-friendly perennial beds that are planted in such a way that they bloom from spring to fall, providing food for insects. Currently, the City is having a biotope restored in the former quarry in the Lyngsberg nature reserve to protect the habitats of rare and endangered species.
The City is equally active in the area of nature education. At the House of Nature at Waldau, the importance of biodiversity is not only visible in the permanent exhibition, but also in the adjacent nature garden. It shows how biodiversity can also be promoted in your own garden by growing native plants. During a walk through the forest along the "path of biodiversity", visitors can learn about the diversity of tree species and soil organisms, among other things.
In the series of events organized by the Adult Education Center Bonn on "Biological Diversity in the City", interested people receive practical information and tips on how to create small biotopes for native plants and animals in gardens and even on balconies. The "Biodiversity in the City" nature trail provides a look at very different inner-city biotopes, such as wall vegetation or facade greening, which are important habitats for urban biodiversity.
Detailed information is available on the municipal homepage at
Bonn is also committed globally
As a board member of the international network "ICLEI - Cities for Sustainability" and a member of the Advisory Council of Cities to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Mayor Dörner is also involved on a global level. Her participation in the Forum of Mayors is linked to Bonn's co-signing of the Edinburgh Declaration of Cities and Regions and the expectation that the 15th World Conservation Conference in Kunming will not only adopt the next global framework treaty, but also an action plan for the subnational level.