Benthe about her project: “I am currently working on the linking of biodiversity to climate adaptation. Adaptation of the city to the changing climate, climate adaptation, is on the agenda of many municipalities in the Netherlands. Municipalities plant, for example, more greenery for water storage or trees to descend the ambient temperature. Biodiversity is often ‘forgotten’ when implementing climate adaptation, while biodiversity is important to keep ecosystems services running.
Linking biodiversity to other measures like climate adaptation is a good way to put biodiversity on municipalities’ agendas. By doing so, biodiversity will not be neglected, and enough money will be available (the money was already available for the other measure, after all). In my research, I have searched for examples of linking biodiversity to climate adaptation.
Promising measures to apply climate adaptation within municipalities and increasing biodiversity are:
- Removing concrete below tram tracks and roundabouts and planting the new surfaces with flowers that are favorable for bees and other insects.
- Making ditch banks less steep and plant these with suitable native vegetation.
- Constructing more wadis and planting these with insect-friendly vegetation.
- Removing paving tiles and planting the free space with native trees and vegetation.
- Stimulating green roofs within the municipality and planting these roofs with native vegetation.
I have summarized these and more measurements in a white paper with practical tips for municipalities.”
