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SSRP Director Professor Joseph Alcamo was invited to give one of the closing keynote addresses at the EcoCity World Summit in London June 6-8, 2023. The first Summit took place in 1990 and it is now the longest-running series of global conferences on cities and ecology.

Prof Alcamo used his keynote speech to call for a new alliance between those working to make cities ecological and just, and those working on national and international strategies to combat climate change and global biodiversity loss.

During his speech, Prof Alcamo explained: “The view from the outside is that cities are part of the problem of climate change and biodiversity loss. But I don’t agree. Eco-cities could, and should, be part of the solution”.

As examples he said that cities could stitch together their green areas to make ecological corridors for helping plants and animals migrate under climate change; they could plant trees to provide new habitat for birds and other species and cool the city during more frequent heat waves; they could replace impermeable tarmac walkways and streets with permeable materials. This would allow storm water to seep into the soil rather than run off and cause floods in settlements downstream. He asked those working to bring more nature into cities to link up with national governments and NGOs so that local ecological actions could become part of national and international climate strategies.

At the end of the Summit the Mayor of Durban in South Africa, Mxolisi Kaunda, announced that the next Summit would take place in Durban, and that it would “represent the true spirit of the African continent.”

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