IÖR-Forum

While nature conservation efforts have a long tradition spanning almost 150 years, nature conservation laws are often only 50 years old, and nature conservation has only made widespread inroads into cities in the last 30 years. This raises the legitimate question: What and how do we protect in cities? Is it solely about preserving and showcasing rare natural relics? Or is it about preserving nature in all ist diverse forms within the urban environment so that city dwellers don't lose touch with nature? Old natural relics that have survived in urban areas are often wetlands, which were frequently left untouched due to their difficult usability. Their restoration is an important nature conservation goal. They often form the core of urban nature conservation projects. Species and habitats have already been meticulously documented in many cities. This shows, protected species (plants and animals) are found everywhere in cities, even outside of nature reserves. They cannot be preserved solely within protected areas. This offers a new perspective on urban biodiversity as species and habitat conservation and encourages nature conservation in cities to actively interact with urban residents, going beyond protected areas.