Biodiversity Monitoring and Participatory Science as Tools for Urban Development and Environmental Planning in Quibdó
A research framework and recommendations to promote biodiversity conservation within and beyond urban areas in Quibdó synthesizing research as well as conversations with several stakeholders in Quibdó and Bogotá. This report presents an opportunity to find policy and planning solutions that provide multiple and simultaneous co-benefits to the environment, residents, and biodiversity.
Paper abstract “Biodiversity Monitoring and Participatory Science as Tools for Urban Development and Environmental Planning: Quibdó as a Case Study” accepted at Urban Transitions 2022 Conference (8-10 November 2022 | Sitges, Barcelona, Spain)
Authors: Maria Castillo*, Yujie Wang*, Rose Winer, Marcela Angel, Alessandra Fabbri
MIT cohort with Environmental Youth Network in Quibdó
Keywords
Community Knowledge; Community-based Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification; Science Communication; Biodivercities
Abstract
Many cities located in biodiversity hotspots face challenges for urban development including physical stressors, precarious infrastructure, competing priorities, and lack of coordination among stakeholders, from which biodiversity conservation depends. Little research has been conducted to investigate the intersectionality between biodiversity management, urban development, and environmental planning.
Quibdó, Colombia, a small city located in one of the most biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems in the world, was selected as a case study for the development of a biodiversity-based planning framework. Our research focused on finding policy and planning solutions that provide multiple and simultaneous co-benefits to the environment, residents, and biodiversity. It aims to serve as a framework for other cities participating in the BiodiverCities by 2030 initiative to create city-specific strategies through research- and community-driven projects while making biodiversity a cross-cutting theme.
First, we propose localized and consistent metrics, covering scientific, cultural, and urban aspects, to benchmark the City’s success in maintaining and restoring biodiversity in line with local conditions, capacities, and priorities. Then, we present a Community-based Biodiversity Monitoring Implementation Framework that incorporates cultural knowledge and traditions to ensure community ownership and continuity of the project. The framework emphasizes Community-based Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (CMRV) as a participatory tool for the design, planning, collection, and analysis of information on natural resources and community well-being for decision-making. By adopting this community-based approach, Quibdó will be able to position local ethnic groups as biodiversity experts, leverage regional and national technical capacities, strengthen inter-institutional partnerships, and create new jobs. Collectively, our recommendations will help Quibdó effectively utilize and build upon existing knowledge; identify priority areas, species, and themes; establish standardized quantitative and qualitative measurements for biodiversity outcomes; facilitate more efficient collective decision-making; and communicate its biodiversity successes across various sectors and scales.
Final presentation of MIT 4.s23 Biodiversity and Cities Class
This report is part of the course 4.S23 Biodiversity and Cities: A perspective in Colombian cities, taught in Spring 2022 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The Biodiversity and Cities class worked closely with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, specifically supporting the BiodiverCities Program´s goals for the city of Quibdó. Quibdó was selected as a case study for this class due to its location in one of the most biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems in Colombia: the Pacific tropical forest, and because despite being located in a region of enormous natural wealth that provides highly valuable environmental services, there are certain pressing socio-economic conditions that impact biodiversity. While these conditions, mostly by the difficult access Quibdó has to the rest of the country, can challenge the preservation of the ecosystems around Quibdó, there are several ways to turn these challenges into opportunities.
IIAP Community Workshop, Quibdó, Colombia, 2022 March
Throughout the semester, students developed a research framework and recommendations to promote biodiversity conservation within and beyond urban areas in Quibdó synthesizing research as well as conversations with several stakeholders in Quibdó and Bogotá. This report presents an opportunity to find policy and planning solutions that provide multiple and simultaneous co-benefits to the environment, residents, and biodiversity. The report summarizes the findings of the class and aims to serve as a framework for other cities participating in the BiodiverCities program to create more equitable and research-driven biodiversity management projects and strategies. This report is divided into three sections: Introduction and stakeholder analysis, thematic analysis, and conclusions. The four themes for the analysis are: 1) community knowledge and engagement, 2) sustainable development, 3) biodiversity monitoring, and 4) environmental planning.
Quibdó has natural wealth and a strong cultural identity tied to biodiversity that form the latent foundation for its identity as a “city within a jungle.” Using this report as a starting point, we hope to continue our conversations and research with community members to help Quibdó continue evolving and promoting biodiversity management strategies that respond to the community’s needs and that elevate Quibdó on a global stage as a model BiodiverCity.
