Conference 2003
Greening the City:
Bringing Biodiversity Back
into the Urban Environment
Abstract:
 2003 Banks Memorial Lecture:
Cities
are Cultural and Ecological Keys to Biodiversity Futures
Colin D. Meurk (Landcare Research, Lincoln)
Despite the 'call to
arms' to halt the decline in New Zealand's natural character and
biodiversity; despite the widely touted environmental consensus
and positive contribution that restoration is making, there is still
something going wrong. Attrition of primary habitat continues in
our urban and wider cultural landscapes, and natural character is
becoming invisible and irrelevant to the majority of people who
never see it, recognise it, or identify with it. Cities however
hold the key to turning this around. They are the crucibles of
modern culture, where most people live and where popular opinion
is forged - whether it concerns the environment, maintaining points
of difference, or anything else.
Cities often developed
at the junctions of major biomes (marine, river, and rainforest
or dryland, on hills or plains) and thus naturally supported a broad
cross-section of lowland biodiversity. Wild indigenous floras of
our cities are on a par with those of our National Parks. These
species are often represented by small precarious populations that
could, nevertheless, be revitalised to form the basis for biodiverse
cities. Cities are not only a focus of natural resources, but also
of labour, technology and finances. The ecological turn around
is therefore feasible so long as there is the political and cultural
will. This has become complicated by the visual dominance of our
cultural landscapes by exotic trees, shrubs, grasses/pastures, flowers
(in lawns, hedges and herbaceous borders) and weeds. Generations
of New Zealanders have been overwhelmingly exposed to species of
other lands, and the nation's identity is accordingly at a crossroads.
Sense of place is important for residents, and the discerning tourist
market demands indigenous authenticity, not a pale replica of something
available back home. City dwellers in New Zealand are already showing
a positive change in attitude towards their indigenous plants and
wildlife, but are often thwarted by conservative commercial gardening
interests and political leaders who lag behind their constituents.
There is an urgent need
to arrest the decline in our biodiversity, not only because of its
intrinsic worth and our moral duty to look after the unique creations
of this planet, but because we owe ourselves and our emerging culture
an unambiguous sense of place. There are a range of actions and
opportunities to be taken in cities - honest application of the
spirit and intent of the Resource Management Act would be a good
start, political mainstreaming of the environment, protecting remaining
primary habitat as the benchmark for total ecosystem complexity,
ruthless weed and pest control (including the banning of propagation
and spread of invasive exotic plants), planning and restoring viable
habitat patch configurations and connectivity, and most of all raising
the profile of indigenous plants in biodiverse farms, gardens and
city substrates - in lawns, hedges, shelterbelts, rock gardens,
footpaths and brickwalls. In short, our natural heritage must become
a part of every citizen's daily experience. When all the local
native plants are regenerating, dispersing, establishing, dominating
the seed banks again, supporting wildlife, and indeed have become
the 'weeds' of our cities, we will know we have succeeded in turning
around the extinction spiral of New Zealand's unique biota.
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