Nathan Goode: Biodiversity, bees and business are the buzzwords in our cities

Biodiversity in the city – it sounds like an oxymoron. Urban spaces and nature would seem to have little in common. But it's an issue we need to take seriously.

This is the International Year of Biodiversity and there is no better time to remind ourselves of the wide range of benefits urban biodiversity brings in enriching our lives and, in many cases, probably making us fitter and healthier too.

Just as the countryside is completely shaped by humans, the cities often provide rich and diverse habitats for flora and fauna and can compensate to some extent for the lack of biodiversity in the country; to the point that some species may actually be doing better in cities than in the country – not just foxes, but bees.

Paris is rapidly becoming the urban bee-keeping capital of the world. The city has some 400 hives and counting. It is becoming fashionable for expensive hotels and restaurants to have their own hives. Some are on the balconies of apartments, others in public parks or on the roofs of famous buildings, such as the two opera houses.

City bees appear to be not just immune to the health problems facing their country cousins, but also more productive, because of the variety of plant life, a ban on pesticides in Paris and the fact that it is an urban heat island.

In Detroit, Michigan, there are plans to develop a full-scale urban farm covering more than 70 acres of underutilised vacant lands and abandoned properties on the lower east side to grow fresh fruit and vegetables.

Our entire ecosystem depends on biodiversity. Some parts of the world can see this. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Business Report, published for Unesco in July, showed over 50 per cent of CEOs in Latin America and 45 per cent in Africa saw declines in biodiversity as a challenge to business growth. In contrast, less than 20 per cent in western Europe shared these concerns.

So if anyone asks why should we take biodiversity in cities seriously… Because in this planet of cities our future might just depend on it.

lNathan Goode is a partner at business and financial advisers Grant Thornton.