Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities

The report advocates for 'nature-positive' cities—those that halt and reverse nature loss—by integrating nature-based solutions (NbS) into urban planning. It emphasizes the role of municipal leadership, public-private partnerships, and innovative financing to implement green-blue infrastructure, compact city strategies, and circular construction practices. Case studies from cities such as Riyadh, Singapore, San Francisco, and Incheon demonstrate how afforestation, water-based urbanism, and biodiversity corridors can enhance climate resilience and public health.

• Nature loss poses a significant economic risk to urban centers, with an estimated $31 trillion, or 44% of global GDP generated in cities, currently at risk.
• Urban afforestation in arid regions can significantly reduce temperatures; for example, the Green Riyadh project aims to plant 7.5 million trees to reduce ambient temperatures by 2°C city-wide and up to 15°C in dense afforestation areas.
• Unchecked urban sprawl is a major driver of habitat loss, with projections suggesting that future expansion could lead to the loss of 11-33 million hectares of natural habitat by 2100.
• Compact city strategies, such as Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) and land-value taxes, can mitigate the environmental impact of population growth by directing development to efficient areas and protecting peri-urban ecosystems.
• Cities are increasingly using 'blue-green infrastructure' to manage water and flooding, such as Bangkok's Chulalongkorn Centenary Park, which can collect one million gallons of rainwater.
• Integrating nature into mobility networks, such as Guangzhou's 600 km of greenways, can reduce carbon emissions; ITDP research suggests these networks can prevent approximately 16,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions annually.
• The construction sector can reduce its biodiversity footprint through circular economy practices, such as Holcim's ECOCycle platform, which can recycle between 10% and 100% of construction and demolition materials.
• Singapore's 'City in Nature' vision has resulted in 48% green coverage and the preservation of 7,800 hectares of green space to combat urban heat and absorb rainwater.
• San Francisco has implemented a '15-minute city' concept for nature, ensuring every resident is within a 10-minute walk of open park space as of 2017.
• Innovative blended finance mechanisms, such as the Urban Resilience Fund (TURF), are necessary to address the 'limited bankability' of adaptation projects that often struggle to attract private investment.
• Incheon, South Korea, contributes to global biodiversity through the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), providing safe migratory paths for waterbirds across 18 countries and locations.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Leaders_Insights_for_the_Transition_in_Cities_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Leaders_Insights_for_the_Transition_in_Cities_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities |date=September 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Leaders_Insights_for_the_Transition_in_Cities_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024nature, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Leaders_Insights_for_the_Transition_in_Cities_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }