Kanazawa Selected as Role Model City for UNEP Generation Restoration Project

On 31 October 2023, World Cities Day, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the selection of 19 cities to participate in the Generation Restoration project, which will support urban ecosystem restoration. Among the selected cities is Kanazawa, Japan, where an Operating Unit of UNU-IAS provided scientific expertise and advice for the application process.

Kanazawa was selected as one of 11 Role Model Cities with successful track-records in implementing nature-based solutions.

The Mayor of Kanazawa welcomed this announcement and commented:

Over the years, we have been making unique efforts to conserve and restore urban nature and its biodiversity. This designation is an excellent opportunity to accelerate our efforts to support urban nature and share our experience and knowledge internationally to contribute to the restoration of urban ecosystems worldwide.

Through its unit located in Kanazawa, UNU-IAS has been contributing to ecosystem conservation and restoration efforts in Kanazawa through research and policy engagement. The Sustainable Urban Nature (SUN) project aims to restore harmony between humans and nature through the development of a sustainable model of green infrastructure.

More information including the list of the 19 cities selected to participate in the Generation Restoration project can be found here.

Background

UNEP’s Generation Restoration project will run from 2023 until 2025, and aims to implement a package of measures to address selected political, technical and financial challenges to promote restoration at scale, particularly in urban areas.