KoMet researchers Prof. Dr. Daniel Hering (Faculty of Biology, UDE), Prof. Dr. Harald Zepp, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitt (both from the Department of Geography, RUB) are involved in developing the “Ruhr Region Regional Biodiversity Strategy.” The project has been funded by the state government since mid-2020 as part of the Ruhr Conference and as a subproject of the “Green Infrastructure Initiative 2030.” The strategy is being developed by a consortium comprising Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), and the Biological Station of the Western Ruhr Area (BSWR) under the leadership of the RVR. The Urban Biodiversity Network examines biodiversity in the Ruhr region from various perspectives and derives proposals for its conservation and promotion. The 200-page publication “Positions on a Regional Biodiversity Strategy for the Ruhr Region” can be found here: https://urbane-biodiversitaet.de/positionspapiere.html
The position papers address nine thematic areas: species and habitat conservation, industrial landscapes, urban agriculture, urban forest management, open spaces and habitat connectivity, climate change and climate adaptation, urban green spaces and social cohesion, urban green spaces and preventive healthcare, and environmental education. The final project output will be the development of an action plan, which will be refined during the region’s participatory process for the “Green Infrastructure Strategy” and adopted by the RVR Assembly.
