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Introduction
Humanity lives in an increasingly urban world. In the 1900s, only 14% of the world’s population lived in urban areas, but by 2008 this number had increased to 50% (Population Reference Bureau 2012). It is estimated that by 2050 roughly 70% of the global population will be urban (Cities and Biodiversity Outlook n.d.). Africa is the most rapidly urbanising continent, and it is expected that shortly after 2030 it will have surpassed the 50% urban threshold (Pieterse & Parnell 2014).
As cities grow in number and size, they are making increasing demands on earth systems. Cities are thus at the forefront of the biodiversity challenge and ‘worldwide, urban expansion is one of the primary drivers of habitat loss, and species extinction’ (Seto et al. 2011:1). This loss of biodiversity also has negative impacts on the cities themselves as biodiversity is linked to the health and well-being of urban communities and acts as an important buffer (by providing protection and reducing vulnerability) against extreme events and slow onset disasters (Díaz et al. 2006). This is particularly relevant to African cities where a large percentage of the population are poor and live in informal, often poorly serviced settlements and are directly dependent on natural systems to meet their basic needs (Cities and Biodiversity Outlook n.d.).
The critical role of cities and local governments in biodiversity conservation is recognised by the Convention on Biological Diversity, for example, in COP 10 Decision X/22 (n.d.). Finding ways of integrating functional and viable biodiverse systems into cities is therefore an increasingly relevant challenge. Whereas techniques to undertake conservation assessments and identify implementation priorities have advanced rapidly (Ban et al. 2013; Game, Kareiva & Possingham 2013; Margules & Pressey 2000), action to secure and manage threatened ecosystems has received less attention (Knight et al. 2008; Rodriguez et al. 2011).
Although urbanisation and global environmental change pose significant challenges, they also provide unique opportunities for innovation (McDonald et al. 2015). Using the case study of KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld (KZNSS), a threatened savanna/grassland ecosystem in Durban, South Africa, some of the challenges and progress made in securing and managing this ecosystem by local government (eThekwini Municipality) in an urban context are highlighted. Specifically, this paper aims to...