Municipalities compete in many fields. Who has got the most beautiful city centre? The most interesting cultural life? The best quality of life? Within the competition “Capitals of Biodiversity”, the municipalities compete in biodiversity: Which municipality acts with most commitment for biodiversity? Creates and supports natural green spaces? Initiates river revitalization or recuperation of other important habitats? Preserves nests of bats and birds in old buildings? Considers nature and biodiversity in their planning processes?

An unexpectedly rich biodiversity can be found in many European cities, towns and villages. The reason is their high variety of ecosystems, which provide manifold living spaces: Gardens and parks, rivers and small forests, old buildings and walls, fallow land and many more. This diversity is not only important to protect threatened nature; for a large part of the population it is also the first or even the only contact to nature, as they live far away from natural habitats which are more commonly found in rural areas.

Municipalities can do a lot to protect our biodiversity and to provide healthy and livable surroundings for their citizens and for future generations. Committed municipalities show responsibility and are wise in their long-term thinking and contribute directly to the sustainable development of their municipalities. The project „Capitals of Biodiversity“ honours and highlights these municipalities and communicates their performance on a national and European level.

The competitions will start in 2010, the UN International Year of Biodiversity,
in France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain. From the smallest village to the largest cities, municipalities are invited to join, and a fair competition is ensured by choosing the winner in different size classes according to the population of the municipality. Finally, the best municipalities should be honored at European level.

In each country, the municipalities are supported with a training programme. Know-how and experiences in municipal biodiversity issues will be transferred with workshops and brochures and an easy-to-apply set of indicators for biodiversity in municipalities will be developed.

The project is led by Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., a German NGO with over 20 years experience in environmental competitions for municipalities. The competitions in the five countries will be implemented by Natureparif (France), Lake Balaton Development Coordination Agency (Hungary), Fundación Biodiversidad (Spain) and the Regional Environmental Center Slovakia. The Countdown 2010 Initiative of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and ICLEI–International Training Centre are international partners of the project.