More than half of the world's population live in cities, and they have benefitted from the ecosystem services provided by urban biodiversity. International conventions like the Convention on Biological Diversity have provided recommendations on how to engage local governments and cities in the implementation of their strategic plans. In parallel, recognizing this, cities conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity in many practical ways. A list of general strategies adopted by cities is presented. The rich and diverse experiences of eleven cities, i.e. Abu Dhabi, Auckland, Durban, Edinburgh, Edmonton, Hyderabad, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Singapore, Toluca and Vitoria-Gasteiz, which have successfully conserved biodiversity in urbanized landscape across the globe, are shared. These cities have all applied the Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity as an evaluation and monitoring tool for biodiversity conservation efforts, in addition to using it innovatively for other purposes. Cities can play a pivotal role in ensuring that Target 12 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be achieved. Upscaling cities' models of success would require a worldwide concerted effort involving everyone, i.e. all levels of stakeholders. Mainstreaming of biodiversity into all sectors, including commercial, economic, financial, industrial and technological, and the incorporation of biodiversity into decision-making in urban planning and management would be a game-changer. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.
Keywords: Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity; cities; urban biodiversity.