In a press release issued in April, the City of Lahti stated that the City Board had discussed the topic of nature-positivity.
What was the City Board’s spring meeting all about?
Did the Board perhaps declare climate anxiety a prohibited topic in Lahti, while stipulating that all environmental matters must be faced with a smile and a positive attitude?
Not necessarily a bad idea, but in this case, nature-positivity does not refer to a mental state nor a mindset.
The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra explains the tangibly measurable term of nature-positivity, i.e. net positive impact, as follows:
A situation in which the combined effect of human activity on biodiversity is positive, that is, strengthens the well-being of nature. A net positive impact is achieved when the benefits to nature exceed the negative impacts on nature.
– Net positive impact is an enormous positive opportunity for us as individuals, cities, companies and communities. By accommodating a city’s operations within the limits of the environmental carrying capacity, we foster a transformation that contributes to good life, thriving business and improved urban environment, explains Laura Järvinen, Senior Lead at Sitra.
Net positive impact involves not only net zero emissions, but also the sustainable use of natural resources and, quite obviously, halting the loss of biodiversity.
From lawns to leas
Järvinen hints that a practical way for a city to support the net positive impact is to turn lawns into meadows that allow pollinators to thrive.
According to Elina Ojala, Environment Director of Lahti, many green zones in the city are already managed in a pollinator-friendly way. Residents, too, can contribute to achieving the net positive impact in various ways on their yards and balconies.
– It’s good to have more than just lawn in the yard, for example, some decaying wood. The lawn has to be mowed several times over the course of summer, which adds to carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, yard lawn is not a particularly good choice in terms of biodiversity, Ojala states.
A tall-grown yard lawn may cause a twinge of guilt for a house owner, but from the perspective of nature, it is not a bad thing at all. In home gardens, preference should be given to plants that attract butterflies and pollinators. The environment also benefits from any natural-like structures, such as fences, that provide shelter for insects and birds.
Elina Ojala, Environmental DirectorMany green zones in the city are already managed in a pollinator-friendly way. Residents, too, can contribute to achieving the net positive impact in various ways on their yards and balconies.
Lawn areas can also be turned into meadows. This means that part of the built environment is returned to a natural state, increasing the number of species within the area.
Furthermore, meadows attract pollinators. When moving to new areas in search of flower nectar, many pollinating insects need places to land as they can only fly a few hundred meters in one go. Meadows offer them a perfect setting for a respite.
According to studies, meadows sequester more carbon than lawns due to the plants’ longer roots, among other factors. At the same time, they improve air quality and reduce storm water damage.
Fostering biodiversity also has positive impacts on health and well-being. Currently, these impacts are actively promoted in a pioneering Lahti-based programme, Nature Step to Health.
The 10-year programme connects the health and environmental goals of the Päijät-Häme region. (Read more about the programme: Nature Step to Health – Päijät-Häme Joint Authority for Health and Well-being, paijat.sote.fi)
Focus on global carrying capacity and Lahti nature
Environmental Director Elina Ojala says that Lahti is well on its way to becoming a nature-positive city, thanks to persevering environmental work that was promoted in various new ways in 2021 during Lahti’s term as the European Green Capital. However, a map could come in handy, as the road is riddled with twists and turns.
Actually, such a roadmap is on its way. This promise has to do with the aforementioned City Board announcement and Sitra whose specialists enabled Lahti to pursue the net positive impact in the first place.
This spring, the City of Lahti and Sitra agreed on a new partnership called Lahti Living Lab – Nature-positive Life.
Laura Järvinen, Senior Lead at SitraLahti Living Lab seeks solutions to the very same issues that were outlined as global goals at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in late 2022.
The aim of the collaboration is to create a concrete roadmap, enabling the achievement of the environmental and nature goals set for the next generation.
Sitra will finance more than 70 per cent of the costs of the project, which is to be implemented in 2023–2025.
–The partnership with Lahti is a completely novel type of pilot on comprehensive sustainability activities. When we make the decision to fund a project, we always think of its benefits to all of Finland and the country’s competitiveness. From the outset, it all boils down to the idea that it should be possible to apply the same solutions and operating model in other Finnish cities as well, says Laura Järvinen from Sitra.
Järvinen believes that the plot will also attract international attention. The project seeks solutions to the very same issues that were outlined as global goals at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in late 2022.
Nature-positive goals for cities
The Montreal Convention includes biodiversity targets to halt biodiversity loss and achieve the net positive impact.
A new target framework and monitoring system were required, as the previously established international nature objectives failed to halt biodiversity loss by 2020. So, there are plenty of challenges to tackle.
– Trends and actions aimed at reaching the net positive impact are already clearly visible in the business sector. Now it is time to truly highlight them in cities’ goals as well. Lahti is a splendid trendsetter for this task, Järvinen compliments.
Cities in particular play an important role in reducing climate emissions and strengthening biodiversity. By paying attention to the net positive impact in design, construction and management, they can mitigate both climate change and biodiversity loss.
Cities can significantly impact climate emissions and biodiversity loss through domestic heating, transport solutions and community structure, for example.
Many cities have climate-related programmes in place but are still lacking broader nature-related goals. They may have outlined an area target for nature reserves, but that alone is not sufficient.
Elina Ojala, Environmental DirectorI hear a lot of talk about the global carrying capacity which is, in the end, quite an abstract concept. The limits of the natural carrying capacity are much more tangible as they are present locally. Each and every Lahti dweller can put their finger on them.
The aim of the roadmap prepared jointly by Sitra and the City of Lahti is to guide future sustainability work also in other cities. According to Järvinen, however, the purpose is not to create too strict a template. Of course, each city must outline their practical measures based on their own premises.
– Certain shared principles will surely make this task easier. And it’s always useful to be able to introduce new things through a concrete example. ‘When doing things this way in Lahti, we learned this and realised that these were the challenges’, Järvinen demonstrates.
According to Järvinen, plenty of practical examples have already been gathered from Lahti. Structuring existing knowledge and utilising experiences is just as important as creating something new.
Lahti Living Lab brings together the ambitious development work of several forums in order to achieve the best possible synergy benefits.
Good life and sustainable economy for city residents
The very name of the project, Lahti Living Lab, refers to a strong will to boldly pilot new solutions in authentic environments rather than to just draw up theoretical policies. Concrete results are what fascinate Environmental Director Elina Ojala, too.
– I hear a lot of talk about the global carrying capacity which is, in the end, quite an abstract concept. The limits of the natural carrying capacity are much more tangible as they are present locally. Each and every Lahti dweller can put their finger on them.
Naturally, the Lahti Living Lab project will not become a visible part of Lahti residents’ everyday life until project partners are recruited and their activities coordinated with Sitra’s specialists.
Ojala underlines that a clear change of perspective is now required. We can no longer address natural resources, diversity and climate separately, but they should all be examined as parts of a single entity.
– We need a diverse range of solutions for good life, competitive business and sustainable public finances. All actions should support the well-being of nature, as we are completely dependent on our environment.
Author: Terhi Kangas