Kyoto, the city where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, proposed to ask people “Do you Kyoto?” aiming for a low-carbon society. However, beyond reduction in carbon dioxide emission, we should pay more attention to biodiversity that has been the basis of this sustainable city that celebrates ecosystem services. For obtaining an ecosystem-dependent design solution, biodiversity is an essential natural capital to be reassessed from the viewpoint of smart adaptation to climate change. On the other hand, species that are good indicators of attractive landscapes exist in Kyoto, and these landscapes have been nurtured in a long history of land use and landscape design and management benefiting the natural environment. Landscape ecological studies on shrine forests, Japanese gardens, and other green spaces in Kyoto city show that the historical multilevel mosaic city of Kyoto has diverse suggestions to enjoy the benefits of its biocultural diversity, which is on the verge of extinction. We suggest that “Do you Kyoto?” should also question the innovative design with nature.

Ecological networks in cities are very complicated phenomena. Greenways and blue ways are very traditional parts of urban infrastructure. There are also a lot of opportunities in industrial areas, transportation corridors and wastelands which could also be considered as important and significant parts of urban ecological networks. Cities of the Old and New Worlds have quite a few historical prototypes of planning and design of urban green areas that aim to improve urban hygiene and aesthetics. This presentation will examine such historical examples. A new multidisciplinary approach to planning and design of ecological networks in contemporary cities is needed to allow connectivity within the urban structures and with surrounding natural, semi natural and rural environments. New models of urban ecological networks should fulfil functions of improving biodiversity, aesthetical cultural identity and be an important framework for creating sustainable cities. Innovative planning and design approaches should be researched for successful implementation of a new generation of ecological networks.

Ecologists, social scientists, planners, land managers, and residents often debate the meaning of urban biodiversity. These debates focus on the impacts of urbanization on species and habitats and on different meanings and interpretations ranging from an emphasis on rare species and habitats, to an emphasis on all species an habitats in a city. Many ecologists define biodiversity in an urban region as the group of species occurring in a given region, the habitats that support those species, and the process that maintain those habitats. They note that biodiversity in cities means different things at different scales that range from a single lot to a large region surrounding a a city. This keynote presentation will describe approaches to conserving regional biodiversity and approaches to managing processes and habitats that maintain biodiversity at different scales. The presentation will build on applied research on urban biodiversity and that research is being reflected on management efforts.