30 October 2020 (UNEP)* — 31 October is World Cities Day. The theme for 2020 is Valuing Our Communities and Cities. 

Photo: UNEP / 30 Oct 2020

For the Day, we look back to one of our Young Champions of the Earth from 2017, Latin America and Caribbean winner Liliana Jaramillo.

In the capital city of Quito in Ecuador, she has been working to build green roofs that host native plant species. Not only do plants beautify urban spaces, but they also reduce air pollution and provide habitat for birds and insects.

Bonn, 29 October 2020 (UNEP)* – Future pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, do more damage to the world economy and kill more people than COVID-19 unless there is a transformative change in the global approach to dealing with infectious diseases, warns a major new report on biodiversity and pandemics by 22 leading experts from around the world.

Pixabay / 29 Oct 2020

But the same concentration of people also makes cities the places where the battle for a green recovery from COVID-19 – which is essential to reduce future pandemic risks and fight climate change – can be won.