Urbanization is increasing globally and is frequently associated with environmental disruptions that result in pollution, flooding, extreme heat, and biodiversity loss. The greening of cities represents a NbS that helps to promote sustainable cities. There is much evidence of the positive impact of green cities on people’s health and well-being. Moreover, urban greening contributes to the mitigation of climate change (e.g. by reducing heat island effects) and to restoring biodiversity. However, urban greening can also have an impact on the ecology of blood-feeding arthropods (e.g. mosquitoes, sandflies), and therefore on vector-borne diseases (e.g. West Nile fever, dengue, leishmaniasis). Indeed, the creation of new urban green zones can provide a suitable habitat for native vector species, but may also favor the introduction and establishment of invasive species (e.g. the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus). In addition, it may affect access to a potential host or favor resting sites close to blood meal sources. Conversely, if properly designed, urban green spaces may provide opportunities for sustainable vector-borne disease risk mitigation in the city, by facilitating predation, competition, and dilution effects in the urban ecosystem.
Main objectives
The main objective of BIODIVECITY is to explore the relationships between public and private urban green spaces on the one hand, and diversity of blood-feeding arthropods and their implications for vector-borne disease transmission to humans and animals on the other.
Main activities
The BIODIVECITY project will explore the relationships between Urban Green Spaces (UGS) and blood-feeding arthropod biodiversity, as well as their implications for vector-borne disease transmission. We have formed a unique, multidisciplinary consortium (with partners from The Netherlands, France, Spain and Morocco) within which we are able to make comparisons across major urban centers in Europe. The consortium will develop a harmonized protocol for standardized ecological surveys, organize participatory workshops and citizen science activities to collect evidence on the impacts of urban greening on vector-borne disease risks and collaboratively develop policy guidelines and recommendations for mitigating potential disease risks. To address the multiple facets of urban greening, urban planners, policy makers, health stakeholders’ representatives, and civil society will be involved in the project. This will allow knowledge exchange and facilitate mutual learning, thereby ensuring the unique ability to derive transnational conclusions and policy recommendations.
Impression ClimateCafe Montpellier BiodiveCity October 2025, France:
more info: climatecafe Montpellier: ClimateCafe Montpellier, October 2025 – Climate Café
the project BIODIVECITY – Biodiversa +
Preparing the field ClimateCafés 2 online ClimateCafés give information on the background of this effort:
Before the field work 2 online climatecafes will be held in September and October to discuss the content of the Climatecafe in the field. Goals are: raising awareness, capacity building, getting to know the challenges and solutions, identify and map the solutions, learning how to analyse the data and set up guidelines for a healthy urban environment. The first online session will explain the climatecafe method and how to use climatescan to make an early start with mapping NbS in Montepellier.
The second will bring more detailed information about green infrastructure in Montepellier and the last practical details for fieldwork.
Day 1 (20th October): Introduction of the project and the methods ClimateScan.org and Climatecafe. After information about green and blue implementation in Montpellier we will start mapping small scale nature-based solutions in Montpellier. In the evening we will analyse the results of the climatescan map in a cafe setting, with lessons learnt for day 2.
In het Nederlands en meer informatie:
“ik wil geen klimaatadaptatie want dan krijg je muggen en teken”, hoor je vaak terwijl juist door de kolkloze straten in wadi-wijken dit risico kan afnemen. In het artikel: “F. Boogaard, M. Schrama, M. Brax, Effecten klimaatvoorzieningen onderzocht, aanleg en beheer bepalen muggen en teken, Land en Water Oktober 2025” staat een tabel die u kunt gebruiken in het gesprek hierover op een bewonersavond of met collega.
Het nieuwe onderzoek KlimAzo (KLIMaatAdaptieve leefomgeving: https://lnkd.in/g3sGZFxS) is gestart met als doel om verspreiding van Zoönotische pathogenen tegen te gaan. Het onderzoek levert praktische richtlijnen op voor ruimtelijke ontwerpers en beheerders om klimaateffectieve en veilige ruimtelijke maatregelen te nemen. Onderzoek met Kenniscentrum Noorderruimte (hanze hogeschool) Deltares, Aeres University of Applied Science Almere (penvoerder), Inholland University of Applied Sciences, HAS green academy in nauwe samenwerking met o.a. RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment en CMV-NVWA en in samenwerking met andere projecten als #BiodiveCity met Wageningen University & Research.
Meer info:
1. Boogaard F, Rody Blom, Eline Boelee, Muggen en Klimaataanpassingen, Land en Water nr.4 april 2021.
2. Boogaard F, Eline Boelee, Frans van de Ven, Klimaatverandering en Gezondheid, Groenblauwe raingardens en muggen, vakblad Riolering, April 2021.
3. H20 (Floris Boogaard, Maarten Schrama & Marieta Braks), Klimaatadaptatie en de ‘dark side of biodiversity’: effecten op muggen en teken, 21 april 2025
4. F. Boogaard, M. Schrama, M. Brax, Effecten klimaatvoorzieningen onderzocht, aanleg en beheer bepalen muggen en teken, Land en Water Oktober 2025
5. KAN klimaatadaptief bouwen mét de natuur: Wadi’s en raingardens: lessons learned, 6 July 2023
More INFO: Presentations, Summer schools and ClimateCafés:
ClimateCafé online met Rody Blom over overwintering van muggen https://lnkd.in/ghxbW64e
* Health Risks Urban Nature based solutions for climate adaptation. (paper & presentation), Urban Transitions November Barcelona 2024 met Eline Boelee en Fred Hartendorf TNO
* International Summer School 2024 One Health and Climate Adaptation, 22 August 2024
* ClimateCafés For #BiodiveCity: Nature-based solutions and vector-borne disease transmission
* ClimateCafés for course PHEC: Public health and the Ecology of Disease
* ClimateCafe Montpellier, October 2025 – Climate Café met oa Sander Koenraadt, Thomas Klomp etc
· https://lnkd.in/gxRiR9RC
* ClimateCafé River Challenge Cebu, April 2025 – Climate Café met oa Rick (T.H.) Heikoop, Doutsen Krol, Eric Boer
* ClimateCafé Groningen, 28 May 2024, The Netherlands – Climate Café met oa Joey Koning, Allard Hans Roest, Sterre Koops, Richard Walters, Gerrit Joustra
* ClimateCafé New Orleans, 17–21 October 2022, USA – Climate Café met oa Daan Rooze en Roelof Stuurman