New Guide Helps Cities Curb Light Pollution Impacts on Wildlife
The amount of artificial light on the Earth’s surface increasing by at least 2 per cent annually.
PRESS RELEASE
Bonn / Cape Town, 19 April 2023 – Today a new online guide is being launched to help cities around the world reduce the impacts of light pollution on wildlife. The guide, “Curb Light Pollution in Your City,” offers facts, successful case studies, information resources, and a checklist for cities to reduce the harmful effects of artificial lighting on wild animals.
Light pollution is a growing threat, particularly to migratory species of animals. The launch is timed with International Dark Sky Week – a campaign to raise awareness around this issue. The guide was developed through a collaboration between the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and ICLEI’s Cities Biodiversity Center, and will be freely available on the global CitiesWithNature platform .
Light pollution is increasing globally, with the amount of artificial light on the Earth’s surface increasing by at least 2 per cent annually, while it is estimated that 80 per cent of the world’s population is currently living under a “lit sky” – a figure closer to 99 per cent in Europe and North America.
“Light pollution is a significant and growing threat to wildlife, including many species of migratory birds, bats, marine turtles, and numerous other species. As light pollution is concentrated in and around cities, it is important for cities to take measures to reduce its impacts on wildlife,” said Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of CMS.
Light pollution can have significant impacts on wildlife, including disrupting and altering migration patterns, changing feeding behavior, and interfering with reproduction. Birds can become disoriented by city lights, leading to depleted energy reserves, and putting them at risk of exhaustion, predation, and fatal collision with buildings.
“With 60 per cent of the world’s population set to live in towns or cities by 2030, cities play a critical role in addressing light pollution. The new city guide, hosted by CitiesWithNature, will help cities make more nature positive decisions and provide them with the tools to start addressing the growing problem light pollution poses to wildlife and people,” said Kobie Brand, Global Director, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center.
With a particular focus on migratory birds, the new guide presents case studies of cities that have successfully implemented strategies to address the issue, as well as lessons learned to share knowledge and expertise across city stakeholders on how to curb light pollution.
Among the recommendations particularly useful to cities, are a set of six principles of best lighting practices, presented as a checklist, as well as the call for Environmental Impact Assessments for relevant projects that could result in light pollution. These should consider the main sources of light pollution at a certain site, the likely wild species that could be impacted, and facts about proximity to important habitats and migratory pathways for different species.
The development of this new city guide on light pollution was initiated by CMS and ICLEI in the context of last year’s World Migratory Bird Day awareness-raising campaign, held under the theme “Dim Lights for Birds at Night” and which helped focus global attention on the topic of light pollution and its impact on migratory birds.
New international light pollution guidelines for wildlife are slated to be adopted by CMS Parties at the 14th meeting of the CMS Conference of the Parties, due to take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 23 – 28 October 2023.
Both the city guide and the upcoming international guidelines are a response to the increasing worldwide recognition of this growing problem and will enable governments and cities to take concrete steps to curb light pollution and help save migratory species of wild animals.
Notes to Editors:
City Guide on Light Pollution
The “City Guide on Light Pollution” can be accessed via the following link: https://citieswithnature.org/curb-light-pollution-in-your-city/
About CitiesWithNature
CitiesWithNature is a global initiative that provides a platform for cities, their communities and experts to connect, share and learn from each other in mainstreaming nature into our cities and in ways that benefit both people and nature. The founding partners are ICLEI, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), along with supporting bodies such as the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. CitiesWithNature is open to all cities and subnational governments, regardless of size, resources, capacity or level of progress in working with nature.
https://www.citieswithnature.org/
About ICLEI
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network working with more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125+ countries, we influence sustainability policy and drive local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.
About the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a global treaty of the United Nations, provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. This unique treaty brings governments and wildlife experts together to address the conservation needs of terrestrial, aquatic, and avian migratory species and their habitats around the world. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1979, its membership has grown steadily to include 133 Parties from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
International Dark Sky Week
The launch of the new City Guide on Light Pollution coincides with this year’s International Dark Sky Week, which is being celebrated globally from 15 - 22 April. The International Dark Sky Week is an annual awareness-raising event being organized by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).
For more information, please contact:
Michelle Preen, Director: Communications, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center, Cape Town, South Africa. Email: [email protected] | Tel: +27 849246269
Florian Keil, Information Officer, UNEP/CMS + UNEP/AEWA Secretariats, Bonn, Germany. Email: [email protected] | Tel: +49 228 8152451
Last updated on 19 April 2023