Biodiversity loss in urban and peri-urban regions is accelerating due to urbanisation, intensive recreation, climate change and fragmented governance. At the same time, cities concentrate populations whose everyday relationships with nature strongly influence environmental awareness, behaviour, and political support for conservation. Strengthening human-nature relationships, therefore, represents a key leverage point for transformative change.
RECON addresses this challenge by positioning nature reconnection (through exposure, experience, learning, and advocacy) as a driver of systemic societal transformation for biodiversity conservation. The project aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (Targets 12 and 19), the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Nature Restoration Law, and the European Green Deal. It focuses on three urban functional areas in Central Europe (Warsaw, Vienna, Stuttgart), which face high development pressure and recreational demand, but also offer strong potential for policy-relevant learning and transfer.
