About us

URBIO is an open worldwide scientific network for education and research with the aim to promote urban biodiversity through a continuing dialogue with the CBD Global Partnership on “Cities and Biodiversity”. In order to foster the scientific exchange between researchers, practitioners and stakeholders the network is organizing international scientific conferences or workshops prior to the COP meetings (Conference of the parties to the CBD), is holding a website and is distributing newsletters which are send regularly to the network members from the network office. The URBIO network is a non-profit scientific organisation, without own budget.

The network office is conducted by

Norbert Müller (University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, Germany) – currently President of the URBIO network - (see left photo, middle) and

Mahito Kamada (University of Tokushima, Japan) - currently Secretary General of the URBIO network (see photo on the right, second person from the right)

in close coordination with the Advisory Board.

The URBIO Advisory Board consists of (in alphabetical order):

Lena Chan (National Biodiversity Centre - Singapore),

Sarel Cilliers (North-West University - Potchefstroom, South Africa),

Thomas Elmqvist (Stockholm University / Stockholm Resilience Centre - Stockholm, Sweden),

Oliver Hillel (Secretariat of CBD - Montreal, Canada),

Maria Ignatieva (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences - Uppsala, Sweden),

Andy Millard (Leeds Metropolitan University - Leeds, UK),

Yukihiro Morimoto (Kyoto University - Kyoto, Japan),

Charles Nilon (University of Missouri - Columbia, USA),

David J. Nowak (USDA Forest Service - Syracuse, USA),

Glenn Stewart (Licoln University - Christchurch, New Zealand),

Peter Werner (Institute for Housing and Environment - Darmstadt, Germany), and

Wayne Zipperer (USDA Forest Service - Gainesville, USA).

Web administration is done by Martin Kümmerling, the website is hosted at the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt. Further assistance is given by the Erfurt Working Group Biodiversity And Design (see photo on the left, from left to right: Martin Kümmerling, Zheng-Hong Kong, Norbert Müller, Madlen Kästner, Sascha Abendroth).

This network was founded by the participants of URBIO2008 – the first international conference “Urban Biodiversity and Design - implementing the Convention on Biological diversity in towns and cities” - held from 21. – 24. May 2008 in Erfurt/Germany. It uniquely brought together over 400 scientists and practitioners from all over the world who signed the Erfurt Declaration and decided to link future URBIO meetings with future COP meetings. The second URBIO meeting "URBIO2010 - Urban Biodiversity in the Ecological Network" - held from 18. – 22. May 2010 in Nagoya/Japan - refirmed the aims of the network. Currently the network has over 700 members from over 50 countries and holds the contact to all related scientific societies and working groups.

For further information please read more in this PDF, visit our website regularly or register to receive the URBIO newsletter, which is distributed from the office with actual information (oncoming scientific conferences, CBD news, URBIO conferences) regularly. How to register and an archive of our previous newsletters may be found at newsletter.