Nature Positive Cities Efforts to Advance the Transition San Francisco 2025

Forewordrestoration of healthy ecosystems as one of the most important tools for biodiversity, community connections to nature and overall quality of urban life. A healthy environment means healthy neighbourhoods. San Francisco is where people and nature thrive together. For decades, our city’s parks and natural areas have been managed by multiple city, state and federal agencies. Habitat restoration, urban greening and climate resilience work have been governed by various management plans by many departments. One of my first priorities was to reorganize my administration’s oversight structure to provide more efficient and coordinated city management for residents. Under a new structure, our lands management, transport and climate departments are working more closely to collaborate on the best nature-based outcomes for our city. Climate resilience is important both for our communities and San Francisco’s natural heritage. Ecological resilience, established through nature-based solutions, builds capacity for our local ecosystems to adapt dynamically to climate change. Through our Climate Action Plan, we have specifically supported connecting all San Francisco residents to nature every day for their mental and physical well-being, with emphasis on those communities that have been, and will be, most adversely impacted by pollution and climate issues.The world we call home is experiencing a climate crisis. The rapid deterioration of ecosystems around the globe has contributed to extreme weather events in our cities and exposes the tangible impact of climate change each year. For our remedy, San Francisco has chosen the path of climate action, blending nature-positive solutions with innovative economic revitalization. From Ocean Beach to the Bay, San Francisco’s natural beauty was first stewarded by the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original caretakers of our home, and now San Francisco’s green and thriving future lies in our hands. Here in San Francisco, all residents deserve to live a safe, healthy and productive life. Our city can deliver that by having clean, thriving neighbourhoods surrounded by a natural environment. To accomplish this, we have employed sustainable management and Community involvement is central to the implementation of our Climate Action Plan. Land management agencies and local non-profits have been organizing community participation in local parks and natural resource stewardship for decades. Many hands and solutions will be required to implement our climate work. It cannot be fully realized without a broad coalition of actors dedicated to collaborative problem-solving. San Francisco is a centre of climate innovation. Our city remains the best location to cultivate partnerships, promote innovation and grow a bold climate economy for the future. That has been evident from our long history of environmental leadership. San Francisco’s nature-positive work holds a unique role in the constellation of climate action sectors in the Climate Action Plan. Conserving and restoring natural ecosystems and connecting everyone to nature involves many dimensions that collectively create a foundation for achieving the goals of this report. The recommendations in this report will go hand in hand with our nature-based climate actions and are also key to our economic recovery as we blend our natural beauty into the communities of tomorrow. I welcome everyone to visit our city and see our work in action. Our natural landscapes truly offer an only-in-San Francisco experience.Daniel Lurie Mayor of San Francisco, USA Nature Positive: Cities’ Efforts to Advance the Transition 3