Over 400 cities around the world competed in this year’s City Nature Challenge, but SA’s Cape Town scooped second place!
Cape Town, South Africa (18 May, 2023)— Hundreds of participating cities battled it out recently for the City Nature Challenge, but only a handful were crowned the cream of the biodiversity crop.
The challenge, which has its roots in California, began as healthy competition between cities and science lovers as they sought to discover urban bio-diversity; spotting species and ‘secret’ residents.
Years later, the competition is now a fully-fledged global one, with 482 cities competitors going toe-to-toe around the world this year.
From the coastal species of Athens to bustling Taiwanese hubs, this year’s City Nature Challenge saw 1 870 763 observations recorded and appreciated.
As for South Africa, numerous local regions took part, including Buffalo City, Johannesburg, KZN’s South Coast, the Garden Route, Potchefstroom and of course, Cape Town.
Cape Town scooped second place overall with 52 518 observations and 3 847 species across the city, coming second only to La Paz, Bolivia with 126 435 observations.
Last year, Cape Town also nabbed second place, following an epic 2021 where the city was crowned first out of just 150 countries.
Thousands of Cape Town’s curious took part in this year’s run, with plenty of natural reserves and open spaces filled with excited spectators over the four-day exploration session.
“Cape Town, you did great in capturing the natural heritage in our city this year. The results are in and your encounters with the beautiful plant and animal life in our natural surroundings have earned us second place out of 482 cities around the world that also participated in the City Nature Challenge,” shared the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
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