While there is increased recognition that biodiversity and ecosystem services can contribute greatly to improve quality of life in cities, their multiple values are usually not fully taken into account in urban policy-making. The values of biodiversity and ecosystem services need to be integrated into urban decision making in order to enhance urban resilience, health and quality of life while reducing the ecological footprint of cities and saving costs. This URBES factsheet explains what the values of ecosystem services are and provides examples of their benefits for cities.
