Being nature-positive means that we do not only reduce the harm we cause to nature, but also actively promote biodiversity and the well-being of ecosystems. Biodiversity sustains all life. It secures the living conditions of urban species, the well-being of city residents, and supports adaptation to climate change. Nature offers ecological, social and economic benefits, such as cooling, protection from flooding, a more comfortable living environment and well-being for all residents.
Nurturing the biodiversity of Tampere
As the city grows and becomes denser, it is increasingly important to cherish the remaining nature. With the help of the Tampere Biodiversity Programme (LUMO), the City of Tampere aims to prevent and mitigate the harm caused to nature by the city's expansion and densification construction, improve the quality of different living environments and develop ecological connections. The most important nature sites will be protected with the help of the recent Nature Reserve Programme (2026–2040), and solutions that support biodiversity will be selected in the planning and management of green areas.
Tampere wants to reduce its biodiversity footprint
Locally in Tampere, urban planning has the most direct impact on biodiversity, while globally, responsibility for nature is borne by changing consumption habits and making purchases so that they cause as little harm to nature and biodiversity as possible in the countries of origin. Climate change is accelerating biodiversity loss, which is why the city's climate measures are also important for safeguarding natural capital.
Nature + its diversity = natural capital
Nature and its diversity form the basis of the economy and the well-being of the city.
Being nature-positive means that the city does more good than harm to nature. In Tampere, the goal of nature-positivity means concrete actions not only to stop the decline of biodiversity, but also to increase biodiversity and strengthen and restore ecosystems.
Nature-positivity is in the city's interest, as it is a factor in the city's attractiveness and vitality. Nature and its diversity form the basis of the city's well-being and economy.
One of the goals of the Tampere City Strategy 2035 "The City of Action" is to strengthen biodiversity in the urban environment and to make it verifiable. The work carried out in Tampere also supports the implementation of national and international biodiversity policy at the city level. You can read more about these commitments and other programmes, policies, and operating models related to biodiversity work in Tampere in the Terminology chapter and Appendix 2 of the Tampere Biodiversity Programme.
You can monitor the state of biodiversity in Tampere with the help of the indicators in this watch.
The biodiversity footprint indicates the impact of a city on nature within and outside its borders
For example, the procurement of materials and food related to the city's construction and food services, as well as the consumption habits of Tampere residents, have a global impact on biodiversity loss. When we consume limited natural resources, it affects nature where the goods we acquire are made or where the natural resources are extracted. Tampere's global impact on nature is monitored with the help of a biodiversity footprint calculation.
On a global scale, the direct impact of land-use happening before our eyes is ultimately small. Cities cover three per cent of the world's surface area, but cities consume 75 per cent of the world's natural resources and are responsible for 65–75 per cent of climate emissions. If we are to stop the biodiversity loss threatening our economy and well-being, we must also understand the global impact of our actions. In order to improve our operations, we need to know which of the city's activities cause the most harm to nature and how we can reduce this harm.
To support biodiversity work, a reliable knowledge base on the impacts of human activities on nature is needed. Measuring impacts on nature has been challenging, as there has been no indicator for impacts on biodiversity. In addition to the carbon footprint that measures the harm caused by climate emissions, a biodiversity footprint has been developed that compiles the impacts on nature into a single indicator. The biodiversity equivalent unit (BDe) describes the proportion of all species on Earth that are likely to disappear as a result of activities that cause damage to nature. Previously, the nature footprint has also been expressed with the unit PDF (potentially disappeared fraction of species).
Tampere was the first city in Finland to calculate its biodiversity footprint
Together with the University of Jyväskylä, the City of Tampere investigated the carbon and biodiversity footprints of its operational economy procurements in 2021. The calculation method developed by the School of Resource Wisdom of the University of Jyväskylä (JYU.Wisdom) was used in the calculation. The carbon and biodiversity footprint calculation method utilizes scientific databases, the organization's financial accounting and other consumption data. Tampere is the first city in Finland, if not worldwide, to calculate its own biodiversity footprint. The City of Tampere's biodiversity footprint in 2021 was 557 nBDe.
In 2021, the city procured products and services worth more than one billion euros. The city has the opportunity to reduce the damage it causes to nature by making better choices in procurements; for example, the city can set procurement criteria related to biodiversity and climate emissions in competitive tendering. One of the goals of the Tampere Biodiversity Programme is to reduce the city's biodiversity footprint (goal 7).
A lot of products consumed in Finland, such as fruit, are bought from producers and intermediaries in other countries, so most of the nature footprint caused by consumption is created outside Finland. For example, up to 96 per cent of the biodiversity footprint caused by land use happens in other countries. The largest footprints are typically located in countries with particularly diverse biodiversity, where the damage caused to nature affects several animal and plant species. The results of the calculation of the biodiversity footprint of the City of Tampere and Finnish consumers are very similar. The majority of Finnish consumers' biodiversity footprint is caused by food, transport, other consumption, and energy consumption in housing (El Geneidy et al. 2025).