Hannover, Germany
City population: 514110
Duration: 2013 – ongoing
Implementation status: Unknown
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Unknown
Last updated: April 2022

The “Animal Species Aid Program”, also a part of “More Nature in the City” project of the Department of Environment and Urban Green, mapped out the occurrences of wild bees in Hannover including Leineaue, Alte Bult and the area of Berggarten and Leibniz University. With this program, 244 wild bees and wasp species were detected in Hannover in 2013/2014. In addition to the inventory, the program has also provided care instructions tailored to the individual species (like frequency and timing of lawn mowing) in order to protect their habitat. The “Wild Bee of the Year” was launched in 2013 by the Baden-Württemberg Wild Bee Cadastre Working Group in cooperation with the State Institute for Bee Science and the beekeeping associations of Baden-Württemberg to draw attention to the danger to native wild bees throughout Germany. The program is part of the city of Hannover’s activities on biodiversity. As an example, in 2012/2013, occurrences of the endangered nightingale were recorded, extremely rare and highly specialized tree beetles were mapped, and amphibians and dragonflies were stocked in selected small waters. Specific care measures for individual biotopes were provided along with an overall overview of the ecological qualities of the city of Hannover. (Reference 1 as of 2015. No information was found with regards to the current status of the project)

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Other
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Other

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity conservation
  • Green space creation and/or management

Focus

Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity

Project objectives

Goals of the intervention: 1) To increase biodiversity in the city; 2) To establish wild bee reserves in 4 different locations: Leineaue, Alte Bult, Berggarden and Leibniz University; 3)To draw attention to the occurrence of wild bees in Hannover 4) To provide specific care instructions on the habitats of wild bees in order to protect their habitat in the future. (Reference 1, 4)

Implementation activities

Mapping of wild bee reserves: Leineaue, Alte Bult, Berggarden and Leibniz University. (Reference 1, 4) Conducting research on the existent wild bees and wasps species in the area; Providing specific care instructions on the habitats of wild bees, such as information on the frequency and timing of lawn mowing, in order to protect their habitat in the future.(Reference 1,4) No information was found with regards to the current status of the project (Reference 1, as of 2015)

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

  • Protect and enhance urban habitats
  • Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
  • Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
  • Protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect species
  • Means for conservation governance
  • Raise public awareness
  • Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation

Main beneficiaries

  • Researchers/University
  • Citizens or community groups

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
  • Co-management/Joint management

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The city of Hannover initiated the program, which is run in different locations of the city with the support of public institutions such as Berggarten and Leibniz Universität, which help in the mapping of wild bees and development of the protection measures.(Reference 1, 4)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (The project on wild bees is a part of two larger initiatives in the city of Hannover: the "More Nature in the City" initiative and "Animal species support program" ("Tierartenhilfsprogramm").(Reference 1, 2) )

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased number of protection areas
  • Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Reduced biodiversity loss
  • Increased number of species present
  • Increased protection of threatened species
  • Enhanced support of pollination
  • Increased spread of native/heirloom/open-pollinated seed

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
  • Education
  • Increased support for education and scientific research
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Source link. (2015). 'Rare wild bee found in Hannover' ('Seltene Wildbiene in Hannover nachgewiesen'). (Website not available in 2020).
2. Source link. (2019). '"More Nature in the City" continues' ('"Mehr Natur in der Stadt" wird fortgesetzt'). Source link. Accessed 15 July 2020.
3. BUND. (2020). Bee of the year 2020: meadow leg bee. Available at: Source link . Accessed 15 July 2020.
4. Stadt Reporter. (2015). Wild bee of the year proven in Hannover. Available at: Source link. Accessed 15 July 2020.