"Over the last 20 years, cities have sought to build resilience and minimise their environmental impact through isolated projects and mainly organisational and technological approaches. Today, by considering nature not just as an urban landscape component but as a toolbox for urban planning, we have the opportunity to not only reconcile the city with its natural context but also to enable it to respond to the challenges of the 21st century with cost-effective solutions."

Grace Yepez, Co-founder and President of YES Innovation, Ecuador

"As the challenges of the 21st century show itself, we see the consequences of an urban era which has shaped itself in profound disrespect to nature. On the other hand, all the agreements on the Biodiversity Post-2020 Framework, that will be consolidated as outcomes from COP15, bring us hope that it is possible to shift our cities to a different development perspective. Urban by Nature is there to consolidate this vision and, in a very pedagogic approach, to demonstrate the different possible ways to do it."

Rodrigo Perpétuo, Executive Secretary ICLEI SAMS

“In the face of phenomena such as climate change it is essential to respond through coherent local policies to global challenges. Nature is emerging as a means to provide solutions to the climate adaptation challenges that afflict cities. The consideration of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in urban processes is the opportunity to prepare our cities for the future through an innovative ecosystem approach that contributes to climate change adaptation, resilience, economic growth and the improvement of the quality of life of human beings. The city of Quito is proud to host the UrbanByNature Latin American Hub and hopes that the dissemination of this approach will contribute to bringing nature and its characteristics closer to our cities.”

Santiago Guarderas, Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Quito

“Ante fenómenos como el cambio climático es esencial responder a través de políticas locales coherentes a retos globales. La naturaleza se perfila como un medio para proveer soluciones a los desafíos de adaptación climática que aquejan a las ciudades. La consideración de las Soluciones basadas en la Naturaleza (SbN) en los procesos urbanos es la oportunidad para preparar a nuestras ciudades para el futuro a través de un enfoque ecosistémico, innovador que contribuya a la adaptación al cambio climático, a la resiliencia, al crecimiento económico y a la mejora de la calidad de vida del ser humano. La ciudad de Quito se enorgullece en ser la sede del Hub Latinoamericano de SbN y espera que la difusión de esta perspectiva contribuya a acercar más a la naturaleza y sus características a nuestras ciudades.”

Santiago Guarderas, Alcalde del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito