Pest or Pleasure? An Evaluation of Urban Insect Conservation Governance – Cases from Hamburg & Malmö

Sammanfattning: Insects play vital roles in almost every ecosystem and have high ecological, social as well as economic value. Human activity -most critical in urban environments- profoundly stress insect populations and habitats, regardless of their known benefits to society. Conserving insects in an urban context remains a topic predominantly for insect enthusiasts and revolves around preferred insects, such as honeybees. In research, translation from natural to applied knowledge is sparse and the gap between the two is widening. Policy is dealing with a limited availability of -often ineffective- tools and instruments. This paper provides an understanding of the current situation regarding urban insect conservation governance by reviewing existing literature and analysing two case study cities: Hamburg and Malmö. The outcomes aim to deliver main elements and focus areas for a(n) (more) effective, and mainstreaming of, the urban insect conservation governance concept. The paper concludes that urban insect conservation deals with abundant and complex human and ecological factors. These factors lack applied understanding and locally tailored governance. Conservation in practice is prone to ambiguity due to general conservation goals; large scopes aiming for biodiversity maximisation; and short-term timescales. As a result, insects lack specific; structural; and strategic conservation, complicating the effective application of UICG into practice. Main identified elements for a(n) (enhanced) urban insect conservation governance effectiveness discussed in this paper are: more applied and social research; the development of tools or guidelines for policy makers and urban planners; raising awareness for perceived insect values and motivations for conservation; utilising available knowledge; closer and structural cooperation amongst conservation stakeholders; defining and allocating clear responsibilities; and matching conservation efforts to available resources. This research aims to contribute to the UICG knowledge foundation and possibly function as guideline for further applied research; supporting the practical implementation of effective UICG.