2018_EJRNL_PP_ALEX_OPOKU_1.pdf
Terbatas Lili Sawaludin Mulyadi
» ITB
Terbatas Lili Sawaludin Mulyadi
» ITB
Recent major global environmental initiatives toward a more sustainable society are the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and the Paris Agreement. The built environment has
been recognised as a major contributor to loss of biodiversity and should therefore play a major role in a
sustainable world where ecological values are enhanced. There should be a smooth interaction between the built
environment and the natural environment because humanity and nature are the usual victims of loss of biodiversity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between the Built Environment, Biodiversity and the
Sustainable Development Goals. The paper explores the role of a sustainable built environment towards biodiversity conservation which is central to the realisation of the SDGs in general and SDG 15 in particular. The
paper adopts a qualitative research methodology using knowledge generation workshop involving 16 experts
from both academia and industry. The results show that, even though the built environment has a negative
impact on biodiversity, it also has the greatest opportunity to integrate biodiversity into all development projects. Reducing the impact of the built environment on biodiversity should be an integral part of policies and
strategies towards a sustainable built environment. All key built environment stakeholders need to engage in
raising awareness of the effects of biodiversity loss as a result of construction activities, on the health and
wellbeing of mankind. The value of this paper is to help decision-makers such as government agencies, industryplayers and non-governmental organisations to understand the contributions of the built environment towards
biodiversity conservation in achieving the SDGs.