Biodiversity strategies were first initiated in developed countries without the high pressure of urbanisation and with the wide awareness of the general public. Nowadays most of the strategies applied for biodiversity protection do not take into account the rapid urban growth in many developing and emerging economies.

Asia and Africa are expected to accommodate 80% of the total world’s urban population (*1) in the near future and urban land use will be expanding tremendously.

Traditional strategies were based on protection and enhancing existing biodiversity in natural areas. Complicated systems for identification and evaluation, which have been set up, involve highly specialised professionals. Biodiversity programs became time and cost intensive without immediate ‘pay-back’ for decision makers.

No truly urban strategy has been developed beside an attempt to set up a City Biodiversity index (CBI). To ensure biodiversity friendly programs also during Asia’s rapid urbanisation and in high-density living areas, more instrument and strategies starting on the urban planning level are needed. This article highlights the need to develop programs and tools on land use level to secure a certain percentage of open soil surface. Such surfaces with connection to underground water systems have to be mapped out in land use programs and have to stay free of impermeable surfaces like concrete and underground construction. They also have to stay free of designed greenery to allow nature creating it’s own ‘garden’. This is a cost-effective and speedy way, which is also practical for rapid urban developments in Asia. These new programs also meets the up-coming challenges during global climate change.