The protection of biodiversity within cities is becoming more crucial by the increasing
number of people living in urban areas. Within this study urban agriculture projects
(UAP) are analysed according to their ability to face this challenge. It was uncertain if
UAP exist in Windhoek, this study proofs that they do. This research was undertaken in
two cities: Windhoek, Namibia and Berlin, Germany under special consideration of two
main research questions: (1) Does UAP have the ability to maintain local crop diversity?
And (2) Can UAP be the source of alien invasive species impacting the surrounding
area? A combination of different methods was necessary to gain a holistic overview
about the phenomena, including: Expert interviews, questionnaire survey, field work and
desk study. The study furthermore points out that stakeholders motivation is the main
variable influencing the management purpose and biodiversity in UAP. In Windhoek,
the motivation is shaped by hard factors (income generation and food supply), while in
UA is undertaken due to soft factors (social, ecological and political reasons) in Berlin.
These factors are directly influencing the biodiversity within the gardens. In Windhoek
crops are grown in order to sell them, consequently a lot of one of its kind is planted. In
Berlin’s case studies ornamental plants are part of the gardens as well as crop plants
which enriches the biodiversity to a great extent. The origin of seeds is also affected by
the motivation and knowledge of the stakeholder: In Windhoek awareness of local
species is lacking. In opposition to this the awareness is present and local varieties are
every so often on focus in Berlin. Consequently a potential exists to conserve local
varieties in Berlin, but not in Windhoek.
ii
No alien invasive species could be identified in Berlin. In Windhoek 5% of the species
and varieties in the gardens were declared alien invasive species. Consequently, it can be
stated that the investigated UAP are not a potential source of alien invasive species.