Urbanization is arguably the most severe and irreversible driver of environmental change, particularly with respect to biodiversity. This is the case even in Australia, a megadiverse country with a sophisticated federal regime of biodiversity governance. Yet, life persists in urban worlds. In the context of global climate and ecological crises, this article endeavours to illustrate how law and policy can grapple with the complexities of urban biodiversity and enable it to flourish. First, the article outlines the current approaches to urban biodiversity: what is it, what is it like, why does it matter and how do humans think of it? Second, the article analyses the current state of biodiversity governance in Australia, focusing particularly on the laws and policies of the Commonwealth, New South Wales, and local governments in Greater Sydney. Finally, the article details a program of reform which revisits the original guiding principles of ecologically sustainable development, illustrating how they could be unleashed for the better governance of urban biodiversity with respect to decision-making, the administration of law, issues at scale, the economy, valuation techniques and community participation. The program includes not only systemic and multi-scalar reforms, but also local-level reforms which have significant yet often overlooked potential to encourage pro-biodiversity behaviours in everyday life. The aim is to reveal just some of the many ways in which hope can be creatively transformed into action for a biodiverse urban future – that is, to reveal the possibilities of law and policy to enable urban biodiversity to be better recognized, understood, valued, protected and enhanced as Australia develops in the twenty-first century.

城市化可以说是环境变化最严重和不可逆转的驱动因素，特别是在生物多样性方面。即使在澳大利亚这个拥有复杂生物多样性管理联邦制度的多元化国家也是如此。然而，生活在城市世界中依然存在。在全球气候和生态危机的背景下，本文试图说明法律和政策如何应对城市生物多样性的复杂性并使其蓬勃发展。首先，文章概述了当前处理城市生物多样性的方法：它是什么，它是什么样的，它为什么重要以及人类如何看待它？其次，文章分析了澳大利亚生物多样性治理的现状，特别关注联邦、新南威尔士州和大悉尼地方政府的法律和政策。最后，文章详细介绍了一项改革计划，该计划重新审视了生态可持续发展的原始指导原则，说明了如何在决策、执法、大规模问题、经济、估值技术和社区参与。该计划不仅包括系统性和多尺度改革，还包括地方层面的改革，这些改革具有重要但经常被忽视的潜力，可以鼓励日常生活中的亲生物多样性行为。目的是揭示可以创造性地将希望转化为生物多样性城市未来的行动的众多方式中的一部分——也就是说，揭示法律和政策的可能性，使城市生物多样性得到更好的认识、理解、重视，