Dr. Christopher Kyba is light pollution researcher at Ruhr University Bochum, and at Build for Biodiversity 26-27 February 2025, he will talk about how we resolve the conflict between human demand for light and biodiversity needs for natural night through design.
In this article, you can read an interview with Dr. Christopher Kyba.
What is your background and how do you work with urban nature and biodiversity?
I am a physicist by training, and for the last 15 years I’ve been working on quantifying artificial light in the outdoor environment. I frequently collaborate with biologists, ecologists, and epidemiologists who are studying the impact our lights have on the biosphere. My recent research has focused on what kinds of lights are responsible for the light emissions from cities, and how emissions are changing over time.
What challenges do you see for biodiversity now and in the future?
When I read firsthand reports from a century ago, when electric light first started being installed outdoors, it makes me realize how completely different our world has become in a relatively short time. The first lights attracted volumes of animals that are unthinkable today. For example, people reported streetlights and even private windows being destroyed by the collisions of huge flocks of birds. I think the biggest challenge is therefore to realize that the environment we grew up in was not actually “normal”, historically speaking. If this was more widely recognized, it might increase the urgency for implementing solutions.
How does artificial light affect nature and biodiversity?
One of the first things that life on Earth did was evolve biological clocks. These are used to anticipate the change between night and day, between the seasons, and, in intertidal areas, to anticipate the tides. Light exposure frequently prevents these clocks from operating properly, which has serious consequences for many organisms (humans included). Light also changes animal behavior, and this causes ripple effects through entire ecosystems. The key to avoiding light pollution is to think clearly about who needs light, before it is installed. For example, most parking lots don’t need to be lit at the times when there is no one there.
If you had to name one change you would like to see in the construction industry in relation to biodiversity in the next five years, what would it be?
For every outdoor light that is to be installed, the user and their visual needs should be identified, and the light and control systems should be chosen to meet (and not exceed) these needs. Areas outside of the use area should not be illuminated, and the lights should not be on when no one is there to see them. The damage of light can be greatly mitigated if sensitive (green and blue) areas are not illuminated by accident.
Can you name a biodiversity project that goes beyond current standards?
The AUBE project in Germany examined the impact on insects when lights along a walkway were tailored to avoid illuminating nearby green areas. Their results were amazing, because when the green areas were not illuminated, the insect attraction was reduced to such a degree that it was statistically indistinguishable from a control area at which no lights were installed. It goes to show how critically important shielding is. Keeping the light on your property will greatly reduce your environmental impact.
What are you talking about at Build for Biodiversity?
I will be talking about the impact of artificial light on the natural world, and will use practical examples to show how design choices can increase or reduce these impacts. In addition to gaining knowledge, I hope attendees will find the talk so exciting and interesting, that it’s the first thing that they tell their colleagues and family about when they get home.
Dp you want to hear more about light pollution and biodiversity?
Join Dr. Christopher Kyba at Build for Biodiversity 26-27 February 2025. Read more and sign up here.
