World Landscape Architecture Month

March 31, 2007

World Landscape Architecture Month to be launched in China

The inaugural World Landscape Architecture Month will be launched tomorrow in Beijing, China.

The month is being held by landscape architects throughout the world to highlight global issues.

The ceremony to mark the month-long event on April 1 will be followed by events in China throughout the month.

Education was the most important issue for landscape architects, International Federation of Landscape Architects president Diane Menzies said today.

``Education is needed in Africa, America, Asia…throughout the globe. Although there are 30,000 landscape architects practising in America the universities can’t train enough graduates to satisfy demand, which is growing at 20 percent a year,’’ Dr Menzies said from Washington DC today.

That means the US alone will need 6000 more landscape architects this year to respond to increasingly complex environmental issues. Rapid development in China, Russia, India and the Middle East has developers clamouring for landscape planners, designers and managers.

Firms employing practitioners globally want to make sure that their staff have had the best training. In China, there will be an exchange of landscape architecture professors from Britain as well as regular university lectures with international speakers and a public information campaign.

In Mexico a cultural heritage visit planned to historic monuments in recognition of World Monument Day on April 18. Thirty two landscape architects state chapters in the US will hold career events throughout the month to encourage more students to enter the profession. This includes construction projects in parks with high school students.

Dr Menzies has been in Washington DC to visit the World Bank, the National Parks Service and is to return to the US later this month to give a presentation to Harvard University on global issues.

``We need well trained landscape architects to respond to urban security and disaster response,’’ Diane Menzies said.

Other activities in World Landscape Architecture Month include a meeting on education in Nairobi and conferences in Italy and New Zealand.
``Our planet now, as never before, faces global environmental issues. We have moved beyond doubt and denial to recognise the inconvenient truth of climate change.

``It is happening around us and is affecting weather patterns, crop production, island nations, cities and species survival.

``Some of the world’s cataclysmic disasters are associated with climate change such as floods and massive landslides. Our Landscape Architecture Month will help increase global understanding and support.’’

``As our world’s population continues to expand the stress placed on scarce resources, particularly clean water, will become even more critical. Global sustainability is at risk. ‘’

Dr Menzies said seas were becoming increasingly polluted from uncontrolled discharges and silt washed from the land, damaging corals, fish and bird life.

IFLA will discuss global disasters and how to resolve them at the next World Congress meeting in Kuala Lumpur on August 27-31.

ENDS

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