GLADAC 2008 anticipates attendance of up to 1,000 industry-related professionals. The event was announced at a press conference by Dr. D. Menzies, president of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), which is organizing the event.

Eng. Rashad Bukhash, a Dubai municipality project director, said the conference comes at a time when Dubai has at least 30 public parks under construction, design or study. Dubai Municipality plans to increase the per capita share of greenery to 23.4 square meter and raise the total area of cultivated land to 3.15 per cent of the total urban land by 2011.

Bukhash notes that Dubai already has five major public parks that total over 10 million square meters of green space, along with 16 neighborhood parks across the city that offer another one million square meters of greenery.

“This event marks an historic first for the Middle East region,?EUR??,,????'?? said Dr. Menzies. IFLA, in partnership with Dubai Municipality, is showcasing 35 eminent speakers in the field of landscape architecture, including senior officials of the UN, IFLA, UN-Habitat, Union of International Architects, the UNESCO, the Council for Education in Landscape Architecture, Crisis Group International, ISOCARP, and presidents of landscape architect associations, including the U.S., Europe, the U.K., South Africa, the Far East, India and Australia. Parliamentarians from Malawi, South Africa, and Kenya will be there, and professors from faculties of landscape architecture of major global universities, including King Saud University of Saudi Arabia. Landscape architects from the Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific area, Australia, the Americas and Africa will attend.

The conference theme is “Civilization: Modern Role of Landscape Architecture.”

“As global environmental and development issues are impacting the face of landscape we need professionals and professional bodies to make sure that the stewardship of the Earth is maintained for the better. The relationship between IFLA and the local associations can drive educational, environmental, heritage, cultural and conservation issues in all landscape matters and we welcome the opportunity of helping in this region,” she said.

Dr. Menzies added that the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf regions are in a development boom and have unique environmental issues that need to be addressed in a careful and rigorous manner. She believes that landscape architects will be at the forefront of addressing those issues.

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