A mere seven days before the start of COP30 Brazil, the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) released a call to action "to put landscape at the heart of all climate action in COP30 negotiations and new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)." The statement unequivocally positions Landscape Architects - and specifically their expertise in nature-based solutions - as "critical actors" and the most qualified professionals to lead future climate action and design.

The call claims that the current struggles with climate-driven effects are "at [their] core, a failure of design; a result of human systems built in conflict with natural ones." The solution, according to IFLA? "LANDSCAPE MUST COME FIRST."

IFLA President Dr. Bruno Marques, PLA, who led the delegation, added: "We urge global leaders to move beyond soiled, carbon-only targets and put landscape-led, nature-based solutions at the very heart of all new climate commitments."

 

IFLA strongly states that these solutions come from the work done by Landscape Architects, who are "the bridge between high-level climate goals and the tangible transformation of our cities, regions, and infrastructures."

Nature-based solutions bring measurable results, which is why the delegation also calls for all action agendas to be translated "into project briefs with defined metrics, such as reduction in surface temperature, cubic meters of stormwater managed, or increases in biodiversity indices."
Beyond reducing emissions, the IFLA is challenging the leaders of all nations "to retrofit our world with nature [...] by embedding landscape-led solutions [...] as the primary framework for a just and resilient future."

According to IFLA Europe President Indra Purs, PLA, this 'Retrofit Revolution' "integrates ecological science, community co-creation, and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge to create cities and systems that are truly climate-positive and life-sustaining."

On the whole, the document emphasizes the inherent nature of landscape architecture to have a positive holistic impact on all aspects of human life, any efforts towards which, until now, the IFLA has perceived as disjointed and insufficient.

Though the two-week conference wrapped up in late November, the IFLA has made a commitment to continue promoting the prominence of Landscape Architects as an effective solution to struggles experienced due to climate-influenced events.

To read the IFLA's statement, go to: https://www.iflaworld.com/newsblog/our-call-to-action-iflas-cop30-brazil-position-statement