Newspaper
International work in the spotlight
President Nigel Thorne represented the LI at the launch last month of PI-UKChina, a new collaborative venture of 15 leading UK professional institutions with interests in China.
The purpose of PI-UKChina, which has close contacts with the Department of Trade and Industry, is to provide access to a range of knowledge on the built environment professions and to develop opportunities for collaborations between Chinese and UK professionals. The Landscape Institute, a founder member of PI-UKChina, signed a memorandum of agreement with the Chinese Society of Landscape Architects in 2004, supporting CHSLA’s efforts to develop a professional accreditation system for China’s many universities offering landscape courses.
“With China’s rapid economic development, the environment is at great risk and there is a strong desire in China to mitigate this with design and sustainability solutions which landscape architects excel at,” said Thorne. “There is great business potential for our registered practices and the Institute has good relations with the Chinese Ministry of Construction.”
Thorne and immediate past president Kathryn Moore will be visiting in spring 2007, to further the aims of PI-UKChina and the Institute. They will be visiting practices operating in the country, including Broadway Malyan, Insite Environments and Scott Wilson, and holding discussions with Institute members working in China. Thorne and Moore will also visit Shanghai to support a joint project between PI-UKChina and the British Council, studying career paths in China and links to UK professional training.
The LI’s Executive Committee is expected to set up a small working party at its meeting this month to review the Institute’s international commitments in the context of the new 2007-12 Development Plan.
“The Institute has a high reputation around the world whether with the International Federation of Landscape Architects in China or in Europe, where professional recognition is not as strong as it is in the UK,” said Thorne. “We have an important part to play in championing high-quality landscape architecture education and practice around the world.
“But international work can be very demanding of resources and we need to be absolutely clear about our specific objectives and how we are going to support that work.” Meanwhile, Environment Secretary David Miliband underlined the Government’s commitment to working with China on environmental issues by signing an agreement last month with Chinese Minister for National Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai to set up a climate change working group.
Miliband said: “One of the UK’s key international climate change objectives is to collaborate with major emerging economies such as China to accelerate progress towards our long-term goal of moving towards a global low carbon economy and put in place an effective international framework to tackle climate change.” Discuss this article
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