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From left to right: Torey Carter-Conneen; Pamela Conrad, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ; Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ is sending two delegates to COP28 in Dubai, UAE and eight virtual delegates will join online. This is the second year Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ has been an NGO observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) process.

In-person delegates available for media interviews before, during, and after COP:

• Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, American Society of Landscape Architects (COP28 Dates: December 5-10)
• Pamela Conrad, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, LEED AP, Founder, ; Senior Fellow, ;? Faculty Lecturer, ; and Vice-Chair, , International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) (COP28 Dates: December 2-11)

Additional in-person landscape architect delegate of the Government of Thailand:

• , International Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Founder, ; Chair, , IFLA; Faculty Design Critic, ; Visiting Fellow, . (COP Dates: November 30-December 18)

These delegates are experts on:

• Nature-based solutions
• Landscape architecture
• Ecosystem services
• Health benefits of nature
• Biodiversity
• Climate equity and justice??

All three speakers will be presenting in these blue zone sessions:

Scaling Up Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Environments
Wednesday, December 6, 4.15 AM - 5.15 AM EST / 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM GST
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pavilion


Nature-based Solutions & the Built Environment: Designing for Resilience, Drawdown & Biodiversity
Friday, December 8, 7.45 AM - 9.15 AM EST / 4.45 PM - 6.15 PM GST
Official COP28 Blue Zone Side Event, SE Room 9

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ virtual delegates joining online include:

• , FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Director, Program in Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Principal Landscape Architect, DesignJones, LLC, and Member, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Climate Action Plan Task Force
• Scott Bishop, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Founding Principal, ; Member, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Climate Action Plan Advisory Group; and Immediate Past Chair, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee
• Aida Curtis, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Founding Principal, ; and Co-Chair Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee Subcommittee on Climate Leadership and Communications
• Sarah Fitzgerald, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Associate, , and Member, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Climate Action Plan Task Force
• , FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ President
• Mia Lehrer, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Founder, , and Member, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Climate Action Plan Advisory Group
• April Phillips, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Founder, , and Chair, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ National Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee
• Kongjian Yu, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Founder, , and Professor and Dean, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, and winner of the .

For interview requests: please contact press@asla.org.

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ delegates will be advancing these goals at COP28:

Maximizing the Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions¨CThrough Design

Nature-based solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss are more than mangroves, forests, and grasslands. Using landscape architecture strategies, they can be woven into places where people live. They can take the form of parks, recreation areas, streets, coastal infrastructure, and more. Through inclusive design, they can provide even greater benefits to people and support the healthy urban ecosystems people rely on.

While more communities are integrating nature-based solutions, those advances are not widespread. All communities need equitable access to best practices, project financing, and the landscape architecture, planning, ecology, and engineering professionals who make these projects a reality.
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Landscape architects design nature-based solutions to create real benefits for people and communities:
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1) Increased Biodiversity
Nature-positive landscapes are the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems and efforts to achieve 30 x 2030 and 10% net biodiversity goals, restore global ecosystems, and increase and protect biodiversity.
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2) Improved Human Health and Livability ?
Accessible public landscapes, such as parks and recreation areas, provide proven physical and mental health benefits that reduce healthcare costs and increase community cohesion.
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3) Going Beyond Net-Zero
Landscapes are the most efficient way to store carbon and achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and double carbon sequestration by 2040.

4) Strengthened Resilience ?
Healthy, biodiverse landscapes that store carbon in trees, plants, and soils also increase people¡¯s resilience to climate impacts, such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and sea level rise.
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5) Expanded Investment and Sustainable Livelihoods
When woven into communities, nature-based solutions become resilient assets that lead to increased investment in housing, infrastructure, and public amenities, and create sustainable local livelihoods.

For interview requests: please contact press@asla.org.