Towards an International Landscape Convention. The Foundation for Housing

We are all aware of the challenges we face, but are we doing enough to meet them? Disquiet about current development practices confirms that business as usual is no longer an option. We need to be braver, more ambitious, and determined to use our land more wisely. This networking event, hosted by the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) in partnership with UN-Habitat, UNEP, and WHO, and supported by the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), serves as a critical milestone in the journey toward an International Landscape Convention (ILC). Building on the momentum of the 2011 UNESCO expert seminar, the endorsement at WUF11 (2022), and the 2024 UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus in Birmingham, this session aims to consolidate global support for a convention that gives a voice to the everyday landscape. "Housing the World" cannot be achieved in a vacuum. Housing relies on the landscape for everything: clean air, soil, water, biodiversity, identity, and culture. An ILC provides the necessary framework to recognise the landscape not just as scenery but as the vital infrastructure upon which all housing and community resilience depend. This session will investigate what difference this new way of looking at landscape would make to everyday practice, across silos, disciplines and red line boundaries. Through expert interventions and active engagement, this silo-busting event will convene policymakers, UN representatives, and built environment professionals to: • Consolidate Support: Aim to gather endorsements from nation-states and international institutions for the ILC. • Connect Agendas: Explore how an ILC integrates the mandates of UN-Habitat (housing), UNEP (biodiversity/climate), and WHO (health) into a single holistic framework that underpins territorial management and transformation. • Launch the Roadmap: Outline the path and develop the plan for the potential launch of the ILC at the international environmental exposition in Japan (2028). This is not just a discussion; it is a working session to build the coalition needed to reset our relationship with the land.