The United Nations has found that $7 trillion is invested each year in activities that deplete nature. This destruction comes from the construction, electric utility, real estate development, fossil fuel, agriculture, ranching, and tobacco industries. Years of investment in these activities have contributed to a 70 percent decline in wildlife populations worldwide over the past 50 years.

In contrast, investment in protecting and restoring biodiversity is estimated to be just $140 billion per year. According to the UN Environmental Fund, $700 billion of additional finance is required annually to support nature on a global level and achieve the ambitious Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the world’s collective goals for 2030.

The latest UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference (COP26) in Rome, Italy, made progress in addressing this financing gap. After an inconclusive meeting in Cali, Colombia last year, leaders from 150 countries reconvened and agreed to mobilize $200 billion per year in public and private finance for biodiversity by 2030, including $20 billion a year in international funds by 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030.

This agreement is a start but doesn’t fully address critical funding gaps. Beyond the moral, health, and cultural arguments for protecting and restoring nature, there is also an economic argument. “Half of global gross domestic product – around $58 trillion of annual economic activity around the world – is moderately to highly dependent on nature,” PwC found.

At the CBD, countries also reached agreement on “the full set of indicators to measure global and national progress” to implement the Framework. The UN states that these indicators are “essential to the implementation of the Framework because [they] provide the common yardsticks that [countries] will use to measure progress against the Framework’s 23 targets and 4 goals.”

At COP17 in Armenia next year, world leaders will regroup and participate in a “global stocktake” on the state of nature. Countries will use the new monitoring indicators to report their progress on reaching Framework goals.

The Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes bold targets, such as:

• Plan and manage all areas to reduce biodiversity loss
• Restore 30 percent of all degraded ecosystems
• Conserve 30 percent of land, waters, and seas
• Reduce the introduction of invasive alien species by 50 percent and minimize their impact
• Minimize the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and build resilience
• Enhance green spaces and urban planning for human well-being and biodiversity
• Reduce harmful incentives by at least $500 billion per year, and scale up positive incentives for biodiversity

A recent report from UNEP also found a major gap in financing urban nature-based solutions, which also provide important opportunities to increase biodiversity. The organization estimates that global annual financing of nature-based solutions in cities totals $200 billion annually and will need to increase to $542 billion per year by 2030 to meet climate, biodiversity, and landscape restoration goals.

Last year, ASLA sent two representatives to COP16 in Cali, Colombia, to argue for expanding investment in biodiversity, particularly in cities. Landscape architects are committed to achieving the 2030 goals and targets, including protecting and restoring at least 30 percent of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 30).

Landscape architects advance global biodiversity goals by:

• Protecting and restoring ecosystems
• Conserving habitat for species
• Planting native trees and plants
• Protecting and restoring soil health
• Managing invasive species
• Creating ecological corridors
• Mitigating and adapting to climate change

They plan and design projects and conduct research at all scales in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Led by leaders in the field of landscape architecture, ASLA is developing an updated, profession-wide Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan

ASLA is announcing the experts that will develop its new Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan for the landscape architecture community. The five-member Task Force and 33-member Advisory Group of climate and biodiversity leaders from the landscape architecture profession will guide this effort. The new plan will be released at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, October 10-13, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The new plan will be an update to the ASLA Climate Action Plan, which was released in 2022, and offers new goals and actions for 2026-2030. The scope of the new plan has been expanded – the climate and biodiversity crises will be treated as equal priorities, and the focus will be on actions that tackle both crises in an equitable way.

The ambitious plan seeks to transform the practice of landscape architecture by 2040 through actions taken by ASLA and its members focused on biodiversity and ecological restoration, climate mitigation and adaptation, equity, and economic development.

Meg Calkins, FASLA, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, NC State University, has been named Chair of the Task Force.

“Landscape architects know that nature-based solutions can help address both the climate and biodiversity crises while also providing multiple economic, environmental, social, and health benefits. This incredible Task Force and Advisory Group, made up of biodiversity, climate, equity, and advocacy leaders, will show us the way and guide our collective action over the next five years,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA.

“ASLA believes that landscape architects’ climate and biodiversity work provides significant benefits to communities in the U.S. and around the world. This new plan will act as a roadmap for strengthening communities’ economic well-being while also conserving and restoring ecosystems, reducing emissions, and enhancing resilience over the long-term,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.

Task Force members include:

• Chair: Meg Calkins, FASLA, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Equity Lead: Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, D. Eng., PLA, Director and Professor, Program in Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and Principal Landscape Architect, DesignJones, LLC, Arlington, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana
• Biodiversity Lead: Jennifer A. Dowdell, ASLA, Practice Leader: Landscape Ecology, Planning & Design, Biohabitats, Baltimore, Maryland
• Climate Lead: Mariana Ricker, ASLA, PLA, Associate Principal, SWA Group, San Francisco, California
• Advocacy Lead: Andrew Wickham, ASLA, PLA, Project Leader, Landscape Architecture, LPA Design Studios, Sacramento, California

The goals and actions of the new plan are also shaped by a Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan Advisory Group of 33 diverse leaders, who hail from 16 U.S. states and three countries and in private, public, and non-profit practice, and academia. The Advisory Group consists of 20 women and 13 men; and three Black, four Asian and Asian American, seven Latino/a, and two Indigenous members.

Advisory Group members include:

• José Almiñana, FASLA, PLA, SITES AP, LEED AP, Principal, Andropogon Associates, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Megan Barnes, ASLA, Senior Program Manager, Landscape Architecture Foundation, Washington, D.C.
• Lisa Beyer, ASLA, PLA, Senior Manager, Nature for Urban Resilience, World Resources Institute, San Francisco, California
• Roxanne Blackwell, Hon. ASLA, Managing Director, Government Affairs, ASLA
• Jean Senechal Biggs, FASLA, Resource Development Manager, Metro, and Vice President, Professional Practice, ASLA, Portland, Oregon
• Keith Bowers, FASLA, PLA, PWS, Advocate and Practice Leader, Biohabitats, Charleston, South Carolina
• Chingwen Cheng, ASLA, PLA, Director and Professor, Stuckeman School, Penn State University and Past President, Council of Educators on Landscape Architecture (CELA), States College, Pennsylvania
• Aida Curtis, FASLA, PLA, Principal, Curtis + Rogers Design Studio and Chair, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, Miami, Florida
• Dr. Jennifer Egan, PhD, PG, Program Manager, Environmental Economics and Conservation Finance, Environmental Finance Center, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
• Grant Fahlgren, Indigenous Design Lead, PFS Studio and Co-Chair, Canadian Society Landscape Architects Reconciliation Advisory Committee, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Sarah Fitzgerald, ASLA, PLA, Climate and Sustainability Lead and Associate, SWA Group, Dallas, Texas
• MaFe Gonzalez, ASLA, Landscape designer and botanist, BASE Landscape Architecture, San Francisco, California
• Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA, Principal, EDSA and President, ASLA, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Deb Guenther, FASLA, PLA, LEED AP, SITES AP, Partner, Mithun, Seattle, Washington
• Chris Hardy, ASLA PLA, CA, Senior Associate, Sasaki and Founder, Carbon Conscience, Boston, Massachusetts
• Daniella Hirschfeld, PhD, Assistant Professor, Climate Adaptation Planning, Urban Ecology, Environmental Justice, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
• José de Jesús Leal, ASLA , PLA, APA, Principal and Studio Director, Native Nation Building Studio, MIG, Sacramento, California
• Mia Lehrer, FASLA, President, Studio-MLA, Los Angeles, California
• Vincent Martinez, Hon. AIA, President and COO, Architecture 2030, Seattle, Washington
• Anna McCorvey, RA, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Equitable Development Manager, 11th Street Bridge Park, and Founder and Executive Director, The River East Design Center, Washington, D.C.
• Hitesh Mehta, FASLA, FRIBA, FAAK, Assoc. AIA, President, HM Design, and Executive in Residence and Courtesy Professor at Chaplain School of Hospitality, Florida International University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, ASLA, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Chelina Odbert, Hon. ASLA, CEO and Founding Principal, Kounkuey Design Initiative, Los Angeles, California
• Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
• Betsy Peterson, ASLA, Director, August Design Collaborative, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
• April Phillips, FASLA, PLA, Landscape architect, artist, and past Chair, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, Talent, Oregon
• Catherine Seavitt, FASLA, Chair of Landscape Architecture and Meyerson Professor of Urbanism; Faculty Co-Director, McHarg Center; Department of Landscape Architecture, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Steven Spears, FASLA, PLA, AICP, Principal, Groundwork Development and Momark Development, Austin, Texas
• Amy Syverson-Shaffer, ASLA, Sustainability Leader, Landscape Forms, Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Jerry Smith, FASLA, PLA, EDAC, LEED AP, Founding Principal, SMITH GreenHealth Consulting, Columbus, Ohio
• Julia Watson, Author, Lo—TEK Design by Radical Indigenism; Principal, Julia Watson llc; and Co-founder, Lo—TEK Institute, Brooklyn, New York
• Jonathan Williams, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Outdoor Practice, Houston, Texas
• Dr. Kongjian Yu, FASLA, PhD, Founder, Turenscape and Professor and Dean, College of Architecture and Landscape, Peking University, and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize Winner, Beijing, China

In 2022, ASLA released its first Climate Action Plan, with a bold vision for 2040:

All landscape architecture projects will simultaneously:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

For the past three years, ASLA has also been an official observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) meetings. At COP29 last year, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Fellow Pamela Conrad, ASLA, released WORKS with NATURE: Low Carbon Adaptation Techniques for a Changing World. It serves as a supplement to the UN National Adaptation Plan Technical Guidelines. ASLA also released a series of briefs on the economic benefits of nature-based solutions and landscape architecture, developed with the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center.

In 2020, ASLA and its members formed a Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, which laid the groundwork for the ASLA Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan.

A 13-acre parking lot on the west side of Denver, Colorado will soon become Cherry Creek West, a new mixed-use community. Design Workshop, an international landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm, is transforming a big box shopping center into a walkable, bikeable destination that reduces vehicle emissions.

“The goal is to reach everything you need — by walking, biking, or transit — within 15 minutes,” said Robb Berg, FASLA, president of Design Workshop.

East West Partners, the developers behind the billion-dollar redevelopment, worked with landscape architects at Design Workshop first to lay out the new 13-acre community. The developers wanted to “get the public realm right” before designing the buildings, Berg explained.

“They started with landscape architecture and urban design, because the first 30 feet from buildings makes all the difference in these developments. We wanted to design for people first and focus on the spaces a majority of people will interact with everyday. You won’t have to live there, buy a ticket, or go to a restaurant to be there. We aimed to have the largest impact on the largest number of people,” Berg said.

The initial master plan, which is being updated now that the project has won rezoning approval, shows a dense, mixed-use community with four acres of new open space; 825 residences, many of them affordable; 600,000 square feet of office space; 100,000 square feet of retail; and 2,000 underground parking spaces.

First, Design Workshop organized the new community and its public realm to create better connections to the nearby Cherry Creek, which offers walking and biking trails.

When they started planning, “there was no connection to the creek; the shopping center was blocking access. One of our goals at the onset was creating that connection.”

New walking and biking trails and bus rapid transit (BRT) infrastructure will enable access and lay the foundation for a more extensive BRT line, trail network, and bike lanes north of the development.

Then, the design team recommended putting all the parking spaces beneath the buildings, which was a “massive commitment by the developer,” Berg said. This ensured the public realm will be seamless, with no grade changes.

Within that public space, the landscape architects focused on weaving in nature — both to draw people and wildlife. Essentially functioning as a green roof, the new verdant plazas will sit above parking garages below. “We will create a high plains desert landscape on structure, with native and adapted plant communities that increase biodiversity and attract pollinators,” Berg said.

Concept designs for the development are being updated after negotiations with the city. One new addition is a shared street that will give priority to pedestrians but enable vehicle access. The woonerf-style street will be designed to make it “slightly uncomfortable to drive your car.”

Berg said the original goal was a “100 percent car-free development.” But the new walking trails, dedicated bike lanes, and BRT infrastructure are still expected to help more residents, commuters, and visitors leave their cars at home.

According to analysis created as part of Design Workshop’s new infrastructure master plan, the new development will shift more than 2,300 car trips to biking and walking, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 9.5 metric tons per year; and another 1,300 car trips will shift to transit, reducing approximately 4.2 metric tons of greenhouse emissions per year.

Cherry Creek West shows what can be done with underperforming shopping centers across the country. These places are opportunities to build a public realm, create new transportation connections, and shift to lower-carbon living.

Landscape architects play a key role in restoring ecosystems, said Jennifer Dowdell, ASLA, practice leader of landscape ecology, planning, and design at Biohabitats.

Natural systems account for 50 percent of global GDP or over $58 trillion annually. These systems can be incorporated into the public realm. There, landscape architects can design them to provide “stacked benefits” — layered water, air, health, biodiversity benefits.

In cities and communities, “we can assist the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed. This process can occur through regenerative design that produces resilient and equitable landscapes,” Dowdell said during a recent online discussion organized by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee.

One example is the new floating wetlands in Baltimore’s inner harbor, a project led by Ayers Saint Gross that Biohabitats contributed to (see image above). The project transformed a post-industrial bulkhead into a biodiversity hotspot. “It’s designed to be a refuge.”

At the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Biohabitats restored Battle Grove, recovering a buried stream and reconnecting it to the floodplain. “We used a regenerative stormwater conveyance approach, with a series of berms, pools, and weirs that also restores the natural forest around the stream.”

And in Lyndhurst, Ohio, the firm transformed Acacia, a former golf course into wetlands and native meadows.

Even small patches, like the floating wetlands along the southwest waterfront of Washington, D.C. can be “places of healing and restoration.”

While restoration work is deeply impactful, it can also be challenging. The unfortunate reality of many contemporary landscapes is that they have “little or no memory of past ecologies,” said Claudia West, ASLA, principal with Phyto Studio and co-author of the best-selling book Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes.

Many of our landscapes have “become hyper fragmented, taken over by a global soup of species, and now function differently than they did before.” Deer, pesticides, and invasive plants cause local ecosystems to change. “It’s depressing but also fascinating.”

Amid this flux, West is seeing plant species move and adapt, filling new ecological niches. “Change is the new normal, so we design our restorations to be dynamic. We must allow landscapes to adapt.”

Our era of the Anthropocene requires that landscape architects have an “understanding of depleted ecosystems.” Then, with a science-based approach, we can “rebuild ecological abundance and form resilient habitat.” The end goal is to “create the conditions for stable, thriving ecosystems that can take care of themselves.”

West argued that “autonomous plants” that can function on their own are often needed, because “the restoration budget is not there and maintenance skill levels are low.” She said there is ample evidence that lower maintenance plantings can yield higher ecological functions.

Through her designs, she attempts to “achieve legibility on a large scale while increasing biodiversity on a small scale.”

She also aims to achieve abundance through layering — a structural layer, seasonal layers, and a ground cover layer. West argues that this layering is key to creating a sense of wonder and emotional connection to landscapes.

Martha Eberle, ASLA, PLA, senior associate at Andropogon focysed on one project — Olmsted Woods at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. — to reinforce what we increasingly know: climate change complicates restoration efforts.

“Extreme weather is putting pressure on urban forest ecosystems.” In the mid-Atlantic region, climate change is leading to “more rain — including more frequency and intensity — and more drought. Soils face both erosion and compaction. This impacts the fine root system of trees, which are now stressed.”

Within the 59-acre campus of the Cathedral, Andropogon has led the restoration of the five-acre Olmsted Woods, which are in a valley nestled between two schools. The firm has guided planning of the forest’s ecological restoration for nearly two decades. Now that restoration plan is being updated due to the heavy loss of Oak trees from recent storms.

Andropogon is taking a holistic approach to the restoration of the site, which is now receiving more stormwater runoff with increased rain. Strategies include building up soil health through piles of logs and increased mulch and keeping pedestrians out of compacted areas; restoring streams and creating new dams; and better protecting oak seedlings from deer that roam Northwest D.C. and invasive plants.

They are also piloting adaptable 20-foot by 20-foot “planting modules,” with a palette of plants the Cathedral can use as conditions change. And they are engaging academic institutions, students, and product manufacturers to measure the performance of stormwater management systems.

“It’s a long-term process but we, as landscape architects, can communicate the vision. Others can describe ideas but we can draw them. We can help set funding priorities and phases moving forward,” Eberle said. Landscape architects also offer long-term ecological management plans, with specific approaches for maintenance and monitoring.

As climate change continues to impact Olmsted Woods, the forest may also need to further evolve. “Beech trees and the understory are coming in as part of a dynamic system. We need to stabilize the entire ecosystem.”

Before looking ahead to what’s happening in landscape architecture in 2025, we also look back to learn what was of greatest interest to readers over the past year.

The most-read story of the year was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ new embrace of nature-based solutions. Readers wanted to know what this transformational shift will mean for future infrastructure projects.

Like in past years, readers also wanted to know how to reduce the carbon footprint of landscape architecture projects and move towards increasingly responsible forms of design. This is about using less and choosing local, low-carbon materials.

2024 also showed the great potential of designing for climate and biodiversity. An exciting linear park in California showed that many kinds of materials can be reused in a beautiful way at lower cost. And a constructed wetland in Baltimore demonstrated how to create a tourist mecca while yielding real benefits for wildlife.

ASLA members: Have an op-ed you would like to write? Tell us about your ideas at info@asla.org.

In a Seismic Shift, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Elevates Nature-based Solutions

“In a new memo, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it will expand the use of nature-based solutions in its civil works projects. Now, when the Army Corps provides a final set of planning options — what
they call ‘alternatives’ — to communities, those alternatives must include ‘a fully nature-based solution alternative’ if feasible. And that alternative needs to use the ‘same level of rigor and detail as the other solutions proposed.'”

New Linear Park Shows the Great Potential of Material Reuse

“A new landscape in Hayward, California demonstrates how to reuse materials on a grand scale to save money and reduce climate impacts. Designed by landscape architects at Surfacedesign, the Mission Boulevard Linear Park — a mile-long park and walking and biking trail — repurposed asphalt, concrete, trees, soil, and even benches.”

Climate Action Is About Choosing Local, Low-Carbon Materials

“Embodied carbon accounts for 75 to 95 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from landscape architecture projects,” said Chris Hardy, ASLA, PLA, senior associate at Sasaki, during the third in a series of webinars organized by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee. But by selecting locally made low-carbon materials, landscape architects can significantly reduce the climate impacts of their work.”

The Future of Landscape Architecture

“‘When Frederick Law Olmsted was practicing, he was working at the scale of the city. Today, landscape architects face challenges on a global scale — carbon emissions, land fragmentation, and extraction,’ said Kate Orff, FASLA, founder of SCAPE, an urban design and landscape architecture practice.”

Landscape Architecture Strategies Reduce Impacts of Dangerous Extreme Heat

“‘Extreme heat is expected to impact more people and places in the U.S. and across the globe in coming decades, with the greatest impacts to marginalized and underserved communities. An estimated 250,000 excess deaths are expected per year by 2050. Our research demonstrates the importance of maximizing the benefits of nature-based solutions to extreme heat. And landscape architects do that every day through their critically important planning and design work,’ Dr. Hirschfeld said.”

Landscape Architecture Strategies Reduce Biodiversity Loss

“‘The biodiversity crisis is on par with the climate crisis. An estimated one million out of eight million species on the planet are threatened with extinction. Our research demonstrates that landscape architects play a significant role in designing and preserving green spaces that enhance and restore biodiversity and promote human well-being,’ Dr. Park said.”

Landscape Architects Take on Embodied Carbon

“‘Landscape architects have started conversations about embodied carbon. There is a realization that we can no longer ignore the grey parts,’ said Stephanie Carlisle, Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum and the University of Washington.”

How Landscape Architects Are Decarbonizing Design

“‘Decarbonization has design value. It’s part of the design process, not a separate thing,’ said Marieke Lacasse, FASLA, principal at GGLO, during the second in a series of webinars organized by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee.”

New Guides for Landscape Architects Offer Practical Steps to Achieve Zero Emissions by 2040

“ASLA releases three new resources that cover how to decarbonize landscape architecture project specifications, the design process, and navigate environmental product data.”

Floating Wetlands Bring Nature Back to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

“The National Aquarium’s new Harbor Wetland shows the great potential of creating wildlife habitat in cities. With just 10,000 square feet, it has already drawn otters, herons, ducks, crabs, fish, eels, and jellyfish.”