Professionals collaborating for change.

by Sheila Harrington

The 2009 B.C. Land Summit brought together six professional, provincial land-use associations and 785 delegates to Whistler in mid-May for an interdisciplinary event with the theme of “A Better Future: Adapting to Change.” The partners included the Appraisal Institute of Canada (B.C.), the Planning Institute of B.C., B.C. Institute of Agrologists, Real Estate Institute of B.C., B.C. Society of Landscape Architects, and the Land Trust Alliance of B.C.

With B.C.’s population projected to increase by as much as 50 per cent in the next twenty-five years, and climate change and the economic downturn providing additional challenges to B.C. communities, the B.C. Land Summit raised expectations and hopes that these professionals would provide insights, tools, and solutions to help us through this next decade and further. The highlight for most delegates was this opportunity to meet and share ideas between planners, real estate professionals, agrologists, appraisers, land trust organizations, landscape architects, lawyers, and many others who have professional ties to land use.

The two days of workshops, seminars, panel discussions and plenaries stimulated much discussion and new ideas within the themes of Changing Place and Space; Changing Environments; A World of Change – Growth & Globalization; and Change in Motion. Of the four plenary speakers, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. distilled facts and views on how to achieve economic sustainability within the boundaries of the planet through alternative energy solutions – still at current consumer levels and through changes in technology, market and legislative tools. Dr. Richard Hebda brought the reality of nature’s essential life-supporting ecosystems to the conference, summarizing how B.C.’s landscapes and ecosystems, especially water, will be impacted by climate change, and how our “individual gluttony” is still invisible in our general recognition of the problems and their solutions.

The diversity of program topics and choices met or exceeded most delegate needs:

“Richard Hebda’s Climate Change and Forest Impacts session was informative, inspiring and frightening, all in one. The materials he presented on what climate change means to B.C. really brought home and made tangible what we can expect.”

“As an urban planner, I specifically enjoyed the presentations which provided concrete examples of how different social, cultural & economic issues can be addressed ‘on-the-ground’.”

As a Land Summit partner, the Land Trust Alliance of B.C. had the opportunity to present the many tools and practical successes of land trusts, and provide options for stewarding and protecting nature and all its ecosystem services including the cultural and recreational benefits in addition to conserving B.C.’s biodiversity to a broad range of land use professionals.

While some informal time provided an opportunity for deeper discussions on the challenges and urgency of climate change and public policy objectives, many delegates expressed the need for more time to be devoted to “communicating the urgency to redesign our economy to the general public. It’s long past time for professionals, academics, consultants, planners, politicians, etc. to come together and collectively ask each other – HOW DO WE ACTUALLY MAKE THE CHANGES REQUIRED AS A SOCIETY?” As another delegate suggested, “the inter-professional aspect of the Land Summit is truly of its time, in my opinion. If we are to get the next 50 years right, it is going to take a collaborative effort.”

Sheila Harrington is the Executive Director of the Land Trust Alliance of B.C. www.landtrustalliance.bc.ca

This article was published in the August 2009 issue of BarTalk. © 2009 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.