MoU Signing Ceremony between Ifla and Un-Habitat

The strategic partnership between UN-Habitat and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) emerges at a critical time in global urbanization, where 60% of urban infrastructure needed by 2030 is yet to be built, and cities' spatial growth is outpacing population growth by a factor of two. This collaboration, which began gaining momentum through formal engagements at the IFLA World Congress in Nairobi (September 2023) and continued through COP28 (November 2023), IFLA World Congress in Istanbul (September 2024) among others represents a vital union of UN-Habitat's sustainable urbanization expertise with IFLA's global network of landscape architects.
The partnership addresses urgent urban challenges including climate resilience, biodiversity loss, and the need for quality public spaces, while aligning with major global frameworks such as the SDGs, New Urban Agenda, and Paris Agreement. Through this MoU, both organizations commit to developing concrete actions across five key areas: project collaboration and implementation, capacity development, research and knowledge exchange, policy advocacy, and events and dissemination.
This partnership, to be formalized at WUF12, reflects the theme "It All Starts at Home" by emphasizing local actions that can catalyze global change in urban landscape development, ultimately aiming to enhance urban quality of life while protecting and regenerating natural systems in cities worldwide.