Discussion

DISCUSSION

The journey through the evidence base for NFM, the barriers to its implementation and a

survey of the skills of landscape architects brings us to answer the question ‘Is there a role

for landscape architects in NFM?’ In short, there is, but how is that qualified?

In general, the literature examining NFM case studies and pilots does not spell out the

professionals actually engaged in the projects. Based on the journals referred to in this

literature search, one can assume the involvement of water engineers and hydrologists, and NFM projects may also require the expertise of natural scientists, social scientists and the

local community itself. However, overall the literature is rather quiet on landscape

architects taking a role in NFM. Contributions of landscape architects to NFM projects in the

Netherlands are documented and from the author’s experience it seems that there are

landscape architects focussing their efforts on NFM within the Environment Agency.

Through this literature review, it is possible to describe a unique planning, design and

coordination role in NFM, by listing a number of relevant skills and qualities:

• Strategic landscape planning skills

• Ability to design for spatial coherence and temporal change

• Understanding of the legal frameworks

• Understanding of the social and cultural aspects of landscape

• Appreciation for the quality and character of landscape

• Strong communication, facilitation and public participation skills

• Ability to coordinate landowners, other professionals, authorities and communities

and build partnerships where appropriate

• Ability to see synergies

• Ability to use and understand terminology used by other professionals and

stakeholders

• Understanding of agri-economics and the impact of agri-environmental policies

• Ability to apply a multifunctional approach to land use and an understanding of

ecosystem services and natural capital

• Understanding of the biodiversity and ecological impacts of land use change

• Ability to strategically set out the problems of climate change and flooding

• Visual skills to make processes visible to stakeholders and communities

• Understanding of basic catchment modelling techniques

• Comfortable working with an uncertain evidence base

• Commitment to gathering data and evidence, and long-term monitoring

• Ability to reflect, review and critique projects.

Essentially the above is a description of a professional who can see the bigger picture and

bring together the scientific, spatial, cultural and economic elements of NFM. This role

description is the main finding of this dissertation.

Limited information makes it difficult to determine whether the above skills are abundant in

the landscape architect population. The LI survey results, and also the limited study of

landscape architects as ‘boundary spanners’, would indicate that there are a number of

landscape architects who have the required combination of skills, but such skills are

certainly not universally held and further research would be needed to test this conclusion.

The weaknesses of the LI survey have been discussed, i.e. it does not actually survey for the

presence of skills. However, for the purpose of this discussion it is assumed that individuals

citing a skill as relevant also have the skill in some measure. It their favour, the majority of

LI members have landscape character and mapping skills along with landscape planning

skills, which is a good start. Amongst the more experienced members a majority consider themselves to have the public participation skills that seem to be essential to NFM projects.

It may be less than half, but still 38% recognise climate change as a priority. The obvious areas of weakness to address seem to be around understanding rural/agricultural

considerations and policies, and catchments. Less experienced landscape architects need to

develop communication, partnership and collaboration skills. The LI is setting ambitions

regarding the skills its new members should have, and these are aligned to a role in NFM. If

the new competency framework is successful, then there should be a flow of landscape

architects able to make significant contributions to NFM. There may be some dependence,

however, on which non-compulsory specialist competencies are selected.

The LI survey does raise the question as to whether the term ‘landscape architect’ is too

broad and is perhaps misleading. There is the established framework of breaking down the

work of landscape architects into design, planning and management and it could be broken

down further. It seems that most landscape architects specialise, and one would not expect someone with a keen focus on urban design for instance to rush to lead NFM projects. Not

all landscape architects will be suited or have a desire to work in NFM.

There are some professional risks that landscape architects would need to overcome to take

a pivotal role in NFM projects. They would need to avoid being marginalised by other

professionals and carve out their roles at an early stage in projects. There is need to

disprove negative and restricted external perceptions of the profession (van den Brink et al.,

2019). One way to do this would be to lead on the strategic visioning at the start of the

project, using visualisation skills to illustrate the problem and the possible solutions on a large strategic scale. Based on the author’s experience, landscape architects learn to

synthesise spatial, environmental and social data to develop strategies as part of their initial

training. They also learn to assess a landscape’s character and to consider it holistically. Another risk landscape architects need to avoid is being just facilitators during the public

participation process instead of recognised experts with unique skills, knowledge and

insights that could improve the outcomes of the project.

An alternative approach that could have been taken in this study is a theoretical one. While

it is difficult to find literature on the actual skills of landscape architects in practice, there is theoretical research that examines landscape design and planning theories, and also

compares them (von Haaren et al., 2014). This may provide insights or may again point to

the need for research to establish the actual skills of landscape architects.

A review of some of the pioneers in landscape architect may also offer some clues as to

whether the landscape architects could take a key role in NFM. An obvious pioneer to

examine would be Ian McHarg, who developed theories on landscape design and planning

which relied on understanding the natural processes of place and built on ecological science.

He was also both a self-critical and reflective landscape architect (Steiner, 2016). Another

relevant example is Dame Sylvia Crowe who wrote in detail about afforestation (Crowe et

al., 1975) and was consultant to the Forestry Commission (1964-1976)(Curl & Wilson, 2015).

Crowe brought together both the ‘ecosystematic and the aesthetic’ (Selman) . She designed

forests to improve the visual landscape, addressing topography and paying attention to the

margins (Crowe et al., 1975). Crowe’s work was more on the planning side; the designs were large scale and looked into the future, and she had to work with the complexity of the

landscape and its economic use (Selman). These are skills that a landscape architect would

need to apply to use woodlands on a catchment scale for NFM purposes. Are these skills

being nurtured in universities and practices today? Some heads of practice complain that

new landscape graduates are only focussed on producing images (Allman Horrocks

Consulting, 2018). Meanwhile academics might be concerned that they are producing

graduates who can be ‘plugged into the office’ , rather than rounded landscape architects

with the deeper theoretical understanding to allow them to make long-term valuable

contributions (Thompson, 2002). McHarg and Crowe are figures from the past. Are there landscape architects who are working on exemplar projects now that can inspire and inform

practitioners with ambitions to work in NFM?

Brexit and the end of the CAP is certainly an opportunity to be seized by landscape

architects. Changes to agri-environmental policy could lead to a total rethink of uplands

land use. For the LI and its members, it is time to be vocal on policy and be at the vanguard

of driving projects to help communities manage their landscapes so that they are

economically viable and delivering multiple goods. The profession may have a tendency to

temper its political edge so as not to risk its work pipeline (Thompson, 2002), but supporting NFM is unlikely to upset the profession’s traditional clients, particularly as it may subsequently benefit urban areas.

If landscape architects are to take a strategic role in NFM, how should they be engaged?

Should it be as consultants in private practice who are able to move from project to project,

spreading expertise and experience, or should they be lodged in bodies like the

environment agency? An opportunity to interview and interrogate would help to answer

the question.

University Covid-19 restrictions have prevented the use of interviews or surveys, which

would significantly strengthen this dissertation. In depth answers to how landscape

architects are already working on NFM projects are at fingertips’ distance and could provide

a definitive answer. It has been necessary to carry out wide-ranging research to meet the

aim of this dissertation, covering many themes that could be subject to detailed literature reviews. This breadth means that it has not been possible to compare all the arguments and

conclusions that would be necessary to provide the sharpest critique on each theme.

Breadth also means that the literature review may initially appear less systematic that

typical systematic reviews. This review has resulted in the development of an informed and

logical narrative, based on academic literature, that leads to a discussion of the landscape

architecture profession and its role in NFM. At its inception this enquiry focussed on the use

of woodlands as an NFM intervention. While this focus helped to restrict the research, it

was not strictly necessary for answering the question about the role of the landscape

architect in NFM. Furthermore, the wider points on skills and role could possibly be applied

to landscape scale projects other than NFM.

This study reveals several potential fields of research:

• An exploration of the actual skills held by UK landscape architects and research into

the external perception of the profession. Do the landscape architects really have

the skills they believe they should have? Do the external perceptions of the

profession restrict landscape architects?

• The urban/rural divide. Are landscape architects in general more focussed on the

urban environment? Do they see the interdependence of the rural and urban? Does

the balance need adjusting?

• The experience of landscape architects who are currently contributing to NFM -

using interviews, surveys and case studies to understand the nature and extent of

their contributions

• A comparison of the skills and contributions of all professions that could be involved

in NFM

• The outcome of the consultation on Environmental Land Management (ELM) and its

impact on the landscape in terms of economics, environmental benefits and

aesthetics, or more narrowly its impact on NFM

• On the ground catchment scale NFM projects and research. Computer modelling is a

valuable tool for planning NFM interventions, but at the larger catchment scale

research needs to move beyond the modelling phase.

NFM research is still at an early stage, but climate change will not wait for all the creases to

be ironed out. With their understanding of the quality and character of landscapes

architects can carve out a unique role in leading or contributing to NFM projects. It is a

matter of them recognising the opportunity, determining whether they have enough of the

required skills and attributes, upskilling, and acquiring the necessary knowledge. They will

then be able to springboard themselves into this very current and different area of

expertise.