Guidance for Federal Agencies on Sustainable Practices for Designed Landscapes

米国の連邦政府のあらゆる施設を持続可能にデザインするためのガイダンスが昨年末にホワイトハウスから発表されました。

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/sustainability/landscaping-guidance



SITESのガイドライン（2009）をベースに検討したとのことです。主な狙いは以下の通りです。

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  Do no harm: Avoid changes to the site that will degrade the natural environment and promote reuse and improvement of sites with previous disturbance or development.


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  Precautionary principle: Do not create risk to human and environmental health. Examine a full range of alternatives—including no action.


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  Design with nature and culture: Create and implement designs that are responsive to economic, environmental, and cultural conditions at local and regional levels.


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  Use a decision-making hierarchy of preservation, conservation, and regeneration: Maximize and mimic the benefits of ecosystem services by preserving existing environmental features, conserving resources in a sustainable manner, and regenerating lost or damaged ecosystem services.


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  Use a systems thinking approach: Understand and value the relationships in an ecosystem and sustain ecosystem services; strive to re-establish the integral and essential relationship between regenerative systems (natural processes) and human activity.


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  Provide regenerative systems: Provide future generations with a sustainable environment supported by regenerative systems and resources.


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  Support a living process: Continuously re-evaluate assumptions and adapt to demographic and environmental change.


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  Use a collaborative and ethical approach: Encourage direct and open communication among colleagues, clients, other agencies, manufacturers, and site users to link long-term sustainability with environmental stewardship.


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  Maintain integrity in leadership and research: Implement transparent and participatory leadership, develop research with technical rigor, and communicate new findings that foster sustainable landscapes in a clear, consistent, and timely manner.


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  Foster environmental stewardship: In all aspects of site development and maintenance, foster an ethic of environmental stewardship with the understanding that healthy ecosystems improve the quality of life for present and future generations.

米国連邦政府は4100万エーカー（17万ha）の土地と429,000のビルを所有しているそうなので、このガイダンスに沿った土地利用が実践されれば、環境への貢献は非常に大きいのでしょう。

SITESは最近こんな賞も受賞しているようです（SITES Honored for Green Industry Contributions）：http://www.wildflower.org/press/index.php?link=press&id=215

何度も紹介していますが、、SITES：http://www.sustainablesites.org/