On the National Land Surveying and Planning Institute Business Conference held in November of 2005, our institute worked with International Found for China’s Environment (ITCE),and successfully held the “Sino-America Land Use Planning Workshop” in order to concert the undergoing general land use planning revision program throughout the country.

Methods of Lecturing and view-exchanging were used in the workshop. Recommended by GEF, China, two known specialists, Mr. Gary R Evans, President of the American Society for Natural Resource Remote Study, and Mr. Rogers Spencer of Bureau of Land Management of American Ministry of Interior, were invited to appear at the meeting to exchange views and make discussions with our presenting comrades on a variety of topics. Mr. Gray R Evans made a lecture titled “History of Public Land in USA”, in which he introduced in detail the historical evolution of the American public land management and the experiences and lessons they had learnt. Aiming at the problem of the lack of scientific and operable assessment method in Chinese “Environmental Impact Assessment Law”, by saying “Environmental impact assessment shall be made when a land use planning is prepared at city level and above” and in the environmental assessment practice in our current land use planning, Mr. Rogers Spencer presented a detailed introduction to the American history of environmental impact assessment in land planning, its legal framework, function and objective of environmental assessment, design of assessment, assessment tools and assessment process etc., making the participants fully understand the methods and practices of the environment assessment used in land use planning internationally, which is helpful in the development of environmental assessment in the land use planning in our country.

Taking the way of international exchange in the training course and connecting the training contents closely with the challenges we were facing in our current work produced positive effects. Participants from provinces highly praised the capability and altitude of our foreign exchange work, saying that they would follow us and work with us to develop international cooperation in order to improve the strength of the whole planning institute system.