Influential report launched

Posted 7 December 2012

Harper Adams University lecturer, Charles Cowap’s, influential report that explores the challenges faced by land surveyors has been published.

The ‘thought leadership think-piece’ paper was commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Land Group and was entitled ‘From market value to natural value and natural markets’.

It was written with the aim of instigating discussion, debate and activity between RICS members and was presented on November 15 at the RICS headquarters in Parliament Square.

Charles, who qualified as a rural practice chartered surveyor in 1983, said: “The report explores the challenges that land surveyors need to be aware of, and what steps can be taken to meet them.

“New approaches to the valuation, appraisal and management of natural capital and nature’s services promise to transform the way we manage land, undertake development, appraise and value assets and pay for a range of goods and services.

“This will have far reaching implications for the work of chartered surveyors in valuation, estate and property management, construction, property development and environmental services.

“Chartered surveyors need to be made aware of new technical, policy and legal developments as they occur.  More fundamentally, they also need to learn about the new concepts underpinning ecosystem services thinking. 

“The key aim should be to evaluate the detailed implications for professional practice and to promulgate these as effectively as possible.”

Charles’s presentation was followed by a forum with an expert panel.

To find out more, visit the RICS website.

Or see a presentation on YouTube.      

Follow Charles on Twitter: @charlescowap