Efficient management of existing knowledge

Every day land users and soil and water conservation (SWC) specialists evaluate experience and generate know-how related to land management, improvement of soil fertility, and protection of soil resources.
Most of this valuable knowledge, however, is not well documented or easily accessible, and comparison of different types of experience is difficult. This SWC knowledge therefore remains a local, individual resource, unavailable to others working in the same areas and seeking to accomplish similar tasks. This may be one of the reasons why soil and water degradation persists, despite many years of effort throughout the world and high investments in SWC.

WOCAT's mission is to provide tools that allow SWC specialists to share their valuable knowledge in soil and water management, that assist them in their search for appropriate SWC technologies and approaches, and that support them in making decisions in the field and at the planning level.
WOCAT was established as a global network of SWC specialists. It facilitates more efficient use of existing know-how and, consequently, of development funds. It thus helps to optimise the implementation of appropriate SWC and to avoid duplication of effort.

WOCAT also contributes to the implementation of United Nations Conventions, such as the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), and the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).

WOCAT focuses on making better use of scarce resources with the aim of promoting sustainable land management. In many parts of both industrialised and developing countries, soils are not managed in a sustainable manner.

Moreover, the majority of people in developing countries are directly dependent on land resources. Maintaining or improving the quality of these resources is thus an important step towards improvement of rural livelihood and poverty alleviation, and finally, towards more sustainable development.