Making local experience available at the global level

There has been a heavy focus on assessing soil degradation in the past, but documenting of sustainable land management practices - which is much more complicated - has not yet been undertaken. In fact, a wealth of SWC knowledge and information exists, and there is great demand for access to it. The challenge now is to optimise the exchange of know-how between land users and SWC specialists, such as technicians, extension workers, planners, coordinators and decision-makers.
WOCAT has developed tools to document, monitor and evaluate SWC know-how and to disseminate it around the globe in order to facilitate exchange of experience. WOCAT results and outputs are accessible via the Internet, in the form of books and maps, or on CD-ROM.
The WOCAT process ensures systematic recording and piecing together of local information, together with specific details about the environmental and socio-economic setting in which the information was obtained. This standardised method facilitates the transferability of knowledge to other areas of need.

The WOCAT process:
Knowledge from the field for the field consisting of:

• tools to document and evaluate local SWC activities
• a database for storage and use of the wealth of SWC experience
• access to the information in this database (global knowledge) in the form of books, CD-ROMs and maps, or via the Internet to improve decision making.