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News > Newsletter > Newsletter Archive > Newsletter 12 | |
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View/download the WOCAT newsletter as pdf: WOCATEER15 (524 KB)
The WOCAT Newsletter is distributed by Email to those who are subscribed to the WOCAT-L mailing list (or as hard copy to those without Email). Le bulletin de WOCAT est distribué seulement en anglais pour l'instant, mais des sites Internet tels que http://babelfish.altavista.com ou http://www.google.com/language_tools offrent des moyens de le traduire qui sont assez utile. Le résultat n'est pas parfait, mais plus ou moins compréhensible. Por el momento el noticiario de WOCAT existe solamente en inglés, pero algunos sitios web como http://babelfish.altavista.com o http://www.google.com/language_tools. ofrecen buenas/aceptables facilidades de traducción. El resultado no es perfecto pero se puede comprender.
12th WOCAT Annual Workshop & Steering Meeting 12 - 17 November 2007, the Philippines The 12 th WOCAT Annual Workshop & Steering Meeting (WWSM) was organized by the “PHILCAT” committee, consisting of several Philippine institutions. The meeting was attended by 42 participants from 20 countries, including three new countries ( Mongolia , Nigeria and Togo ) and several new persons and/or institutions. The first day of the meeting, which took place at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) in Manila, was also attended by some additional representatives from Philippines GO's and (semi-)NGO's as well as representative from corporate business. After the official opening by BSWM director Dr. Tejada and other officials from the Dept. of Agriculture and Dept. of Environment, this day was largely spent on reporting progress at the global, regional and national level. At the global level the stimulation and impacts of the WOCAT book “where the land is greener” where highlighted. Concerning the networking, a.o. the collaboration with the LADA and DESIRE projects (through CDE, ISRIC and FAO) and the recent involvement with GEF/UNDP, UNEP and FAO on knowledge management, was mentioned. National presentations were very impressive, especially regarding networking and capitalisation through national overview books. A brief obituary was held for Dr. Joe Rondal of the BSWM, who passed away unexpectedly early 2007. Joe was one of the initiators of WOCAT in the Philippines and an enthusiastic and devoted WOCATeer.
The next day the meeting transferred to the quiet and scenic island of Bohol in the southern part of the Philippines . Here the focus of the meeting in the following days was on more specific topics, such as the global (“where the land is greener”) and various national overview books, a WOCAT mid/long term strategy document, a new thorough revision of the questionnaires, mapping (including the insertion of “WOCAses” in Google Earth), development of new on-line databases, special national presentations and WOCAT as a tool for decision support. Task forces on these issues were established or continued. Activity plans for the coming year on the basis of the discussions held were set up, while the countries did the same for their plans at the national level. Various organizational and administrative matters were also discussed and the question was raised how to improve internal and external communication. Another Task Force would look into this. Specific global activities foreseen for the coming year are the completion of the questionnaire revision and the implementation of the corresponding changes in the new on-line database system (by April 2008). A preliminary version of the revised mapping method will (have to) be ready by January, when a short training is planned for DESIRE study site coordinators after the plenary project meeting in Cap Verde. There is also an urgency to finish the other on-line databases, as data entry in the old system is not possible when using the new questionnaires. However, available database developers' time is very limited and additional funds are not available. ith regard to funding it was recommended to secure a broader funding basis, i.e. less reliance on funding by SDC– which has shown in the past 15 years to be a very reliable and committed donor, but has always expressed the plea to involve more additional donors.
The field day included a visit to an ACIAR/BSWM soil conservation project where agricultural diversification was tested, with higher-value crops and various SWC activities. After this, the mysterious and spectacular “Chocolate Hills” of Bohol were visited (conical karst hills that turn into a brown colour in the dry season, hence the origin of their name), followed by a lunch on a floating restaurant on the Loboc river. The continuation of the WOCAT programme was briefly jeopardised when the restaurant boat collided with another one, but the damage remained limited to some broken plates and a big dent in the other boat. Finally the trip led to the Ubay Agricultural Research station in the northern part of the island and via a long drive back to the hotel. The last 1½ days were spent on discussing action plans for the next year for national and regional initiatives and for Task Forces. Participants were also asked to make as realistic cost estimates as possible, indicating what was already secured and what alternative sources were needed (and where). Several activity plans included requests for possible WOCAT core-assistance, e.g. with training. It was emphasised that regular (not necessarily frequent) feedback on progress at national and regional levels to the WOCAT secretariat (but also v.v.) is very important and that future sponsoring requests will be strictly judged by the amount of directly WOCAT-related activities carried out at national, regional or Task Force level and the feedback received about these. There was unanimous agreement that the WOCAT secretariat should be continued at CDE in Bern and that the Global Management remained unchanged, consisting of CDE, ISRIC and FAO. Next years' meeting will be held again in Switzerland , where three earlier WWSM's were organised, the last one in 1998 (Twann). Tentative dates are 13-18 October (or one week later, if necessary). In a discussion whether the WWSM events should only be held biannually, it was concluded that annual meetings are crucial to keep the momentum for stimulation of the programme. However, a decision was taken that every second year the focus will be mainly on the further development of the taskforce issues and exchange between the taskforces, while the other year the emphasis would be on exchange of progress, involving new initiatives and advancing collaboration. The full proceedings of the meeting are expected to be ready and posted on the WOCAT Website by early 2008. PHILCAT Training Following the WWSM, a 2½-days training started at the BSWM for members of the PHILCAT team as well as a few remaining foreign participants (China , Mongolia , Nigeria). The training consisted of a detailed introduction to the WOCAT tools in general and the questionnaires in particular (with which several participants were already somewhat familiar), followed the next day by a field visit and practical exercise to fill in a Technology and Approach Questionnaire for a field site in Bulacan province, some 50 km N of Manila. This proved to be a challenging but useful exercise, and the first time that the completely revised questionnaires were used in the field. Major changes include a change from SWC to SLM, more emphasis on the impact of degradation and conservation (SLM) on Ecosystem Services, more attention for direct (bio-physical) and indirect (socio-economic) causes, etc. The last day of the training consisted of an introduction to the database management system and how to enter and edit data. An introduction to the mapping method was also given and even a short and simplified mapping exercise performed for the area visited the day before. At the end of the day follow-up activities and organizational matters were discussed.
Further promotion of the WOCAT book: “ where the land is greener ”
The publication of “ where the land is greener ” has made a major impact on the promotion and acceptance of WOCAT. It stimulated the production of national compilations of case studies in the standardized layout as well as the production of national overview books. It also helped in emphasising WOCAT as a standard format for documentation, evaluation, monitoring and dissemination of SLM technologies and approaches. It created a reaction like “yes this is what is needed…”, “we like this…”, “we should also have this for our experiences…”, “why is our experience not included in the global book…”, etc. Global organizations like GEF, Worldbank, UNEP, UNDP, FAO much appreciated this achievement and the acceptance of WOCAT as a global initiative and a committed and attractive partner. So far, about half of the 5000 copies printed have been distributed. The book is still brand new and concerted efforts need to be made to further promote the book and encourage people to buy it . Further suggestions to assist in the promotion during events, meetings as well as in publications, newspapers, newletters, etc., are very welcome. Please contact Rima Mekdaschi- Studer at CDE. During the WWSM in the Philippines the translation into French and Spanish was discussed. As the distribution of a heavy book is very costly, it was suggested to only produce digital versions and distribute them through the internet. Suggestions and ideas are welcome. WOCAT in Google Earth WOCAT technologies and approaches available in Google Earth All technologies and approaches from the WOCAT database can now be viewed in Google Earth (if it is installed on your computer, see below). When you click this link, you will be asked to Open or Save the file. Choose Open and Google Earth will start automatically showing a WOCAT banner on top. You will notice the WOCAT logo
If you do not yet have Google Earth installed on your computer, you can download it from http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html (free). At the moment it is not yet possible to edit the location of the placemarks - though you can make changes to the version downloaded on your own computer. Should you notice an error in the location or description of one of the placemarks, please let us know! Tip: in sloping areas with a high-resolution coverage it is interesting to activate the 'Terrain' feature in Google Earth, which allows you to obtain a 3-D impression of the terrain around the described technology / approach. See also the Google Earth Help Center. We would appreciate any feedback, questions or comments you might have.
New publication on “No-till” WOCAT has contributed 3 articles in the newly printed book on “No-Till Farming Systems”, Special publication No. 3 of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation , edited by: T. Goddard, M. Zoebisch, Y. Gan, W. Ellis, A. Watson and S. Sombatpanit. Thirty-four contributions from authors around the world provide a comprehensive review of the rapid growth of no-till, the barriers that have been overcome and the challenges still ahead. Chapters cover current research and new directions as well as policy needs, adoption and extension. Five other new books on the topic are also reviewed. 544 pp. Price including delivery ranges from US$15-20, depending on the destination. Ask for details from Samran Sombatpanit (sombatpanit AT yahoo.com).
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© WOCAT (2008) | Last update: 7 November 2008 |
appearing in several places on the globe; this indicates that a specific country has one or more case studies in the database. When you zoom in on a country with a WOCAT logo, the logo will be replaced by one or more smaller icons ('placemarks'), together with a country code. A green 
icon indicates a technology, a red one is indicating an approach. Clicking on the 
icon will open a brief summary of that specific technology or approach with some photos, a map and/or sketch (if available). It will also provide a link to the corresponding entry in the WOCAT database where you can find much more detail about this technology or approach. 
