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THE WOCATEER (No. 9 - June 2004)
(WOCAT Newsletter)

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).
It is distributed only in English for the time being, but Websites like http://babelfish.altavista.com/ or http://www.google.com/ language_tools offer fairly good translation facilities. The result is not perfect but quite understandable.

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.

First announcement: 9th Annual WOCAT Workshop and Steering Meeting (WWSM9), 8-14 November 2004, China

Since 1996, WOCAT has organised eight Annual Workshops and Steering Meetings (known as WWSM) with the goal (a) to bring together the main collaborating and funding institutions and the core collaborators, (b) to assess the progress and to exchange experiences, (c) to further develop the programme and (d) to plan for the future.

As decided during the 8th WWSM in Nepal, the 9th Annual WOCAT Workshop and Steering Meeting will take place from 8 - 14 November, 2004 in China. Though yet to be formally confirmed, the venue is tentatively set in Yichang City, near the Three Gorges Dam in the Yangtze River. Last year's WWSM was also planned here but had to be moved to Nepal because of the SARS problems. We hope that this year we will finally be able to accept the long-standing offer by China to host an Annual WOCAT Workshop and Steering Meeting.

Invited for this meeting are those involved in the coordination of WOCAT activities at the global, regional or national level, and/or involved in any of the WOCAT Task Forces. Availability of sponsorship to participants for this meeting is very limited and we do urge participants to find their own funding sources. Possible sponsoring will also be dependent on the amount of activities deployed and feedback provided to the WOCAT Secretariat since the previous WWSM.

A formal announcement and registration form will be distributed in August among active WOCATeers. However anyone who is interested to participate may contact the WOCAT Secretariat for more information.

New WOCAT CD-ROM (v. 3)

The new WOCAT CD-ROM v.3 is just about being finalized and will come out by the end of June. The CD-ROM will be an update of WOCAT CD-ROM v. 2 (FAO's Land and Water Digital Media Series No. 9) and will be distributed to all WOCAT collaborating institutions through FAO in July. A heavy effort was made to translate the menu (which is the same as the website navigation) and the improved databases into French and Spanish. These translations will allow to also have the WOCAT website available in 3 languages in due course. After the test version which was distributed limitedly last year, new datasets were included from Bolivia, Ethiopia, Nepal and Switzerland as well as updates from South Africa.

If you do not receive the CD-ROM automatically, please request a copy from the WOCAT Secretariat.

WOCAT Training Bangladesh 9 - 17 March 2004, Kagrachari / Rangamati (Chittagong Hill Tracts)

A WOCAT training was conducted at the initiative of Dr. S.K. Khisa of the CHT Development Board (CHTDB), following his earlier participation in the introductory workshop (March 03) and training (Nov. 03) both organised by ICIMOD in Nepal. As resource persons were present Godert van Lynden from the WOCAT "core" group, assisted by Sanjeev Bhuchar and Madhav Dhakal from "HIMCAT" (ICIMOD/ PARDYP) and Joe Rondal from PhilCAT (Bureau of Soil & Water management, the Philippines), with Dr. Khisa acting as additional resource person especially during the field work.

25 participants from a wide background (national and local gov't., NGO's, Universities) attended the training, which had started on March 9 with two preliminary workshop days during which the participants familiarised themselves with the WOCAT methodology (questionnaires - QT and QA in particular). On the evening of Wednesday 10-3 the training was officially opened by the Chairman of the CHTDB, also a member of the national Parliament for Kagrachari district, who was quite supportive of the initiative. The first day of the training (Thursday) was used for introductory presentations on WOCAT in general, the methodology in particular and on experiences in Nepal/HKH region (by Sanjeev and Madhav) and the Philippines (Joe).

After half a day reconnaissance on Friday, the next two days were spent in the field on testing and training in documenting a SWC technology and approach respectively in four groups and in close consultation with local land users. Each group was guided by one resource person, with me roaming between the groups. The fact that the participants had been able to familiarise with the questionnaires beforehand proved a great advantage, resulting in 4 Technologies and 4 Approaches being documented entirely (not only selected questions as during the November training in Nepal) in less than two days. The choice of the identified technologies shows an interesting trend (already started earlier) to use WOCAT not only for documentation (and evaluation) of SWC but of production systems in general, with or without beneficial conservation effects. In this case the documentation of "jhum" (shifting cultivation) and "traditional rice paddy terraces on valley floor" are a good illustration of this, their main objective being production and not conservation (in the case of jhum even with some negative effects).

"Jhum" cultivation in background (right) and new pineapple plantation in foreground left. Photo: G. van Lynden

Participants started entering the data in the database on Sunday afternoon after coming back from the field and Monday afternoon, following transfer from Khagrachari to Rangamati. The latter trip gave an interesting insight in the landscapes and land uses of the CHT: shifting cultivation appears to be widely practiced as can be seen from the state of the "natural" vegetation which is clearly secondary and mostly consists of tall bushes (more trees towards Rangamati = southwards). Not many burned plots were observed, but this may mainly be done just prior to the start of the rains in April. The CHT consist of parallel ranges of low (in this region 200-400 m, further south culminating to 1400m) but often steep hills with flat(tened) valley floors where often paddy rice is cultivated if seepage water is sufficient. The green paddy fields form a striking contrast with the torrid surrounding hillsides.

Most of Tuesday was spent on presentation of the case studies by the four groups through the use of the database summaries. This invoked lively discussions - especially on the "jhum" technology, which unfortunately could not be continued due to lack of time. After these presentations some "tips and tricks" of the database and the "Assessment tool" were demonstrated, followed by a QM exercise where participants (in the same groups) were filling in information for one polygon of a local map. It was felt afterwards that - again - more time should have been spent on explanation and practice of the map tool.

Participants discussing an Approach with the farmer. Photo: G. van Lynden

On Wednesday the distributed evaluation forms were discussed. The results were overall positive, but with a wider variations in replies and on the average less positive than the previous training workshop in Nepal. But participants verbally emphasised the usefulness of WOCAT and expressed their satisfaction with the training.

The organisation and follow-up at the national level was discussed to some extent, but most arrangements had already been made previously. A commitment was made to have the 4 QT and 4 QA case studies checked and updated within a month. For details on BANCAT organisational structure and activities, see the WOCAT Website.

Regional WOCAT meeting for C. and S. Asia; 20-26 March, Kathmandu, Nepal

This meeting was intended as a regional follow-up event of the annual WOCAT workshop that was also held in Kathmandu in November '03. The meeting was to address those WOCAT issues that are specifically relevant for the region (Hindu Kush / Himalayas + C. Asia + India) but partially for WOCAT-global at the same time. The meeting was attended by delegates from the HKH region, in particular from the PARDYP project (Nepal, Pakistan, India) and ICIMOD region more in general (Bangladesh), China (national rather than just HKH), S. India (Karnataka) and C. Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan).

On Sunday 21 March an excursion was made to the field site of the PARDYP project in the Jikhu Khola watershed, just east of the Kathmandu valley. The PARDYP project has done extensive and interesting long-term research in this watershed, partly showing the usefulness of some applied research but also uselessness of some previous research (showing the effect of grass strips on a completely bare soil which is ultimately degraded anyway and without querying what should be done with it). Similar research sites exist in India, Pakistan and China. Several WOCAT case studies have been documented for the Jikhu Khola watershed and the map methodology (QM) will also be used in the coming months to assess the spatial extent of SWC.

In the following days discussions were held on regional issues and tasks. It was agreed that regional groupings could be based on various criteria such as geographical (e.g. S. Asia, HKH), thematic (e.g. mountains or subsistence agriculture) or practical (e.g. ease of access, financial considerations), but a flexible and pragmatic attitude was taken in this respect, without drawing too precise borders. Regional institutions and groupings some of which may have a mandate for SWC already exist, so piggybacking possible.

Regional and national roles and responsibilities were identified and possible joint regional activities were identified. TORs were developed for a regional HIMCAT coordination structure, to be hosted by ICIMOD.

Some time was also spent on very interesting presentations of national and regional reports, using case studies in the database in summary format. This revealed both the level of activity in the region as well as some problems that occurred when using the questionnaires or the database. It also showed some missing or ambiguous data, stressing the need for data quality assurance. It was agreed that this should be an important issue at both national and regional level.

Towards the end of the meeting the field sites of the training of November '03 were revisited. Last but not least the meeting itself was evaluated positively by the participants and a tentative new date set for next year.

A full report of this meeting can be found on the WOCAT Website at: http://www.wocat.net/MATERIALS//HimcatMarch04.pdf.

Using WOCAT tools in watershed in Nepal

Nicole Guedel, a Swiss postgraduate from the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), joined PARDYP - ICIMOD in Nepal in April 2004 after she finished her master thesis on SWC in Swiss vineyards using WOCAT tools (mainly QT and QA). In a 7-month voluntary attachment she will work on Conservation Approaches and Technologies in the Himalayas - and in particular the Jhikhu Khola watershed in Nepal.

Her stay in Nepal aims to result in the following WOCAT-related activities and outputs:

• Giving support in the finalization of two case studies from Nepal for the WOCAT Overview Book: "Landslip and Stream Bank Stabilization Measures" & "Traditional Paddy Rice Terraces"
• Producing a map of degradation and conservation of the Jhikhu Khola watershed using the WOCAT Map questionnaire (QM) and database. Due to the size of the watershed (110 km2) and the ongoing deterioration of the security situation in Nepal it might be considered to treat one sub-catchment of the Jhikhu Khola watershed only.
• Further documentation and evaluation of SWC Technologies and Approaches in the Jhikhu Khola watershed. During the WOCAT training in November 2003 a few selected Ts and As have already been documented; but the watershed bears the potential for documentation and evaluation of additional interesting SWC examples using the QT and QA questionnaires.
• Updating and improving existing Nepal Ts and As in the WOCAT database

Nicole's stay at PARDYP - ICIMOD falls into the phase of the development and expansion of a Himalayan Conservation Approaches and Technologies (HIMCAT) network. Nicole attended the first regional meeting held in Kathmandu (see above), where the role and a possible structure for a HIMCAT network were discussed. For the next months she will personally contribute to the promotion of WOCAT activities in the region. Nicole sees it as a challenge to keep the momentum going after the very positive introduction of WOCAT in the region in 2003.

SOWAP

The 3rd plenary project meeting was held 24 - 26 February 2004 in Leuven, Belgium. The key objectives for this meeting were to:

a) Review project progress to date
b) Identify any outstanding issues
c) Confirm organisation charts and roles and responsibilities for each country
d) Plan on agronomy for each country for the lifetime of the project
e) Finalise plans for project launches in Belgium and Hungary
f) Discuss and generate plan for dissemination of project outcomes at local, country and EU level

Meanwhile an official project launch meeting (for the external public) took place in Belgium with attendance from the press, farmers, and scientists. In October last year a similar meeting was held at the Lodding site in the UK and another launch event will soon take place in Hungary.

WOCAT training for SOWAP staff; Leuven, 20-23 April, 2004

In the context of the SOWAP project a WOCAT training was conducted during 3½ days in Leuven (Belgium), for the benefit of SOWAP country coordinators or other collaborators. The training group was very small with just four participants, representing each of the four sites in Belgium, Hungary and UK (2x), although an additional participant from both Hungary and the UK attended part of the training. CDE was also represented by two new staff members who will also play a role in future WOCAT support to SOWAP. In view of the importance of WOCAT being applied for the first time in large-scale mechanised European agriculture conditions, Hanspeter Liniger attended the training for two days as resource person besides Godert van Lynden (WOCAT representative within SOWAP).

Farmer explaining that his brother "is a bit of a maniac" (regarding clean tilth). Photo: HP Liniger

Left: Discussions on the SOWAP field site. Right: Examining the new SOWAP erosion tanks. Photos: HP Liniger

The first day comprised an introduction to WOCAT and the methodology (and an ill-fated live demonstration of the databases!). The importance of assuring good quality data, e.g. by peer review at national level was highlighted in this respect. Besides more directly SOWAP-oriented matters, participants were also encouraged to contribute to the WOCAT World Map exercise by providing basic information on the most important SWC practices in their country.

The next day a field visit was made to obtain an impression of the area and to select a technology to document as a test case. Various sites were visited and different practices examined. The choice for testing QT and QA fell upon the SOWAP site at Huldenberg where erosion plots were just in the process of being installed. The site is located in the Belgian loess belt some 15 km. SW of Leuven at an altitude of up to 100m above sea level. This field, with a maximum slope of 9°, is divided into three treatments (conventional tillage, farmer reduced tillage and SOWAP practice), each with two replicate erosion plots. For SOWAP, soil erosion studies as well as ecological work (earthworm assessment, microbiology) will be carried out at this field. (http://www.sowap.org/belgium/blg-info.htm).

For the WOCAT technology documentation the SOWAP practice was selected. The documentation process sparked quite a few questions and a lively discussion which was useful bilaterally: for the participants to get a better understanding of the WOCAT questionnaire and for the WOCAT staff to get a better idea of the applicability of WOCAT in this European environment. In this respect a certain bias towards small scale agriculture in developing countries appeared still evident in part of the questionnaire. Also a focus on project-driven and "additional" SWC measures (like terracing or gully plugs) was apparent instead of more comprehensive systems like "conservation agriculture", which involve a change in overall agricultural management. Therefore all costs and benefits should be documented rather than - as has been WOCAT standard so far - only the "additional costs" for SWC. The project bias was even more obvious in the Approach questionnaire (tested the next day), as was already concluded during the previous trainings in Nepal and Bangladesh.

The questionnaires were nevertheless considered a useful, albeit cumbersome tool. The disadvantages of the length and complexity of the questionnaires were - after some discussion - seen to be largely compensated by the advantage of a standardised and comprehensive methodology for documentation and evaluation.

The last (half) day of the training was spent on demonstrating and familiarising with the databases and on discussions regarding follow-up activities. It was agreed that before the next plenary meeting (5-8 October at the UK site in Loddington) for each of the four sites one QT and QA would be filled documenting the SOWAP practice, even though a complete picture may not yet be obtained by that time due to the recent implementation. It was also agreed to add an extra day to the plenary SOWAP meeting for those involved in the WOCAT (or "SOCAT") exercise to discuss progress and problems and further plans. The idea is to document not only the SOWAP sites but also other technologies and approaches practiced in similar or different conditions in the area/region/country.

News from regional and national initiatives
(partly from Proceedings of First Regional HIMCAT Meeting, March '04, Kathmandu)

India (Roland Benson) - Karnataka: 500mm, poor soils, gentle slopes, out migration, one crop per year. WOCAT is implemented through Karnataka Watershed Development Department. DANIDA terminates its support in May 2004. The national government (GOI) will continue funding for a consolidation phase of 18 months and will include WOCAT in this phase. Two technologies have been described since the November 2003 training meeting in Kathmandu: 1) Farm/percolation pond and 2) holistic demonstration of integrated low cost interventions. One approach has been documented: stakeholder involvement at all levels. The QTs and QTs are completed. A workshop will be held in May 2004. There is a need for QM in Karnataka. WOCAT continues to be promoted as a tool, Roland conducted awareness lectures held at University of Agricultural Sciences, also presentation at a National Seminar on Agricultural extension. More can be done to promote WOCAT in India. 5 NGOs have approached Roland for training, WOCAT tools used in Orissa to document work carried out there.

Kyrgyzstan (Abdybek Asalaniev): 20 QTs on SWC completed and posters made about them. In November 2003 a workshop was held for administrative result managers through a World Bank project. A training course was held in early March for 8 villages (in 5 oblasts) that are members of the mountain alliance, and agreement on the technologies to be implemented was reached. Pasture rotation was one farm experiment, this is important as now land ownership is again private. 24 QTs will be filled in by farmers themselves. The RAS (Rural Advisor Service) will fill in 4 QTs. In 2004 15 more SWCs will be documented and disseminated to farmers. These activities are funded by GTZ for 1 year through a proposal prepared by Aida Gareyeva from CAMP.

China (Meng Lingqin): Activities included:
1. Case study on quality
2. Preparations for annual conference 8 - 14 November, Yichang City
3. Training programme planned for 600 people later this year. For ca 30 persons it will be a full training, for the rest the training consists of awareness building in general.
4. Fundraising: financial support from the government is difficult to obtain but some other institutions and universities/academies can be supported and might be interested.
Mr. Meng also gave a presentation on the Songua river basin - which is his working area.

Nepal: Basanta Rana Bhat - Ecological services intend to use WOCAT to document and evaluate their project field activities - on new rainfed terraces and formerly shifting cultivation. The technologies at their demonstration sites have been documented. Madhav Dhakal offered to help with the completion of the QA and peer review the output.
Bijendra and. Joshi: documentation of Asi Khola sub watershed that included 1 FUG and 1 water source protection activities, role of grasses and legumes on land slips and road slides. QT and QA well under way but more work on wealth ranking is still needed. They suggested an evaluation section be added in the light of controversy on SALT - Lies Kerkhoff (ICIMOD) would like to take this forward.
Madhav Dhakal: 3 case studies (QT & QA) nearing completion: improved terraces, level terraces minor additions and clarification required and rehabilitation on red soils 90% completed. Also a poster and a success story were written. Next tasks stream bank erosion and roadside stabilisation.
Dileep Kumar Karna (KTM District Soil Conservation Office): documenting Bhagmati Integrated Watershed Management Project (BIWMP), over 100 technologies used could be documented. One on landslide treatment has been completed.

India (PARDYP) (B.S. Bisht; S. S. Bisht): two technologies documented, underway rehabilitation and water harvesting technologies, low and high terraces will be documented later. Also document all the technologies particularly for PARDYP and also GB Pant Institute - and a presentation to use for documenting technologies under World Bank funded work was prepared. Also currently documenting irrigation canal and traditional agroforestry systems.

Pakistan (PARDYP) (Wajid Ali): started to document but some problems - WOCAT is a good tool, and with more efforts it will be of great use particularly for new activities the team tries to develop. A general WOCAT presentation for Pakistan to increase awareness would be useful. Trout and carp ponds will be documented as the work develops as will eyebrow terraces and pitcher irrigation for fruit tree establishment and orchard development.

Bangladesh (S.K. Khisa): a training was conducted over 9 days (see above), four case studies were completed and two technologies documented. Reports will be submitted by end of April. BANCAT has a working group from 7 organisations formed - including DSC. Some small funding has been made available by CHT but WOCAT and ICIMOD support has been necessary to get the programme started.

ICIMOD (Sanjeev Bhuchar): Sanjeev recently attended a meeting in Cambodia, (ASEAN, MRC and ICIMOD) on how networks operate, and in NE India (8 states) as part of a watershed management training initiative for middle managers on watershed and other disciplines. Besides representing PARDYP at these meetings, Sanjeev also presented WOCAT. Sanjeev suggested that The Energy Research Institute (TERI) in India (formerly Tata Energy Research Institute) be involved in next WOCAT meeting. TERI would be a good partner for both WOCAT and HIMCAT.

The Philippines (Joe Rondal, BSWM): The adoption of natural vegetative strips (NVS) as a low-cost soil and water conservation (SWC) technology was enhanced with the setting-up of farmer-managed technology demonstration farms (TDF) in the islands of Leyte and Mindanao during the second half of 2003. In Leyte, the demo farms were set up in a rolling calcareous area while in Mindanao, the site is hilly to mountainous with acid soils. Maize was the test crop. Prior to the setting-up of the demo farms, farmers' training on soil fertility and nutrient management and SWC was conducted. The farmers were trained on the use of A- Frame in laying out the contours. Soil conservation was emphasized as a necessary management in the cultivation of sloping lands. The WOCAT materials were very helpful for the training. In Mindanao where annual rainfall is about 3,000 mm, soil loss in August which was the peak of the rainy season was about 16.3 kg for farmers with NVS. In farms without NVS, the soil loss was about 1,879 kg during the same month. It is expected that after a few years, soil loss in farms with NVS will be further reduced.
To better appreciate the effect of conservation farming, particularly NVS, a farmer's field day was conducted when the maize was ready to be harvested. Farmer participants appreciated the results of the demo farms and they made commitments to apply NVS technology in their own farms.

CAMP (Kazachstan) (Irina Skorintzeva)
The basic purpose of 2004 was to promote the sustainable use of land and water resources in arid and semiarid zones of Kazakhstan for increasing rural population's welfare. During this period the WOCAT group had close contact with SWC experts of the following institutes:

• Research-Production Center for Forestry (Schuchinsk).
• Barayev Research-Production Center of Grain Farming (Shartandy).
• Research-Production Center for Livestock Husbandry and Veterinary (Almaty).
• Institute for Water Management (Taraz).
• Research-Production Center for Agriculture (Kaskelen).

Main results of WOCAT activities for May, 2003 - May, 2004

1. Popularization of SWC technologies and approaches on farms of the Republic of Kazakhstan by presenting the following SWC technologies: ridging and furrow irrigation for wheat, conservation agriculture (minimum tillage), using waste water for irrigation and others.
2. Training on SWC technologies on farms, such as:
   - Furrow irrigation. Introduction of technology on a farm in Southern - Kazakhstan
   - Use of phosphogypsum to increase soil fertility. Introduction of technology on a farm in Southern - Kazakhstan
   - Protecting soils of the Aral sea bottom using saxaul (Haloxylon aphyllum)
   - Pasture improvement in the north desert zone. Introduction of technology on a farm in the Almaty area
   - Minimum tillage of soil. Introduction of technology - Agro-landscapes zoning for suitability of crop production
3. Map of a landscape - ecological zoning was made in Almaty oblast (district), scale 1: 1000 000
   · Indicating current degradation processes
   · Degree of degradation
4. Experiment on rainfed forage production

Serbia and Montenegro (Miodrag Zlatic)
Activities undertaken from 8th WWSM (Katmandu/Nepal) up till now:

1. Regarding the global map a meeting of experts on erosion control was held at the Faculty of Forestry on January 12th where the most important SWC measures in the country were discussed and identified. At the meeting were present Dr. Stanimir Kostadinov, Dr. Ratko Kadovic and Miodrag Zlatic, professors at the Department for Erosion Control of the Faculty of Forestry-Belgrade University.
2. An initiative was started on "Community based Rehabilitation of Degraded Land of Central Balkan Mountains and Northern Turkey" supported by UNU. In the context of this initiative, Miodrag Zlatic and Martin Haigh, vice-president of WASWC for Europe (as consultant for this programme) visited relevant institutions and possible demonstration sites in FYR Macedonia and Turkey in March. M. Zlatic visited the Bulgarian site in April. All institutions have to prepare data for a workshop to be organized in Belgrade/Predejane in July. This workshop has to clarify possibilities of establishing a regional programme/project. If accepted by foreign donors, it could be a good opportunity for implementation of some WOCAT technologies/ approaches.
3. Regarding QM, a meeting too place in Nis on May 10th in Water Management Enterprise "Erozija" (Erosion). Work on QM is on-going for Nis District.
4. During a visit to village "Oraovica" in Grdelicka Gorge on May 11th-12th three Qts were filled.
5. There are many photos/images taken in South and West Serbia as "good WOCAT examples" especially from private farmers in mostly mountainous regions (see below).
6. Main problems encountered in running WOCAT are in funding, as in former period. For this year no funding was secured as yet. All mentioned WOCAT activities have been related with activities mentioned in point 2 covered by UNU seed money.
7. Two meetings took place with possible donors: first with WPC "Sava-Dunav" (Watermanagement Center "Sava-Dunav) which seems unfavourable, and a second one at Min. of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republic Serbia - Directorate for Waters, which seems favourable (due to many recent changes in the ministries, these have to to be approached for funding again as last year).
8. More WOCAT activities are expected in July, after the workshop (see above). In the meantime collected/prepared data will be sent to WOCAT

Slopes of Kukavica Mountain in Grdelicka Gorge, treated by strip cultures / conservation tillage/contour planting. Oblacinska Cherry seedlings are planted in strips of 1m width on the contour at 2,5 m distance between each other. Beans are planted in the same row. 3m wide grass strips separate these rows. The technology was implemented by land owner Jovica Stanimirovic from Oraovica village. Photo: M. Zlatic

FAO-RAP (Yuji Niino)
Yuji Niino, Land Management Officer at Land Management Officer FAO RAPG in Bangkok, reports that a WOCAT presentation was made by Will Critchley during an IWMI workshop held in Khon Kaen from 31/3 to 2/4. Secondly, Mr. Niino attended an ICRISAT watershed project workshop in India and presented LADA including WOCAT approaches. Not much progress was noted on field project development but contacts are kept with Mr. Khisha in Bangladesh looking for an opportunity to link for developing a joint project/programme.

NCCR North - South: Central Asia, Kenya and Ethiopia (Hanspeter Liniger)
Through the NCCR programme (National Centre of Competence in Research North - South; www.nccr-north-south.unibe.ch), several studies related to WOCAT have been initiated in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ethiopia and Kenya. The main aim is to assist in filling the knowledge gaps concerning the impact of different land management and conservation technologies on the natural and human environment.
Through a collaboration with Keith Shepherd and Marcus Walsh of ICRAF (the World Agroforestry Centre) in Kenya the method of using soil sensing is currently being tested and applied with a spectrometer and LANDSAT satellite images (http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sites/program1/specweb/home.htm). The aim is to determine soil fertility parameters such as organic matter, nitrogen, texture etc. for different land use and SWC measures. Currently one MSc and one PhD study is using this method in Kenya and Tajikistan respectively. During the regional training course of the Integrated Project 2 of the NCCR North - South programme, in May 2004, over 30 students and supervisors were introduced to this method. Additionally, the WOCAT questionnaires were used to train students and supervisors and to document and evaluate promising SWC technologies and approaches in Tajikistan.

Left: NCCR-IP2 Group walking with the farmer through the agroforestry (apple tree with wheat and fodder grasses) plot which they documented using the WOCAT questionnaires. Right: On degraded grazing land a plot of 0.5 ha was fenced, fruit trees and vine were planted and the natural grasses could regenerate. Photos: H.P. Liniger

Conferences and meetings

ISCO XIII, 4-8 July 2004, Brisbane (Australia): WOCAT will be presented in a paper and a poster session during this conference which will be attended by Hanspeter Liniger and Godert van Lynden. Moreover, Godert van Lynden and Mike Lane will present a paper on the SOWAP project, including the WOCAT component.

International Conference on Land Degradation, Murcia (Spain), 12-17 September 2004

soilAce is the 1st International Conference on Soil and Compost Eco-biology, which will take place on September the 15th, 16th and 17th , 2004 in León (Spain). Godert van Lynden as invited speaker will present a paper on "European and World soil´s present situation and expected evolution", including WOCAT and SOWAP.

More relevant international conferences? Please let us know!

Recent Publications

The Expert And The Farmer - Eelko Bergsma. The restricted possibilities of farmers to react to modernisation have been highlighted in many studies. In contrast, this brochure highlights two limitations to success of development projects, that the expert often causes himself, and what to do about it. To read this document, Click here