WOCAT World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) WOCAT’s mission is to provide tools that allow soil and water conservation (SWC) specialists to share their valuable knowledge in soil and water management, that assist them in their search for appropriate technologies and approaches, and that support them in making decisions in the field and at the planning level. SWC technologies are defined as measures that control soil degradation and enhance productivity in the field. SWC approaches are defined as ways and means of support that help to introduce, implement, adapt and apply SWC technologies in the field. WOCAT is organized as a consortium of national and international institutions and operates in a decentralised manner. It is carried out through initiatives at regional and national levels, with backstopping from experienced members of the consortium. The network is coordinated by a Management Group, consisting of various national and international organisations. The WOCAT secretariat is hosted by the Centre of Environment and Development of the University of Bern. ISRIC has been involved in the WOCAT programme since 1992 and is a member of the WOCAT Management Group. A set of three comprehensive questionnaires has been developed to document all relevant aspects of SWC technologies and approaches. The questionnaires on technologies and approaches together describe case studies from the field. The technology questionnaire includes an analysis of the benefits, advantages and disadvantages, economic impacts, acceptance and adoption of the technology, while the approach questionnaire addresses questions on objectives, operation, participation by land users, financing, and direct and indirect subsidies. The questionnaire on the SWC map addresses the issue of where degradation problems and their treatments occur. A database system facilitates data entry, retrieval and evaluation. These tools have been tested in many workshops world-wide, and they have been systematically optimised over a period of more than ten years in a context of international, national and local expertise. All tools, results and outputs are accessible via the Internet, in the form of books and maps or on CD-ROM and are available in English, French and Spanish. Additional translations into Arabic, Russian and Chinese are also available. More detailed information about WOCAT can be found on the WOCAT Website Enquiries Godert van Lynden
World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT)
WOCAT’s mission is to provide tools that allow soil and water conservation (SWC) specialists to share their valuable knowledge in soil and water management, that assist them in their search for appropriate technologies and approaches, and that support them in making decisions in the field and at the planning level. SWC technologies are defined as measures that control soil degradation and enhance productivity in the field. SWC approaches are defined as ways and means of support that help to introduce, implement, adapt and apply SWC technologies in the field. WOCAT is organized as a consortium of national and international institutions and operates in a decentralised manner. It is carried out through initiatives at regional and national levels, with backstopping from experienced members of the consortium. The network is coordinated by a Management Group, consisting of various national and international organisations. The WOCAT secretariat is hosted by the Centre of Environment and Development of the University of Bern. ISRIC has been involved in the WOCAT programme since 1992 and is a member of the WOCAT Management Group.
A set of three comprehensive questionnaires has been developed to document all relevant aspects of SWC technologies and approaches. The questionnaires on technologies and approaches together describe case studies from the field. The technology questionnaire includes an analysis of the benefits, advantages and disadvantages, economic impacts, acceptance and adoption of the technology, while the approach questionnaire addresses questions on objectives, operation, participation by land users, financing, and direct and indirect subsidies. The questionnaire on the SWC map addresses the issue of where degradation problems and their treatments occur. A database system facilitates data entry, retrieval and evaluation. These tools have been tested in many workshops world-wide, and they have been systematically optimised over a period of more than ten years in a context of international, national and local expertise. All tools, results and outputs are accessible via the Internet, in the form of books and maps or on CD-ROM and are available in English, French and Spanish. Additional translations into Arabic, Russian and Chinese are also available. More detailed information about WOCAT can be found on the WOCAT Website
Enquiries
Godert van Lynden
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