World

Association

of Soil andWater

Conservation

NEWSLETTERVolume 16 Number 2 (May 2000)

President

David Sanders

Flat No. 1, Queen Quay. Welsh BackBristol BS1 4SL. England

Deputy PresidentSamran Sombatpanit,67/141 Amonphant 9. Soi Senanikom 1Bangkok 10230. Thailand

Immediate Past President

Hans Hurni

Centre for Development and EnvironmentInstitute of Geography. University of BerneHallerstrasse 12. 3012 Berne. Switzerland

Appointive Vice PresidentsAfrica: Zachee Boli

Asia: Dimyati NangjuAustralasia: Ian Hannam, Parramatta. AustraliaEurope: Martin Haigh, Oxford. EnglandEric Roose, Montpelier, FranceLatin America: lldefonso Pla Sentis. Lledia. SpainMiddle East: Georgi Gergov, Sofia. BulgariaNorth America: Jerry Hammond. Virginia. USAPacific: Samir El-Swaify. Hawaii USA

Executive SecrotaryWilliam C. Moldenhauer

317 Marvin Avenue

Volga, South Dakota 57071 USA

Treasurer

Maurice Cook

3458 Leonard Street

Raleigh. North Carolina 27607 USA

SWCS Liaison

Craig Cox7515 NE Ankeny RoadAnkeny. Iowa 50021 USA

Editor

Ryan Nash7515 NE Ankeny RoadAnkeny, Iowa 50021 USA

The Wor/dAssoc/aJ/on of Soil and Water Conservation

Newsletter is sent quarterly to WASWC members. Thenewsletter seeks to keep conservationists worldwideinformed of new developments in the field of soil andwater conservation and land management issues.Please send editorial contributions to Executive

Secretary William C. Moldenhauer.

President's

ReportBy David Sanders

Thepublbhasbeen appalledby the tragedy inMozambique.According ton ewspaper

reports, the flooding easilyexceeded the

previous 1977record and was

by far the worst since records began in1948.

One of the questions now beingasked is how much of this disaster

was due to nature and how much

was manmade? Here in England, anumber of newspaper articles haveappeared blaming, at least partly,the condition of the catchment areas

of the rivers. Nine of Mozambique'sfifteen main rivers are international,with much of their catchment areas

lying in South Africa and other surrounding countries. For the mostpart, these catchments are in a poorcondition with soil compaction,crusting, and high rates of runoff.Added to this problem is the vastarea that has been covered with

concrete and bitumen in recent

years as the Johannesburg conurbation and other towns and cities

have rapidly grown. These urbanareas now quickly shed huge volumes of water during the high intensity storms that are a feature of theregion. At one time, the run-off wasabsorbed by the region's wetland's

/ /̂

but, according to one estimate, 50 percent of these areas have been drained

and turned into farmland over the lastcentury.

Greenhouse gasses, global warmingand climate change are also beingblamed but we must remember thatheavy rains, cyclones, and floodinghave always been common in this partof the world. Nevertheless, poor landmanagement and the resulting degradation of the catchment areas exacerbated

the severity of the flooding and thespeed at which it occurred.

Why do I raise this subject? Well, tome it underlines the importance of ourmission as an organization to "promotegood practices in soil and water conservation and the development of systemsof better land husbandry." Our constitution also reminds us that, "The WASWCwill strive to encourage all nations andcommunities to improve their care of soiland water resources, to strengthen policies which promote better land husbandry and to eliminate unsustainableland use practices." These are worthyaims in the light of what has happened inMozambique, but it's all too easy to forget them as we carry on with our day-today life and work.

Finally, on a less serious note, I'd liketo remind all members of the comingISCO Conference. It takes place inBuenos Aires, Argentina, from 22 to 27October 2000. It will soon be upon us! Ihope that many of you will attend thisimportant conference. The organizerswould like to know early if you do plan toattend. Abstracts are due May 31. Email:isco2000@cim.inta.gov.ar or mail at:Secretaria Cientifica ISCO 2000,FAUBA, Av. San Martin 4453, (1417)Buenos Aires, Argentina. \

Member's Forum

In response to Samran Sombatpanit's article "Total Sediment Methods for MeasuringSoil Loss," Dr. K. G. Renard, calls attention to a project carried out by J. R. Simanton,W. R. Osterkamp and himself in southeastern Arizona, USA:

Sediment yields from two small semiarid subbasins are estimated using three typesof sediment sampling equipment. Measured sediment yields from each subbasin werecompared by sampling method and then to estimates using the Revised Universal SoilLoss Equation (RUSLE). Sediment yield versus storm runoff volume were related foreach sampling method and results showed that, as sampling equipment became moreefficient, regression line slope increased indicating an increase in subbasin sediment

yield. The magnitude of difference between RUSLE estimates and measured sedimentyields changed with sampling method.

The data were published in IAHS Publication No. 217, 1993, Sediment Problems:Strategies for Monitoring Prediction and Control (Proceedings of the YokohamaSymposium, July 1993)

Water Resources Data

for BulgariaBy Professor G. Gergov, vicepresident for Middle East,WASWC

Some recent publications aboutwater resources give confusinginformation about Bulgaria. Forinstance, the Encyclopaedia, editedby Prof. Hershey et al (1998), somepapers of the Central and EastEuropean Technical AdvisoryCommittee (CEETAG) and theGlobal Water Partnership (GWP),include assessments of mean annu

al water volume of 204 cubic km/yrincluding about 187 cubic km/yr ofrun-off entering the country fromabroad. The experts within thecountry believe these estimates tobe incorrect and fear that further

reference to them may lead to misunderstandings at a time wheninternational collaboration should

be developing.To clear up this problem, a meet

ing was held on 29 and 30December 1999 of the Global Water

Partnership and WASWC memberswith leading experts from Bulgariafrom the Technical Union of Water

Affairs and the Bulgarian NationalWater Association. A number of

studies, published in Bulgaria andabroad, were examined. Some ofthese have calculated water

resources (Galabov, Lazarov,Mandadjiev), some the amount ofwater consumed annually and watermanagement problems (Nikolova,Hristov) and others such subjectsas the long term regulations andclimate function impact on hydrolog-ical practices (Genev, Gergov,Lazarov, Modev, Raev).

The Bulgarian Water CountryVision, presented by Dr. G.Bardarska, to the GWP Conferencein Budapest, 1999, and provided bythe Ministry of Environment andWaters, was especially relevant.

The meeting came to the following conclusions:• The long term (1935 to 1985) totalannual available water resources

from the inland water resources of

Bulgaria amounted to 20 cubickm/yr while in a dry period (1982 to

Page 2

1995) it was down to 14 cubickm/yr.• In the period before the economiccrisis and political changes started(1989), the annual water consumption was evaluated at about 60-70%of the available water, which meansfrom 9.8 to 12 cubic km/yr.• Some 5 cubic km/yr of water isused for cooling the nuclear powerstation located on the banks of the

Danube River.

• The information in the CEETACtables about the Danube Riverwater, as part of the Bulgarian waterresources, was found to be seriously wrong. The Danube River,Europe's largest river, flows alongBulgaria's northern boundary andcarries an average of about 200cubic km/yr of water to the BlackSea. Bulgaria uses just a small portion of it (3 - 5 cubic km/yr) fordomestic and industrial water supply for several small towns. Thisamount was further reduced after

1989 but proper assessments havenot yet been made. Obviously thefigure of 187 cubic km/yr (about80% of the annual volume) of theDanube River as being part of thewater resources of Bulgaria is notcorrect.

• It was strongly recommended thata Water House be established

through which professionals cancreate awareness among decisionmakers.

internationai Landcare

Conference heid in

Meibourne

By Rob Youl

Remarkable and very positivechanges have occurred inAustralian rural land managementand community action over the lasttwo decades. Given the environ

mental destruction that has

occurred in 200 years of Europeansettlement, we hope that thesechanges are not too late!

Much of this progress has beenthrough the Landcare movement, anational network of over 4000 local

groups dedicated to undertakingcatchment improvement projects,

revegetation, pest plant and animal con- .trol, property planning and community *development.

Landcare is a broad partnershipincluding the wider community, all threetiers of government, industry, utilities,universities and schools, philanthropictrusts, the media and the arts.

Some 1150 delegates attended theInternational Landcare 2000 conference

held in Melbourne, Australia from 2-5March.

Half were members of Landcare

groups and networks; the rest camefrom government, business and catchment management bodies and fromoverseas: some seventy people from 20countries. There were 90 speakers, 85posters and 36 trade and governmentexhibits.

The mood was sociable and buoyant- the Landcare movement has been

magnificent for promoting fruitful networking and collaboration and for generating new friendships. A tour of theposter stands reinforced the pride andenthusiasm. Popular themes includedgreenhouse projects, management oflarge-scale projects, running networks,urban landcare and projects for indigenous communities.

David Suzuki, keynote speaker, wasflanked by several academics, politicians and global agency representatives. A dozen national Landcare awards

were presented at a ceremony highlighting the diversity of activities in all statesand the strong role played by businessin Landcare. The conference websitecarries the entire proceedings:

www.nre.vic.gov.au/conf/landcare2000

Whilst they depend on voluntaryeffort, Landcare groups are frequently-supported by paid part- or full-time coordinators. Increasingly, groups forminto regional networks for greater efficiency and to attract more of the government and private resources availablefor project development.

Not a typical situation: the award-winning Hindmarsh Shire in Victoria sponsors a local network of over fourteen

groups of cereal farmers. The networkruns at least four big projects - a campaign involving local and metropolitanvolunteers to restore roadside vegetation corridors (that it calls 'biolinks') connecting two huge national parks some

50 km apart; further plantings joiningbiolinks to bush remnants on nearbyfarms; a visionary regional shelterbeltprogram along the lines describedabove; and a project to recreate theoriginal (indigenous) grassy woodland on 140 hectares of primeWimmera black-soil country croppedsince European settlement began inthe 1860s.

Through its exposure to Landcarethe Shire has introduced rate rebatesfor landcare commitments, successfully promoted ecotourism and industrial development as its reputation forenvironmental care has grown, andassisted local schools to carry outseveral astonishingly creative projects - such as a 500 metre boardwalk in a local wetland system.

Landcare has spread to NewZealand, Iceland, South Africa andthe Philippines.

WASWC Deputy President, SamranSombatpanitattended, a worthy agentfor your association and an indefatigable recruiter.

Landcare in Australia - Foundation

for Community Action is availablefree from Rohan Wilson, InternationalLandcare Clearinghouse, Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries Australia,GPO Box 858, Canberra ACTAustralia 2601 fax 0015 612 6272

4526; rohan.wilson@affa.gov.au

Renewals

You may renew yourmembership to worldAssociation by using VISA,Master Card, or AmericanExpress.

Send your renewals to:

World Association ofSoil and WaterConservation,c/o SWCS,Attn: Angie Porter,7515 NE Ankeny Road,Ankeny, IA 50021-9764,USA.angiep@swcs.org

Report of the GCTEFocus 3 Conference onFood and Forestry:Global Changeand Global Challenges,September 20-23, The University ofReading, U.K.By Dr. R.B. Singh

Global Change and TerrestrialEcosystems (GCTE) is a Core Projectof the ICSU-the International

Geosphere-Biosphere Programme(IGBP)-the Study of Global Change.The main objective of the GCTEFocus 3 is to provide an internationalframework for planning and synthesis-ing global change research on agriculture, forestry and soils; address priority issues of global importance; develop links with other IGBP core projectsand non- IGBP research. The GCTE

Focus 3 conference is organizedinassociation with the journal Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment, publishedby ElsevierScience.

The agricultural environment is thefoundation of human life. Environmental

conditions being viewed as locationalcapabilities of regions, are also thedeciding factors of national or regionalenvironmental change. The tradition offood and forestry research, along withits significant changes in content andmethodologies, will meet the expectation of society as the science of practical value and contribute to the devel

opment of global change research.This conference explored a newparadigm of environmental research inwhich the integration of human andphysical processes is facilitated.

Speakers reviewed recent researchand identified future research issues,involving both macro theoreticalresearch and micro case studies relat

ing to food production land usechange and forest production withrelation to key areas like environmental consequences, climate variability,scaling-up issues,nutrient and waterdynamics and predicting future production areas.

Major Highlights of TechnicalDeliberations: The programmeincluded invited keynote speakers,oral presentations, poster presentations and various workshops. Alongwith the above many network meet

ings, wheat network and otherswere organized. The plenary sessions provided an opportunity tomany leading agencies to demonstrate research progress in gtobalchange impact on major monocropsand pasture and rangeland production, pests, diseases and weeds;soils; multi-species agro-ecosystems; and managed forests.

The plenary session focused on"The Global Change and Food andForestry Production: Future ScientificChallenges" by PJ. Gregory and J.S.Ingram. The focus was on intensification which leads to changes in soilorganic matter content, erodibilityand nutrient dynamics. There hasbeen a 2-20 fold increase in thenitrate loading of river systems andan increase in nitrogen oxide emissions to the atmosphere contributingto global warming. Another paperentitled "Global Change: LinksBetween Agriculture Research andPolicy Formulation" discussed howglobal change impacts on food andagricultural production will increasethe consequences of interactionsbetween bio-physical and socio-economic processes.

Focus 3 Research Areas: The

paper, "The Role of ClimateMapping in Predicting the PotentialDistribution of Non-IndigenousPests Under Current and Future

Climates" by Baker et ah, emphasizes that the use of climate mapping in the prediction of species distributions under current and future

climates has recently been criticizedfor ignoring species dispersal andthe multitude of complex speciesinteractions which also influence

range and abundance. Soil organicmatter models are able to predictchange in soil organic carbon levelsunder intensive cropping systems.This has been tested by Diels et. al.in the paper "Modeling Soil OrganicCarbon Changes Under IntensifiedLand Use in Tropical Conditions."Hence, if efficient weed control techniques are introduced on smallholder farms, SOM levels might declineunless reduced weed inputs arecompensated by increased inputs ofcrop residues, tree prunings or othersources of organic matter.

Page 3

Environmental Consequencesof Increasing Production: Thepaper by J. S. Wallace "The Need toIncrease Agricultural Water UseEfficiency to Meet Future FoodProduction" discusses water scarci

ty and decrease in arable land in theworld due to population increase.The future increases in productionwill have to come mainly by growingmore food on existing land andwater. These papers addressed theissue of the efficiency with whichwater is used in agriculture.

The paper EnvironmentalConsequences of AgriculturalDevelopment: A Case Study fromThe Green Revolution State of

Haryana, India by R.B.Singh communicated some of the critical envi

ronmental issues like soil erosion,soil and water quality depletion,declining ground water level, andwater logging problems due toextensification and intensification ofagriculture. My paper identified thefollowing critical issues:• Declining crop yields.• Changes in groundwater level andquality. Excess irrigation inducedwater logging.• Land Degradation as reflected indeclining soil quality, soil saliniza-tion, nutrient depletions and loss incrop biodiversity.• Need for developing land qualityindicators and a monitoring framework.

• Increasing use of land for growingfood crops vis a vis increasing significance of livestock in householdeconomy.

• Price policy and input subsidyinduced changes in cropping patterns.

• Need for enhanced Research and

Development efforts and organizational set-up to promote sustainablemanagement options to improveenvironmental quality, e.g. promotion of organics and biofertilizers,biopesticides etc.

Many participant took part in thediscussion. They were interested toknow about policy intervention,nutrient quality of crops andresearch and development efforts inthe areas of sustainable management of agriculture in India. A few

Page 4

participants desired to develop further collaboration in this field. Thepaper by Ndiritu and Nandwa entitled "Strategies for SustainableProductivity of Cropping andForestry Systems Under GlobalChange" stressed that one of themost important direct impacts ofglobal change to agriculture andforestry will be seasonal variation insoil moisture levels due to increased

frequency and severity of drought.Agriculture and Climate

Variability: The inter-annual variability of the North American climatehas been proved to be exacerbatedby the presence of El Nino SouthernOscillation (ENSO) phenomena: thewarming of sea surface water (SST)in the Central Pacific Ocean fol

lowed by air pressure variations thatprovoke changes in the direction oftrade winds. This concept is discussed by Mario Tiscareno-Lopezet. al. in the paper "ForecastingCrop Yield Deviations UnderClimatic Variability of EL NinoYears." On scaling and extrapolation, different methods for aggregating input data to the simulationmodel are compared for climate andsoil data. A scaling-up of the variability in the plant-pathogen systemand scaling-up from field to regionfor wind erosion prediction on cropland using GIS are discussed.

Incorporating Soil and Pests,Disease and Weeds in Crop/Pasture/ Forestry Growth Models:The session focused on different

modeling exercises in crop andforestry areas. The models havebeen used to explore the long-termtransient and equilibrium effects ofclimate change and different management strategies and system productivity, carbon sequestration andN fluxes. Another important highlightof this session was to identify soiland related constraints to be includ

ed in these models. The sessiondeliberated multi-trophic modeling,biological resolution, model parameterization, verification and validation, interpolation, simulation modular modelling, collaborative networks.

Land Use Change andAgricultural Production: Two

types of modeling land use changes ^were presented involving an empiricalstudy of China and Africa. The sessionstrongly pleaded for better integration ofsocial science knowledge in land usechange models. Lack of effective information is another constraint for modelbuilding.

The. relevance of IGBP research

could be substantially improved by linking more with institutions based in thetropics that are carrying multidisciplinaryresearch that link "people" issues, suchas poverty and food security, to globalchange issues such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gasemissions.

Scientist realise that there is a needto develop a strong link between GCTEscience and policy research. Evenwhere biophysical and socioeconomicmodels are not formally linked, theremay still be significant gains from takingmore multidisciplinary approaches andin exchanging information that couldhelp design appropriate scenarios underwhich separately performed biophysicaland economic analysis would be morecomplementary.

More Interactive Opportunity during Poster Session: Everyday postersessions were organized relating to allsix themes mentioned above. Theposter sessions were very successful incommunicating objectives, methodologies and the findings of the researchpapers to the participants. Various questions and doubts were resolved by personal discussion between presentersand participants. All posters were well-prepared to an international standard.Handout copies were distributed.Printed abstracts were very helpful forunderstanding the research focus of thepapers.

Lessons Learned during ParallelWorkshop Sessions: Nine parallelworkshop sessions were organised byleading scientists in the specialisedresearch areas. These sessions included:• Processes linking soil erosion with soilorganic matter dynamics and soil biology.• Technological change in agricultureand the economicsof biodiversity loss.• Effect of agricultural intensification ontrace gas emission.• Extensification and intensification in

low-input farming systems.• Vulnerability and resilience in farmingsystems.• Linking ecosystems and economicmodels at regional scales.• Developing or modifying crop production models to simulate losses due topests and diseases.• Making global change research relevant to pasture and rangeland decisionmakers.

• Improving the way we model: Towardsa model interchange format for cropand forest models, and tools for workingwith models expressed in this format.

In workshop session 1, the influenceof SOM soil properties such as aggregates and pores, nutrients, biology,global carbon cycle were presented byscholars. Changes in total SOM contentoccur slowly. Active factors such asmicrobial activities indicator specieshave been discussed. Resistance to

erosion can be influenced more by surface than bulk properties. The bioticrelation and soil degradation was elaborated in detail. The components ofrunoff threshold are vegetation interception, litter interception, depressionstorage, surface infiltration and soil infiltration.

The conference was able to attract

many sponsors well known in the areasof global change research. As a participant from a developing country, thewriter received a valuable base from

which to develop the strong linkrequired to promote collaborative globalchange research in the future.

SOIL CONSERVATION

FRAMEWORKS IN SOUTHAUSTRALIA

By Bill Davies

There are 27 community based SoilConservation Boards covering almostall of the agricultural and pastoral areasof the state of South Australia. Board

districts vary from 200,000 hectares upto 200,000 square kilometres. Each SoilConservation Board has seven local

landholders, one ot whom is nominatedby local government with the other sixbeing landowner nominees appointedby the State Minister for PrimaryIndustries.

The Boards report directly to the

Minister and are supported by theMinister's Department of PrimaryIndustries.

South Australia has a Mediterranean

climate of high variability and with soilsof low inherent fertility there is a highrisk of land degradation through thestate. The major land degradationissues are wind and water erosion,nutrient fertility, decline, dryland salinity,soil acidity and degradation of soilstructure. Soil Conservation Boards

were first formed in 1947 as a responseto severe wind and water erosion of soil

following the opening of new agricultural lands following the World War.

Boards are responsible under theSoil Conservation and Land Care Actto:

• promote awareness and understanding of land conservation in their district• develop and support programs to conserve land and rehabilitate degradedland

• give advice and assistance to farmerson land management• administer the provisions of the Actwhich enable legal force to be used toalter land management practices whichmay degrade land.

Boards are formed by the Ministerwhere communities, usually throughtheir local government, express aninterest in forming such a body. TheBoard district is determined at that time

based on common landuse and man

agement practices. Many districts follow local government boundaries but insome areas they are consistent withcatchment boundaries. Boundaries can

be altered reasonably easily to suitchanged circumstances.

Soil Conservation Board members

are enthusiastic in their activities of promotion and program support. They areoften less enthusiastic about using regulation to enforce change. They areaware that knowledge and understanding will lead to more lasting changerequiring lower levels of policing andless conflict within their communities.

The Soil Conservation Boards have

each developed a District Plan for allland within their district. These plansidentify the classes of land, its capability and the recommended land use,where there is degradation or where itmay occur, the causes of degradation,and preferred land management prac

tices. District Plans are requireto be updated regularly and usially also include an inventory cother natural resources such ageology, soil, vegetation anwater. District Plans anrequired to be developed in consultation with the community.

The District Plan forms th<basis for the action program thaeach Soil Conservation Boarcundertakes in its role. DistricPlans are available to the publicin hard copy or electronically orCD and on the Web. The SoiConservation Board model provides communities with the ability to oversee the protection ancmanagement of their own environment. Boards are responsible for making judgements onappropriate practice amongtheir peers and in determiningeducation strategies - who better than the local landholders toknow what will work in their owncommunity.

This process of communityempowerment does have aprice. While Board membersare reimbursed travel costs and

sitting fees, their duties do takethem away from their farmingbusinesses. Many memberscontribute far more time thanthey are ever compensated withremuneration.

In South Australia there is atpresent a move to ensure SoilConservation Boards integratetheir policies and activities withother natural resource management groups eg. water, vegetation and plant control.

With these changes government policy is to ensure regional communities continue to have

a major say in their own destiny.Soil Conservation Board DistrictPlans may be visited onwww.soil.pir.sa.gov.au

Fallow Managementin the Tropics

The Cornell International

Institute of Food, Agricultureand Development (CIIFAD)through its programs on

Page £

Management of Organic Inputs inSoils of the Tropics (MOIST) andthe Cornell Agroforestry WorkingGroup (CAWG), is organizing aone-day symposium entitledFallow Management in theTropics. The symposium will beheld during the American Societyof Agronomy Annual Meetings(November 5-9, 2000) and will beco-sponsored by Divisions A6(International Agronomy) and S6(Soil & Water Management &Conservation).

The goal of the symposium isto highlight the work of on-goingregional initiatives on fallow management in Africa, Latin Americaand Asia, synthesize the results,and provide a framework forimprovements in networking andcoordination of regional researchon fallows. We hope our findingswill facilitate the application of theresults by land users, researchand development specialists andpolicy makers. In keeping with thetheme for the 2000 annual meet

ings, the symposium will focus onthe emerging knowledge anddynamics of managed fallows. The

syntheses of invited and voluntarypapers will identify knowledgegaps and research priorities, theimpacts of fallow management onsustaining agroecosystem productivity, the social and institutionalfactors contributing to changes infallows management and themaintenance of agrobiodiversityand environmental services in the

21st century.The symposium will have invit

ed keynote presentations thatsummarize and synthesize theregional fallow management initiatives followed by voluntary oraland poster presentations, and afinal panel discussion.

It's anticipated that the keynotepapers and selected papers/posterswill be published in a special issueof an international journal. Formore information contact Dr. Erick

Femandes (ecf3@cornell.edu)Tropical Cropping Systems &Agroforestry Department of Crop &Soil Science, Cornell University,624 Bradfield Hall,Ithaca, NY 14853, USATel:+T (607) 255-1712Fax: +1 (607) 255-2644

"Impact Monitoring: Everybody Demands It, But Nobody Likes toSee It Done" By Karl HerwegPage 6

Progress Towards aGlobal Sustainable SoilConvention

By Dr Ian HannamThe WASWC is a principal support

er of the concept of the introduction ofan up to date international strategy forthe sustainable use of soil. As reportedin an earlier Newsletter, at its March1999 meeting the IUCN (the WorldConservation Union) Commission onEnvironmental Law (CEL) resolved toinvestigate the feasibility of introducinga global environmental law instrumentfor soil and a working group was organised to look into this.

The proposal was initially put to theIUCN CEL in response to the good levelof support for such an instrument thatcame out of the 2nd International Land

Degradation Conference in Thailand inJanuary 1999.

The WASWC Council at its meetingat Purdue University in May 1999debated the proposal, and a resolutionwas passed outlining its support. A letter was subsequently sent fromPresident David Sanders to the Chair of

the IUCN CEL.

Herewith is an outline of the

progress made over the past year.Many WASWC members would recallthat the substantial background to theproposal was set out on pages 47-48 inthe special Discussion Paper -"Sustaining the Global Farm.Strategies, Issues, Principles, andApproaches" prepared for ISCO 10under the direction of our Vice-

President Prof Samir El-Swaify.The proposal was one of a number

of key matters discussed by the 14Discussion Groups at ISCO. Feedbackfrom the Groups was mixed, but generally reflected a lack of understandingamong soil conservation people of therole of global environmental strategiesin conservation planning and environmental management.

In September 1999 I travelled toAustria for further discussions on theproposal with Prof Winfried Blum,Secretary-General of the InternationalUnion of Soil Sciences. Many of youwould be aware that the IUSS established a "sustainable soil conventionworking group" at the IUSS MontpellierCongress in 1998. The IUSS is also one

of the key soils institutions whichsupport for the sustainable soilinstrument. During September1999, I also travelled toWageningen, the Netherlands, andtalked to staff at the InternationalSoil Reference and InformationCentre (ISRIC) about the proposal.

Director, Dr Roel Oldeman forwarded a letter of support to IUCN.The main part of my Septembervisitto Europe was to attend a special meeting at the IUCNEnvironmental Law Centre inBonn, Germany, to reviewprogress with the proposal andcompile the Terms of Reference forthe project.As part of the meeting,the IUCN had invited some representatives of the "Tutzing Group"from Tutzing in the south ofGermany, including Dr Martin Heldand Dr Kerstin Odendahl, to speakabout the initiative they had takenin preparing a possible draft instrument see - www.soil-

convention.org.Prof Rabah Lahmar from the

Foundation Charles LeopoldMayer was also present to speakabout the Foundation's "Soil

Campaign," which supports theintroduction of a global soils instrument and gives recognition to theTutzing work.

However, the most significantprogress with the IUCN CEL "sustainable soils" initiative so far was

in February 2000 when I travelledto the IUCN Headquarters inGland, Switzerland, with the Chairand Deputy Chair of the CEL todiscuss the initiative with the

Councillors of the IUCN (theirCouncil meeting was 7-9February). The overall support wasextremely good and there was

much positive feedback. However,it was clearly emphasised that wemust carefully explore all possibleoptions for a global soils instrument - including a full convention,treaty, or protocol. The relationships between the Convention toCombat Desertification, theBiological Diversity Conventionand the Framework Convention on

Climate Change, must be closelylooked at.

The next step involves a meeting of the Steering Committee ofthe IUCN CEL in April 2000 wherethe final Terms of Reference for

the project will be endorsed and a2-3 year workplan will be put inplace.Other key soil institutionssupporting this proposal includethe International Board for Soil

Research and Management(IBSRAM) Thailand, and theEuropean Soil Bureau (ESB) ofthe European Commission.Discussions have been held with

Dr Eric Craswell and Dr Frits

Penning deVries of IBSRAM andDr Luca Montanarella of the ESB.

As this initiative is now a majormatter of interest to the WASWC,members are invited to send anycomments to President David

Sanders. Should anybody wish toreceive a more comprehensivebackground and explanatorypaper, please contact me at yourconvenience at:

Department of Land and WaterConservation, 10 ValentineAvenue, Parramatta, 2160 NSW.Australia; fax - 61-2-9895 7939;e-mail

ihannam@dlwc.nsw.gov.au.Regular updates on the sustainable soils convention project willfeature in the Newsletter.

JSP91wmm

—'

Soil and Water Conservation

SocietyAnnual Conference

July 8-12, 2000St. Louis, Missouri, USA

www.swcs.org or 1-800-THE-SOIL

The African QueenBy Dennis Cahill

I he river tide surged onward,inexorable and blue,The brave ship chugged againstit, empowered by its screw.

People standing at the prowsaw how it cleaved the tide.

Said "Look how we're makingprogress.

We'll be home by even-tide."

But a young lad sitting quietly,with his mother on the deck.

Watching the trees upon thebank,called "Oh no, we won't by heck!"

"Do you know we're going backwards?

The current's stronger than thiscraft."

His mother hushed him quicklyand their fellow passengerslaughed.

Until an older voice then said

"D'you know, the lad is right!"We're not only going backwards,but the waterfall's in sight!"

Now call the river "populationgrowth," its tide "land subdivision,"The little ship call "Progress,"its engine donor-driven.

Its crew may think it's reachingport,with future prospects fair,But they're steadily going backwards, and the waterfall IS there!

Now the moral of this story is,for which the young lad thank,When you're assessing progress,

FOR GOD'S SAKE WATCH THE

BANK!

Page 7

Upcoming Meetings2-7 July 2000.15th ISTRO Conference."Tillage at the Threshold of the 21stCentury: Looking Ahead." Forth Worth,Texas, USA. Contact: Dr. John Morrison,ISTRO 2000 Conference, USDA-ARS-GSWRL: 808 East Blackland Rd.,Temple, Texas 76502, USA. Phone: +1-254-7706507; Fax: +1-254-7706561;ISTRO@brc.tamus.edu

3-7 July 2000. New Trends in Waterand Environmental Engineering ForSafety and Life: Eco-CompatibleSolutions for Aquatic Environments,Capri, Italy. Contact: Louis Dumoulin,Balkema Publishers, Postbus 1675, 3000BR Rotterdam, Netherlands. Phone:(+31.10) 4144154, Fax: (+31.10)2400730, louis@balkema.nl

12-18 July 2000. First InternationalConference — Soils of Urban,Industrial, Traffic and Mining Areas,Essen, Germany. Contact: Prof. Dr.Wolfgang Burghardt, FB 9 —Angewandte Bodenkunde, Universitat —GH Essen, Postfach 103 764, D 45117

Essen. Phone: +49-201-183-3754 or2390. Fax. 2390; wolfgang.burghardt@unl-essen.de or roswitha.rnoelIers@uni-essen.de;http://www.uniessen.de/bodenkunde

22-27 October 2000. International Soil

Conservation Organization (ISCO) XIConference. Buenos Aires, Argentina.Please send your intention to attend orparticipate to be sure to receive futureannouncements. Contact: Secretaria

Cientifica ISCO 2000, FAUBA,Avda. SanMartin 4453 (1416) Buenos Aires,Argentina, Phone: 54-11-4481-1688, Fax54-11-4514-8739/4481-1688.

isco2000@mail.agro.uba.a rhttp://www.isco2000.org.ar

3-5 January 2001. Soil ErosionResearch for the 21st Century, anInternational Symposium, sponsoredbyASAE. Contact Dr. Dennis Flanagan,Symposium Chair USDA-AgriculturalResearch Service National Soil Erosion

Research Lab-oratory, 1196 BuildingSOIL.West Lafayette, IN 47907-1196.Phone: (765) 494-7748 Fax: (765) 494-

5948. flanagan@purdue.edu ASAE Weisite: http://www.asae.orgSymposiurWeb sites: http://trace.ncat.edu/erosioihttp://horizon.nserl.purdue.edu/-flanagan/erosymp For other information, cortact: 2950 Niles Road, St Joseph, IV49085-9659.

10-12 May 2000. 11th Atlantic RegioiHydrotechnical ConferenceMoncton, New Brunswick, CanadaContact: Daniel Babineau, Universite diMoncton, Moncton, NB E1A3E9.Fax: (506) 858-4082; babined@umoncton.ca

5-9 February 2001. InternationaErosion Control Association is callingfor presentations for its 32nd AnnuaConference. Las Vegas, NV Individual:involved with erosion control are invitee

to submit abstracts. Presentations avail

able include: technical papers, postepresentations, and progressive leamincsessions. Contact: International Erosior

Control Association. Phone: (970) 8793010, ecinfo@ieca.org

World Association of

Soil and Water ConservationPresident lal.1@osu.edu Philippines Av. Alcalde Rovira Route,David Sanders dnangju@mail.asiande- 177Flat No. 1, Queen Quay, Executive Secretary: vbank.org E-25198 Lledia

Welsh Back William C. Moldenhauer Australasia: SpainBristol BS1 4SL, England (USA) Ian Hannam lpla@macs.UdL.essanders@clara.net moldwc@itctel.com Department of Land and

Water Conservation Middle East:Deputy President Secretary-Treasurer Macquarie Towers Georgi GergovSamran Sombatpanit, Maurice Cook (USA) 10 Valentine Avenue National Institute of67/141 Amonphant 9, mgcook@mindspring.com ParramattaNSW2150 Meteorology and HydrologySoi Senanikom 1 Australia Blvd. Tzarigradski, 1784Bangkok 10230, Thailand SWCS Liaison: ihannam@dlwc.nsw.gov.au Sofia, Bulgariasombatpanit@hotmaii.com Craig Cox (USA) Georgi.Gergov@meteo.bg

craigcox@swcs.org Europe:Immediate Past Martin Haigh - North America:President: Editor Georgaphy Unit (S.S.) Jerry HammondHans Humi Ryan Nash Oxford Brookes University 8413 Fort Hunt RoadCentre for Development (USA) Oxford, OX3 OBP, England Alexandria, Virginia 22308and Environment deb@swcs.org mhaigh@brookes.ac.uk USAInstitute of Geography, Jerry.Hammond@usda.govUniversity of Berne Appointive Vice Eric RooseHallerstrasse 12,3012 Presidents: ORSTOM Pacific:Berne, Switzerland Africa: Zachee Boli, IRAD B.P. 5045 Samir El-Swalfyhurni@giub.unibe.ch B.P. 2123, Yaounde Montpelier, F 34043 France Department of Agronomy

Cameroon roose@melusine.mpl.orsto and Soil SciencePast Presidents:

William C. Moldenhaueriita-humid@iccnet.cm m.fr University of Hawaii

1910 East-West Road(USA) Asia: Latin America: Honolulu, Hawaii 96822Email: moldwc@itctel.com Dimyati Nangju lldefonso Pla Sentis USANorman W. Hudson(England)Rattan Lai(USA)

Asian Development BankP.O. Box 7891099 Manila

Departament de MediAmbient, Ciencies del SolUniversitat de Lleida

elswaify@hawaii.edu

Join WASWC

Membership of theWorld Association of Soiland Water Conservation isopen to all individuals ororganizations interested inthe wise use of land and

water resources worldwide.

Benefits include the quarterly newsletter and discountson books published byWASWC.

Membership is US $10.Organizations who wish tonegotiate a bulk purchase ofmembership for individualswithin a country or regionshould contact ExecutiveSecretary WilliamMoldenhauer for more information.

Membership payments(in US$ or from the member's credit card) should besent to WASWC in care ofthe Soil and WaterConservation Society, 7515NE Ankeny Road, Ankeny,Iowa 50021-9764 USA.Membership is on a calendar-year basis.