A Standardised Method for Assessment of Soil Degradation and Soil Conservation: the WOCAT mapping methodology

Godert van Lynden, Gudrun Schwilch & Hanspeter Liniger (2002)

The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) has developed a set of standardised tools to document, monitor and evaluate soil and water conservation (SWC) know-how world-wide, and to disseminate it around the globe in order to facilitate exchange of experience and better decision making and planning.

A set of three comprehensive questionnaires and corresponding databases has been developed to document all relevant aspects of SWC technologies and approaches, and the mapping of their area coverage.

This paper will discuss the map methodology, which covers an assessment of land use, soil degradation, SWC technologies and soil productivity aspects. Data is collected through a “Participatory Expert Assessment”. The map methodology comprises an interactive mapping tool for data entry and map viewing. The resulting maps help planners, coordinators and decision-makers to make appropriate plans and set priorities for future investments. They also help in identifying knowledge gaps and research priorities.