Announcement
WOCAT goes new – strong platforms and partnerships
for spreading SLM
WOCAT Symposium and
17th WOCAT Network Meeting
Feldafing, Germany, 8 June to 11 June 2015
Introduction
Land management is a key concern in the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) agenda, in seeking a world in which agriculture prospers within vibrant ecosystems,
and where communities have higher incomes, improved food security, higher resilience
towards disasters and climate change. Furthermore, SLM is a key theme in all three United
Nations Conventions (UNCCD, UNFCCC, and CBD) and is the foundation for food security
and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
SLM can offer solutions in a world with fast changing conditions of natural (e.g. climate
change/variability and extreme events), social (e.g. migration, feminisation of agriculture),
and/or economic origin (e.g. changing markets) that require continuous adaptation and
innovation by land users to make the management of their land sustainable.
SLM stakeholders (land users, advisors, researchers, planners, decision makers, etc.)
require profound knowledge, access to knowledge, tools & methods for decision making in
order to select and implement most appropriate SLM practices, as well as to continuously
monitor and report on recent experiences.
Indeed, proper knowledge management and decision support as well as strengthened
partnerships and consolidated platforms are crucial for SLM to reach its full potential.
Without such mechanisms, land degradation will continue to be addressed in an ad hoc
manner, all too often ignoring or only selectively using knowledge or experiences gained
locally and/or elsewhere and without adequate policy/ strategic support and investments. .
WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies)
http://www.wocat.net is a global network of Sustainable Land Management (SLM)
specialists, contributing to SLM by sharing and evaluating knowledge. WOCAT’s goal is to
provide tools and methods for knowledge management and decision support. Over two
decades ago, the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT)
network was established. Recognizing the key importance of SLM and the pressing need for
knowledge management WOCAT started efforts to compile, document, evaluate, share and
use SLM knowledge and gradually build a corresponding evidence database.
2014 was an important year for WOCAT, in regards to finalising a new institutional setup,
with a much stronger and wider partnership for building a global knowledge management
and decision support platform with consortium partners and UNCCD. The nine Consortium
Partners, namely CDE (University of Bern), FAO, GIZ, ISRIC, ICARDA, ICIMOD, CGIAR,
SDC and the University of Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa), have signed the Framework
Agreement of WOCAT International. This marks the start of a strengthened and fruitful
collaboration.
The June 2015 WOCAT Network Meeting is the first network meeting since the new
institutional set-up has been finalized. A launching event for the WOCAT countries and
partners will take place during the WOCAT Symposium. In addition, the WOCAT activities in
2015 will also be linked to the International Year of Soils (IYS) 2015, which offers a window
of opportunity to put soil and land on the international political agenda as a key to
sustainable development.
The WOCAT Symposium and the 17th WOCAT Network Meeting is hosted by GIZ and
brings a wide range of WOCAT members and stakeholders together and it will focus on:
WOCAT goes new – strong platforms and partnerships for spreading SLM
Part 1: WOCAT Symposium (open to a broad range of SLM stakeholders) (Monday, 8 June)
Part 2: Field day in the surrounding of Feldafing (Tuesday, 9 June)
Part 3: 17th WOCAT Network Meeting (Wednesday 10 June – Thursday 11 June)
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Part 1: WOCAT Symposium including launch of WOCAT International (1 day)
Aims and objectives
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The importance of SLM platforms and partnerships for the spread of SLM
Successful mainstreaming and spread of SLM using WOCAT and related tools
On-site and offsite benefits/impacts of SLM for knowledge-based decision support
Launch of WOCAT International
Call for abstracts for WOCAT Symposium
Participants of the WOCAT Symposium are requested to submit a short abstract of a
maximum of 400 words in English for an oral presentation or a poster presentation at the
Symposium. The abstract should include the goal, the methods, the findings and a
conclusion.
Topics to be addressed are:
(1) The importance of SLM platforms and partnerships for the spread of SLM
• Present existing partnerships and platforms and show link to WOCAT SLM
platform.
(2) Successful mainstreaming and spread of SLM using WOCAT and related tools
• Present institutional embedment of WOCAT tools.
• Good practices spread through Knowledge Management and Decision Support.
(3) On-site and offsite benefits/impacts of SLM for knowledge-based decision support
• Present examples of added value when addressing off-site/ watershed/landscape
impacts.
Abstract submission and deadline
Please submit the abstract online at https://www.wocat.net/en/newsevents/events/registration/steering-meeting-feldafing-2015.html.
The submission deadline is Thursday, 2 April, 2015.
Review process for abstracts
The submitted abstracts will go through a review process led by a committee and oral
presentations and poster presentations will be assigned.
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Part 2: Field day (1 day)
A field day showing on and off-site benefits/ impacts of successful SLM application in the
surrounding of Feldafing will be organized by GIZ.
Part 3: WOCAT Network Meeting (WNM) (2 days)
The WOCAT Network Meeting (WNM) will follow the Symposium and field day. It is the first
WOCAT Network Meeting since the new institutional set-up was finalized in August 2014.
The outcome of the Symposium will be further developed during the WNM, new and further
tool developments, partnerships, progress and directions for the way forward will be
elaborated and discussed among international, regional and national partners.
Aims and objectives
(1) Elaborate recent advances in the development of new user friendly IT WOCAT
applications and innovative WOCAT tools:
a. WOCAT IT vision and concept (website, web-applications, etc.) - (task force)
b. WOCAT light (core) – (task Force)
c. Presentation of UNCCD SLM Best Practices mandate
d. Audio-visuals, tablet app, etc.
(2)
Present and discuss decision support framework for mainstreaming and scaling up
SLM (FAO-WOCAT-GEF project).
(3)
Clarify new WOCAT International Strategy 2015 – 2018 and strengthen the role of
Regional/National initiatives.
a. Collaboration of WOCAT International with WOCAT Regional/National
b. Strengthened role and added value of each network partner: Memorandum of
Understanding (MoUs) between WOCAT Regional/National and the Secretariat.
c. Communication Strategy (task force)
(4)
(5)
WOCAT in research, training and education (task force)
Progress report at global level (Steering Committee / Consortium Partners)
(6)
(7)
Progress report at regional/national level (WOCAT country initiatives) and presentation
of new initiatives.
Added value and opportunities for each network partner and the WOCAT platform and
future planning by WOCAT country initiatives, partners and members. Set milestones
until next WNM.
(8)
Evaluation of network meeting
(9)
Conclusion by external observer
(10) Final conclusions by host and another Consortium Partner
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Organisational issues
Venue
The WOCAT Symposium and the 17th WOCAT Network Meeting (WNM) will be held at the
GIZ International Conference Centre Feldafing
Internationales Bildungs- und Begegnungszentrum Feldafing
Wielinger Strasse 52
82340 Feldafing, Germany
http://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/16583.html
Date
Monday 8 June – Thursday 11 June 2015
Arrival
Participants should arrive on Sunday 7 June in Munich/München (Munich airport or Munich
main train station), Germany. From the airport to Feldafing it takes about 80 minutes time of
travel by city train.
http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/network-stations/network-maps/index.html
On request and availability a shuttle service for pickup from Munich Airport or the S-Bahn
station Feldafing will be arranged.
Departure
Plan your departure on Friday, 12 June 2015.
Visa requirements
Please visit the following link about visa requirements and make sure that you apply in time
for a visa http://www.germany-visa.org/ or http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/EN/Infoservice/FAQ/VisumFuerD/Uebersicht.html?nn=480902
Language of events
English
Organiser / Host
The WOCAT Symposium and the 17th WNM will be jointly organised by GIZ
(http://www.giz.de/en/html/index.html), Sector Project Sustainable Agriculture (SV NAREN;
http://www.giz.de/expertise/html/7343.html) and the WOCAT Secretariat
(http://www.wocat.net/).
Participation
We invite representatives from all main participating and funding institutions, and individual
core collaborators as well as representatives from institutions that recently joined WOCAT
and have not yet participated in an annual workshop. We hope to welcome many of you.
Cost
We will charge a registration fee to be paid to the organisers at the beginning of the meeting.
The registration cost DOES NOT include accommodation costs.
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Registration cost is as follows:
• Symposium: free (sponsored by GIZ)
• WOCAT Network Meeting: EUR 100 (lunch and dinner is included for ALL days, from
Sunday evening 7/6/2015 to Thursday evening 11/6/2015)
Accommodation cost at the GIZ International Training Centre Feldafing is EUR 57.50
(around US$ 65) per single room / night (meals not included) and breakfast costs 10.8 EUR
(around US$ 12).
Sponsorship
Only very limited sponsorship is available from the WOCAT Secretariat. Approval will
depend on the degree of involvement in the WOCAT programme, e.g. SLM technologies and
approaches and/or maps on land degradation and conservation contributed to the global
database since the last WOCAT Workshop and Steering Committee meeting (WWSM 16). In
principle no more than one participant per national/regional WOCAT initiative can be
sponsored, although more representatives are welcome at own costs. Airfares will only be
compensated for reasonable rates, i.e. if bought in time and according to the most economic
route in economy class. Expensive tickets due to late bookings will not (or only partially) be
reimbursed. Please apply for sponsorship through the registration form on the WOCAT
website.
Registration
Please fill out the on-line registration form (click on this link)
https://www.wocat.net/en/news-events/events/registration/steering-meeting-feldafing2015.html until Thursday, 2 April, 2015.
To access the registration form you need to login on the WOCAT website with your E-mail
address and your password. If your name is not yet in the WOCAT address database
http://www.wocat.net/en/network/organisation/address-database.html you have to register
first. Once enlisted in the WOCAT address database, your contact details will appear
automatically on the WOCAT registration after log in.
If you cannot participate we would appreciate if you let us know by sending an e-mail to
[email protected].
We are looking forward to your participation. Your participation is important to help develop
the WOCAT programme according to your needs. WOCAT operates in a decentralised
manner and needs your input and initiative!
Yours truly,
The workshop organisers
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
• WOCAT Secretariat, Centre for Development and Environment, University of Berne,
Switzerland
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