CIGR Newsletter No 56
O T H E R A C T I V I T I E S
First FAO Electronic Conference on "Livestock in Conservation Agriculture" 4 February to 29 March 2002
This conference will be organised as a moderated e-mail list (through FAO server), and articles will also be made available on the Internet. The conversion of traditional agriculture into Conservation Agriculture (CA) is happening at an accelerating rate in many countries around the world. Domestic animals are essential to CA as draft power, as a means of conversion to value-added products, as a justification for crop rotation, and as a path for efficient nutrient recycling. However, in some cases the presence of animals is an initial impediment for crop residue management. The global electronic conference will address the main issues concerning the successful integration of animal production into systems with CA:
- Roles of livestock in CA
- Crop residue utilisation (feed versus soil protection & organic matter needs)
- Forage cover crops and crop rotation
- Grazing crop residues and permanent pastures
- Recycling animal manure (treatment, storage & application)
- Draft power (types of animals and equipment)
Languages of the conference: Articles will be distributed to the list in English or Spanish with summaries in the other language. Accepted articles and comments in Portuguese and French will be translated into English and Spanish. Comments will also be distributed to the list in the original language.
For submissions of articles, questions and suggestions please contact: M. Sánchez, livestock expert of the FAO Group on CA; E-mail: manuel.sanchez@fao.org
ICID-CIID International Conference on
Drought Mitigation and
Prevention of Land Desertification
The conference will be held from 21-24 April 2002 in Bled, Slovenia. It is organised by CINCID, ERWG ICID, and EWTD. Topics will include:
- Climate change
- Drought as a complex phenomenon
- National strategies and action programmes
- International Cooperation
For further information contact Ms. Sabina Remskar, Slovenian National Committee of ICID, c/o IZVOR, Preradoviceva 44, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Tel: +386 1 2317 913, Fax: +386 1 433 5104; e-mail: SDNO-SINCID@guest.arnes.si
ISOMUL Workshop on "Collaborative Planning for the Metropolitan Landscape"
This conference will be held from 20-22 June, 2002 in Bellingham, USA. It is sponsored by the Land Use Planning Group of Wageningen University, and the Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University.
It will address the problems inherent in applying sustainability planning principles to the metropolitan landscape. It will stress the importance of collaboration among the various planning entities in order to achieve a balance among the multiple interests that simultaneously compete within the region. It addresses those working on problems related to sustainable land use planning in disciplines encompassing the social, natural and economic environment.
Further information is available on the internet at http//www.ac.wwu.edu/~huxley/ISOMUL/. Or contact: Bradley F. Smith, Dean, Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA. Or: Hubert N. van Lier, Prof. Emeritus, Land Use Planning Group, Wageningen University, Gen. Foulkesweg 13, 6703 BJ, Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: ISOMUL@wwu.edu.
2nd International Conference on "New Trends in Water and Environmental Engineering for Safety and Life: Eco-compatible Solutions for Aquatic Environments"
This conference will be held from 24-28 June 2002 in Capri, Italy. It is intended to give a scientific and technological insight into new methods of protecting and maintaining water bodies, from the point of view of both human life and environmental safety.
The conference, held in English, will, in sessions on "Water Resources Management", on "Protection from Water-related Threats", and on "Urban Hydraulics" deal with: :
- Irrigation and drainage
- Ground water management
- Desertification and draught
- Political and economical aspects of water management
- Remote sensing applications in water management
- Architecture & planning of fluvial and coastal landscape
- Floods and land safety
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Eco-hydraulics and biology
- Pollution protection and prevention of maritime environment
- Hydrology and hydraulics of sewer systems
- Water quality control in urban catchments
- Remote sensing and real-time control in urban networks
For further information contact: Capri 2002 Organizing Committee Secretariat, c/o CSDU & Terr@A, Politecnico di Milano, DIIAR Sez. Idraulica, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Fax: +39/02-2665731, email: info@capri2002.com; URL: http://www.capri2002.com/
ASAP 24th Biennial Conference with the International Society for Animal Hygiene "Finding the Balance - Profitability with Responsibility"
This joint conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production and the International Society for Animal Hygiene will be held 7-11 July 2002 in Adelaide, Australia.
It will address the need of livestock production systems to be profitable, ecologically sustainable and able to meet the ever-increasing expectations of consumers:
- How can these demands be balanced to satisfy all stakeholders?
- How should resources be valued and used?
- What do consumers expect in terms of food safety, animal welfare friendly and environmentally sound practices?
- Should individual enterprises grow in scale to remain viable in the competitive environment or should they target niche markets?
- How can we make best use of decision support systems to help implement new information?
It will include the following Plenary sessions: The Big Picture, Responding to Consumers, Animals & their Environment, The Business of Moving Forward.
For more information, see the ASAP web page at http://www.asap.asn.au/conference/index.html
18th ICID International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage: Food Production Under Conditions of Water Scarcity, Increasing Population and Environmental Pressure
The conference will take place from 21-28 July 2002 in Montreal, Canada. The main issues will be:
- Food production, poverty alleviation and environmental challenges as influenced by limited water resources and population growth
- Integration and management of irrigation, drainage and flood control
Contact address: International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), 48 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021, India; Tel: +91-11-611 5679/6837; Fax: +91-11-611 5962; email: icid@icid.org; webpage: www.icid.org
The Second World Engineering Congress 2002 Engineering Innovation and Sustainability: Global Challenges and Issues
The congress will be held from 22-25 July 2002 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is organised by the Ministry of Finance, Public Utilities & Industrial Development, Sarawak, the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, Putra University Malaysia, the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Islamic Countries, and the Malaysian Council of Engineering Deans. There will be a special subconference on Biological, Agricultural and Food Engineering, which covers a range of up-to-date agricultural issues.
Please direct inquiries for further information to the Secretary of the Organising Committee: A/Prof. Dr Bujang Bin Kim Huat, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Tel: 603 - 89486101 ext. 2091/2121/2017, Fax: 603 - 89488939; email: bujang@eng.upm.edu.my
3rd International Symposium "AGROENVIRON-2002: Sustainable Agro-Environmental Systems- New
Technologies and Applications"
The Symposium will take place in Cairo, Egypt, from 26-28 October 2002. Topics will include:
- Precision agriculture
- Climate change
- Biotechnology
- Land and water resources
- Crop monitoring and yield forecasting
- Forestry and range land
- Desertification and land degradation
- Pollution (air, soil, and water)
- Agricultural waste management
- Wetland and coastal ecology
- Environmental biodiversity
- Geo-information
For further information contact Prof. Sami Abdel-Rehman, Symposium Secretary General, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 23 Joseph Brows Tito st., El Nozha El Gedida, Cairo, Egypt, P.O. Box 1564 Alf-Maskan; Tel: (202) 296 4386 - 297 5688, Fax: (202) 296 4387 - 296 4385; e-mail: sirahman@intouch.com
International Symposium on "Machinery and Mechatronics for Agricultural and Bioproduction Systems"
The Symposium will be held in Chiayi, Taiwan, from 3-7 November 2002. The Symposium is organized by the Chinese Institute of Agricultural Machinery, Taiwan and co-sponsored by the Japanese Society of Agricultural Machinery and the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery. A platform will be provided to exchange ideas, scientific results, and practical experience in the field of machinery and mechatronics for agricultural and bioproduction systems. The main topics will include:
- Precision Agriculture
- Biomechatronic and Biological Engineering
- Power and Machinery
- Information and Electrical Technologies
- Structure and Environment
- Food and Processing Engineering
- Waste Management
- Robotics and Control Engineering
- Systems Engineering
- Automation in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fishery Production and Marketing
Deadlines: Full papers 30 September 2002.
For further information contact Dr. C.H.Ting, Dept. of Biomechatronic Engineering, National Chiayi University, 300 University Road, Chiayi, Taiwan 600; TEL:+886-5-2717640, FAX: +886-5-2717647, E-mail: c.ting@mail.bme.ncyu.edu.tw http://www.bme.ncyu.tw/ismab
"Water Use Conflicts in the Euromediterranean Region"
AFEID, the French National Committee of ICID, organises the 54th Executive Council of ICID and the 20th European Regional Conference in Montpellier, France from 14 to 19 September, 2003. The Conference will cover the following themes:
- The role of agro-business and consumer demand
- Demographic growth and urban uses
- Environmental awareness
- Conflict perception and the role of the media
- The role of basin / aquifer organisations
- The role of service providers and economic instruments, with due consideration of poverty alleviation
More information can be obtained from Dr. Alain Vidal, AFEID - Comité d'Organisation du 54ème CEI de la CIID, IPTRID, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy, phone:+39-06-5705-2891, fax: +39-06-5705-6275, e-mail: alain.vidal@fao.org

