WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies) is an established global network of Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) specialists, dedicated to sustainable land management (SLM). The overall goal of the WOCAT Network is to unite the efforts in knowledge management and decision support for up-scaling SLM among all stakeholders including national governmental and non-governmental institutions and international and regional organizations and programmes. The network provides tools that allow SLM specialists to identify fields and needs of action, share their valuable knowledge in land management, that assist them in their search for appropriate SLM technologies and approaches, and that support them in making decisions in the field and at the planning level and in up-scaling identified best practices.

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World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies
Knowledge Management and
Decision Support for
Sustainable Land Management

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WOCAT is…
• …a global network of specialists working in the
field of Sustainable Land Management (SLM)
• … a framework for Knowledge Management
and Decision Support for SLM

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WOCAT’s Vision
WOCAT’s vision is that
land and livelihoods
are improved through
sharing and enhancing
knowledge about
sustainable land
management.
Photo: H.P. Liniger

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WOCAT supports innovation and decision-making
processes in Sustainable Land Management by:
WOCAT's Mission
1) building up and coordinating a global
network of SLM specialists
2) developing standardized tools and
methods for knowledge management
and decision support
3) managing a global knowledge base
on SLM and presenting the information
through different media
4) enhancing capacity of involved actors
(research, training, education)

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The WOCAT Network
- Established in 1992
- Network 2014: Over 60 institutions worldwide (incl. Ministries,
Universities, NGOs, International Centres, UN-Organisations, etc.)
- SLM experts, technicians, extension workers, planners, and decision
makers (WOCAT target group)
- WOCAT is the primary recommended database for UNCCD reporting
on SLM Best Practices
- Biennial International Workshop and Steering Meeting

6. The WOCAT Network
6
National Initiatives
Individual
Members
Institutional
Members
International
Regional / National
Regional Initiatives
Steering Committee consisting of
Consortium Partners, Director,
and Nominated Experts
Ad hoc
Independent
Expert Group
Secretariat (Director, Coordinator, required staff)
Consortium
Partners
StrategicguidanceApplication
Tooldevelopment
New set-up
since June 2014
Steering Committee has
9 Consortium Partners:
•CDE
•CIAT
•GIZ
•FAO
•ISRIC
•ICIMOD
•ICARDA
•SDC
•University Kwa Zulu
Natal (South Africa)

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WOCAT tools and methods
• Standardized questionnaires for documentation and
evaluation of SLM technologies and approaches
• A global database for storage, search and exchange of
SLM technologies and approaches
• A mapping tool for local and regional assessment of
degradation and SLM (area coverage, degree and impacts)
• A decision support tool for selection and up-scaling of
identified best practices using a 3-step framework

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SLM specialists and land users document best practices in the field.
The collected information will be entered in the WOCAT Database.Photo: H.P. Liniger
Documentation and evaluation of best practices

9. 9Photo: H.P. Liniger
Decision Support
Select appropriate SLM practices for upscaling.
Assess the costs and impacts.
Identify priority areas of intervention.

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Knowledge base – WOCAT outputs
• Database
• Books and Brochures
• Videos on Sustainable Land Management
• Country Maps on Degradation and Conservation
(LADA)
• Manuals, etc.
• All available on Internet!  www.WOCAT.net

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WOCAT Database
- More than 500 SLM Technologies and 250 Approaches from
over 50 countries
- accessible online
- linked to Google Earth
- standardized and comprehensive, covering various land use
degradation and conservation types…
- technical as well as socio-economic information

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SLM in Practice
• Guidelines for Sub-
Saharan Africa
• Principles of
Sustainable Land
Management
• 47 case studies (best
practices)

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WOCAT Overview book:
where the land is greener
Setting new standards:
• Global selection of
case studies:
- 42 Technologies &
- 28 Approaches
• Standardized
presentation
• Analysis
• Policy implications

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Desire for Greener Land
•Options for Sustainable
Land Management in
Drylands
•30 Technologies &
8 Approaches
•17 mapping case
studies

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Water Harvesting
•Guidelines to Good
Practice
•18 Technologies of
floodwater, macro-
catchment, micro-
catchment, and rooftop
and courtyard water
harvesting from all over
the world

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Case study: Conservation Agriculture

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Case study: Agroforestry

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Case study: Level bench terrace

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Case study: Rotational grazing

20. Audio-visual messages from land user to land user
documented and presented in standardized WOCAT format
… enhanced through messages from land users
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• over 500 SLM specialists from 40 countries trained
• approx. 30 MSc and PhD studies
• studies on socio-economic and environmental impacts 
on-/off-site
• area cover: satellite image & ground truthing
WOCAT in research, training and
education
Photo: H.P. Liniger
Hot Spots
Bright Spot

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Visit www.wocat.net
and join the network