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Soils, Society & Global Change SOILS, SOCIETY & GLOBAL CHANGE Proceedings of the International Forum Celebrating the Centenary of Conservation and Restoration of Soil and Vegetation in Iceland 31 August - 4 September 2007, Selfoss, Iceland Edited by Harriet Bigas Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson Luca Montanarella and Andrés Arnalds A Joint Publication Soils, Society & Global Change Proceedings of the International Forum Soils, Society & Global Change Celebrating the Centenary of Conservation and Restoration of Soil Vegetation in Iceland 31 August – 4 September 2007, Selfoss, Iceland Don’t Forget the Soil! Edited by Harriet Bigas, Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson, Luca Montanarella and Andres Arnalds A Joint Publication Forum funding generously provided by iv The mission of the JRC-IES is to provide scientific-technical support to the European Union’s policies for the protection and sustainable development of the European and global environment. The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCS) is a governmental agency under the Ministry for the Environment. The SCS is charged with combating desertification, sand encroachment and other soil erosion, and promoting sustainable land use and reclamation and restoration of degraded land. The work is on different levels, from policy-making and research, to extension services and management of large- and small-scale reclamation projects. The United Nations University (UNU) is an organ of the United Nations established by the General Assembly in 1972 to be an international community of scholars engaged in research, advanced training and the dissemination of knowledge related to pressing global problems of human survival development and welfare. The UNU International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is a member of the UNU family which focuses on strengthening water management capacity, particularly of developing countries, and providing on-the-ground project support. Contact information European Commission – Joint Research Centre – Institute for Environment and Sustainability Via E. Fermi, 2749, I-21027 Ispra (VA), Italy Tel.: +39-0332-785349; Fax: +39-0332-786394; Email: [email protected] Web: http://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ and http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ Soil Conservation Service of Iceland Gunnarsholt, 851 Hella, Iceland Tel: +354 488 3000; Fax: +354 488 3010; Email: [email protected] Web: www.land.is United Nations University – International Network on Water, Environment and Health 175 Longwood Rd. South, Suite 204, Hamilton, Ontario L8P 0A1, Canada Tel: +1 905 667 5511; Fax: +1 905 667 5510; Email: [email protected] Web: www.inweh.unu.edu Legal Notice Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of this publication. Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. Cover Photo Credits (from top to bottom) Julie Taylor, Jón Ragnar Björnsson, Zafar Adeel, Hanspeter Liniger, Gudjón Magnússon, Harriet Bigas, Julie Taylor, Jón Ragnar Bjornsson. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server http://europa.eu/. JRC50243 EUR 23784 EN Catalogue number: LB-NA-23784-EN-C ISBN 978-92-79-11775-6 ISSN 1018-5593 DOI 10.2788/84964 Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities © European Communities, 2009. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Italy. v Forum Partners Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCS) United Nations University – International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI) University of Iceland – Institute for Sustainability Studies The Farmers Association of Iceland European Commission – Joint Research Centre – Institute for Environment and Sustainability (EC-JRC-IES) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) The Ohio State University (OSU) Soil and Water Conservation Society Landcare International The Sahara and Sahel Observatory / Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS) United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA – NRCS) European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC) International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) Climate Institute Norwegian University of Life Sciences World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWC) Commission on Land Degradation & Desertification (COMLAND) Organizing Committee Dr. Andrés Arnalds (Chair), Soil Conservation Service Iceland Mr. Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson (Secretary), Soil Conservation Service Iceland1 Dr. Ása L. Aradóttir, Agricultural University of Iceland Dr. Brynhildur Davídsdóttir, University of Iceland Dr. Anton Imeson, Amsterdam University Dr. Ian Hannam, University of New England Dr. Rattan Lal, The Ohio State University Mr. Roger Crofts, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, Commission on Ecosystem Management Dr. Zafar Adeel, UNU-INWEH Dr. Uriel Safriel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Dr. Maryam Niamir-Fuller, UNDP2 Ms. Harriet Bigas (Coordinator), UNU-INWEH 1Currently at the Institute for Sustainability Studies, University of Iceland. 2Currently with the United Nations Environment Programme. vi Forum Partners Soil Conservation Service of Iceland University of Iceland – Institute for Sustainability Studies The Farmers Association of Iceland United Nations United Nations Environment Programme Development Programme United Nations Conventions to Combat Desertification The Sahara and Sahel Observatory International Federation of Agricultural Producers Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Norwegian University of Life Sciences Commission on World Association of Land Degradation Soil and Water & Desertification Conservation (WASWC) (COMLAND) ix Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................................. xii Forum Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Forum Addresses ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Dr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland .................................................................................................................. 9 Mr. Einar K. Gudfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture ........................................................................................... 12 Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Director-General of TERI . 14 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Parviz Koohafkan ...................................................................... 17 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Goodspeed Kopolo ......................................................................... 19 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Jaime Webbe ....................................................................................... 21 United Nations Environment Programme, Gemma Shepherd .............................................................................................. 22 European Commission, Directorate-General, Joint Research Centre, Luca Montanarella .................................................. 24 The Iceland Forest Service, Thröstur Eysteinsson ................................................................................................................ 25 The Farmers Association of Iceland, Sigurgeir Thorgeirsson ............................................................................................... 26 United Nations Development Programme, Olav Kjørven ...................................................................................................... 27 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Halldor Thorgeirsson ............................................................. 30 United Nations University, Zafar Adeel .................................................................................................................................. 31 United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service, Dana York ...................................... 33 Forum Plenary ........................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Session 1: Setting the Stage: Soils, Society and Global Change – Global and Local Perspectives ............................ 39 Soils and the Living Earth, Ólafur Arnalds ............................................................................................................................. 40 Global Land Degradation: State, Risks
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