About COMLAND
OBJECTIVES
Many environments are susceptible to land degradation and desertification (a form of land degradation that occurs in drylands). The patterns and processes that trigger and sustain land degradation emerge from both local biophysical vulnerabilities and land use decisions. These local patterns and processes vary across landscapes and regions in response to differences in climate, soils, geomorphology, vegetation, history of disturbance, and human actions. Thus, land degradation emerges from the nexus of biophysical and socioeconomic systems.
There is an urgent need to gain better practical and theoretical understanding of land degradation processes and the feedbacks within and between the biophysical and socioeconomic systems that sustain negative impact on both humans and the environment.
In order to achieve these objectives, the working plan of the Commission is:
MEETINGS
COMLAND members meet at irregular intervals in various locations to address the working plan. Meetings are commonly in association with technical or research events at universities or with professional groups. Field trips to study and discuss local issues are encouraged and indeed promoted for knowledge transfer.
People interested in attending meetings and field trips are invited to make direct contact with the person nominated in the "Upcoming Meetings" section of this website.
Most meetings have a "papers" session where results of research are delivered and discussed. Papers from some meetings have been compiled in peer reviewed quality publications.
MEMBERSHIP
COMLAND has compiled an email list of people who have expressed interest in the Commission's activities. The list is used on irregular occasions to advise people of relevant matters or events. There is no fee for membership and people are welcome to contact the Commission via the "Contact" page on this website to have their details added to the COMLAND list. COMLAND Membership is not an academic qualification.
WEBSITE
The COMLAND web site was established by Gregor Ollesch, Germany, in 2001. From 2001 to 2007 the web site was operated by Maria Sala and Joaquim Farguell at University of Barcelona, Spain. From 2007 to 2012 the web site was hosted by Paul F. Hudson at the University of Texas at Austin (now at Leiden University, The Netherlands). Silvio Rodrigues at the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil was webmaster from 2012 to 2013. The current webmaster is Owen Graham, Australia and the website is hosted commercially.
HISTORY
The organisation that is now COMLAND started in 1994 as the "IGU Study Group on Erosion and Desertificartion in Regions of Mediterranean-type Climate". This developed into a formal Commission of the IGU in 1996 and the Founding Chair was Prof. Maria Sala.
OBJECTIVES
Many environments are susceptible to land degradation and desertification (a form of land degradation that occurs in drylands). The patterns and processes that trigger and sustain land degradation emerge from both local biophysical vulnerabilities and land use decisions. These local patterns and processes vary across landscapes and regions in response to differences in climate, soils, geomorphology, vegetation, history of disturbance, and human actions. Thus, land degradation emerges from the nexus of biophysical and socioeconomic systems.
There is an urgent need to gain better practical and theoretical understanding of land degradation processes and the feedbacks within and between the biophysical and socioeconomic systems that sustain negative impact on both humans and the environment.
In order to achieve these objectives, the working plan of the Commission is:
- to promote and coordinate interdisciplinary research on land degradation and desertification in our changing global environment;
- to study the effects of environmental and social change arising from natural and human processes and their implications for land degradation and desertification;
- to conduct regional case studies under different climatic regimes and environmental risks (forest fires, floods, river channel changes, soil-erosion, water depletion, water quality);
- to study the planning, design, and outcome of conservation measures to better understand interactions between humans and their environment;
- to alert authorities as to the importance of adequate surveillance of land degradation processes;
- to develop and communicate the best techniques for monitoring changes and collecting, analyzing, and archiving data;
- to sponsor and support activities leading to exchange of information regarding land degradation and desertification, and
- to train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists to address practical and theoretical causes and consequences of land degradation and desertification.
MEETINGS
COMLAND members meet at irregular intervals in various locations to address the working plan. Meetings are commonly in association with technical or research events at universities or with professional groups. Field trips to study and discuss local issues are encouraged and indeed promoted for knowledge transfer.
People interested in attending meetings and field trips are invited to make direct contact with the person nominated in the "Upcoming Meetings" section of this website.
Most meetings have a "papers" session where results of research are delivered and discussed. Papers from some meetings have been compiled in peer reviewed quality publications.
MEMBERSHIP
COMLAND has compiled an email list of people who have expressed interest in the Commission's activities. The list is used on irregular occasions to advise people of relevant matters or events. There is no fee for membership and people are welcome to contact the Commission via the "Contact" page on this website to have their details added to the COMLAND list. COMLAND Membership is not an academic qualification.
WEBSITE
The COMLAND web site was established by Gregor Ollesch, Germany, in 2001. From 2001 to 2007 the web site was operated by Maria Sala and Joaquim Farguell at University of Barcelona, Spain. From 2007 to 2012 the web site was hosted by Paul F. Hudson at the University of Texas at Austin (now at Leiden University, The Netherlands). Silvio Rodrigues at the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil was webmaster from 2012 to 2013. The current webmaster is Owen Graham, Australia and the website is hosted commercially.
HISTORY
The organisation that is now COMLAND started in 1994 as the "IGU Study Group on Erosion and Desertificartion in Regions of Mediterranean-type Climate". This developed into a formal Commission of the IGU in 1996 and the Founding Chair was Prof. Maria Sala.