Past Meetings
2019
2014
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA
COMLAND Meeting & Field Trip: 25 – 29 October 2014 in Central & Southern Tasmania in association with the Annual Conference of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ)
EIANZ Annual Conference: 30 & 31 October 2014 (conference in Hobart)
Organiser of Field Trip: Owen Graham (owen.comland@gmail.com), COMLAND Steering Committee, Australia
Cooperating Organisations:
Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand; Forestry Tasmania; University of Tasmania; Copper Mines of Tasmania; Environment Protection Authority (TAS); NRM South.
FIELD TRIP BROCHURE
REPORT ON FIELD TRIP
MINUTES OF COMLAND MEETING DURING FIELD TRIP
KRAKOW, POLAND
COMLAND Meeting and Field Trip (14 - 17 August 2014)
in association with the IGU Regional Meeting in Krakow, Poland (18 - 22 August 2014)
Organiser: Dr. Pawel Prokop (pawel@zg.pan.krakow.pl), Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow
Cooperating Organisations
Link to excursion section: http://www.igu2014.org/index.php?page=trips_academic_excursions
COMLAND excursion title: Land degradation and reclamation in the Silesian Upland and the Polish
Carpathians
FIELD TRIP BROCHURE
REPORT ON FIELD TRIP
MINUTES OF COMLAND MEETING DURING FIELD TRIP
2013
JAPAN
COMLAND Meeting and Field Trip
in association with the IGU Regional Meeting in Kyoto, Japan
IGU Regional Meeting Dates: August 4-9, 2013
Abstracts are welcome on a range of topics related to land degradation, desertification, soil erosion, climate change, and environmental management and policy. We seek papers that examine land degradation within a variety of subfields that utilize a diverse range of approaches (field, modelling, historic, process, etc...).
Please send Prof. Takashi Oguchi (oguchi@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp) or Prof. Silvio Rodrigues (silgel@com.br), COMLAND Secretary, a note and copy of your abstract to inform of your interest in participating in the official organized COMLAND sessions.
All participants will need to submit their abstract and registration according to IGU/IGC guidelines and the official web site of the Kyoto IGU/IGC Regional Congress.
Field trip: A pre-Congress COMLAND field trip will be organized by Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Suwa of the University of Tokyo. Please contact Prof. Suwa (suwa@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp) for more information about the COMLAND field trip.
Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Suwa, Director of Science, Earth Scientist
Visiting researcher of Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo, and visiting researcher of Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University
Home address: Kashiwabecho 15, Sakyoku Shimogamo, Kyoto 606-0815 Japan
2012
SARDINIA, ITALY
COMLAND Meeting and Field Trip in Cagliari, Sardinia
LAND DEGRADATION IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS: CAUSES, PROCESSES AND MANAGEMENT
Second circular
REGISTRATION and PAYMENT INFORMATION
Hotel and accommodations
Mini poster
Second Circular (with transportation updates, critical dates, etc..., note: see 1st circular for field trip stops, map, etc...)
Abstract Format and Submission
Expression of Interest
First Circular (includes detailed itinerary, field trip sites, map, etc...)
Dates: October 13-19, 2012
Lead Organizer:
Dr. Andrea Vacca (avacca@unica.it)
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Cagliari
Cagliari, Sardinia
Italy
Description
Land degradation has long been a fundamental issue within Mediterranean environments. Sardinia provides ample opportunities to examine different types of land degradation and associated management strategies, and will be the focus of this COMlAND field meeting. We solicit papers from a range of subfields related to the topic of land degradation or land management within Mediterranean environments, but also more generally across all types of landscapes and physical settings. Papers are welcome which address the topic using any methodological approach, including historical and process based studies. Papers will be further divided according to thematic and/or methodological approaches based on the range of abstract submissions.
Format and Schedule
The meeting begins with a greeting and overview Saturday evening (Oct. 13) in Cagliari. A full day of paper sessions scheduled for Sunday (Oct. 14). The field trip will depart Monday (Oct. 15) for southern and central Sardinia and returns to Cagliari Friday (Oct. 19). A detailed itinerary is included in the first circular. Information on registration costs and accommodations will be included in the second circular.
Cooperating Organisations
International: IGU - COMLAND
Regional/Local: University of Cagliari, LAORE Sardegna, AGRIS Sardegna, IGEA SpA
COLOGNE, GERMANY: August, 2012
COMLAND Sessions and Pre-Congress Field Trip
IGU Main Congress Web site
COMLAND sponsored two themed sessions with the IGU Congress in Cologne, Germany
Main Congress (themed paper sessions): August 26 - 30, 2012
COMLAND Paper Sessions:
COMLAND is pleased to announce the call for abstracts for three distinct sessions at the 2012 International Geographical Union Congress in Cologne, Germany.
1. Land Degradation and Desertification in the context of Global Environmental Change: Management, Vulnerability, and Policy
2. Land Degradation and Geomorphology: Monitoring, Assessment, and Theory Development
The format of presentation is a standard 20 minute talk. Participants should register in "theme 24" via the official IGU Congress web site. Online registration for the IGC 2012 will open on 2 November 2011. Please send Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu), Secretary of COMLAND, a note and copy of your abstract to inform of your interest in participating in the official organized COMLAND sessions.
1. Land Degradation and Desertification in the context of Global Environmental Change: Management, Vulnerability, and Policy
Chair(s): Guðrún Gísladóttir (Univ. of Iceland) & Paul F. Hudson (Univ. of Texas at Austin)
Description:
Managing land degradation and desertification is a pressing issue in the context of global environmental change. Developing effective policy and management strategies requires knowledge of a comprehensive range of physical and social processes and how they may be modified and adjust to anticipated global environmental change scenarios, including different manifestations of climatic change or sea level rise. The goal of this session is to bring together researchers interested in the management of specific types of landscape environments to cope with different forms of global environmental change along the lines of several interrelated questions: How is management being approached and what are the lessons learned? What types of physical modifications (engineering and earth works) are undergoing to cope with land degradation and/or desertification? What are the obstacles to effective policy for managing land degradation and desertification? We welcome a comprehensive range of topics including academic and applied scientists from universities and government agencies who work at the interface of land degradation and desertification, including land use management, agricultural policy and food security, soil erosion, change, flooding, risk analysis, and river and coastal zone management. The presentations will be further organized into appropriate themes depending on the range of topics represented within submitted abstracts. Publication of papers will be sought in an appropriate peer reviewed academic journal. Please contact Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu) or Guðrún Gísladóttir (ggisla@hi.is) with questions.
2. Land Degradation and Geomorphology: Monitoring, Assessment, and Theory Development
Chair(s): Paul F. Hudson (Univ. of Texas at Austin) & Guðrún Gísladótti (Univ. of Iceland)
Description:
Geomorphology and land degradation science have a long and distinguished history of integrated scientific inquiry. Geomorphology, as a distinct scientific discipline, provides academic and applied scholars of land degradation with theoretical frameworks and methodological tools for understanding the origin, magnitude, and controls on land degradation and desertification. Geomorphologists increasingly play important roles in landscape restoration strategies, including conceptual and applied roles. This session seeks presentations that address the study of land degradation from all sectors of geomorphology, including hillslope (runoff and soil erosion), fluvial, coastal, and aeolian processes. We welcome contributions based on field, experimental, as well as theoretical modeling. Presentations will be further organized into appropriate themes depending on the range of topics within submitted abstracts. Publication of papers will be sought in an appropriate peer reviewed academic journal. Please contact Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu) or Guðrún Gísladóttir (ggisla@hi.is) with questions.
2011
SANTIAGO, CHILE
Second Circular: COMLAND Field Meeting to Atacama Desert, Nov. 9-13 (prior to IGU Congress)
IGU COMLAND EXCURSION - CHILE 2011
THE COPIAPO VALLEY IN THE ATACAMA DESERT:
LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY, LANDUSE COMPLEXITY, AND DEVELOPMENT
Organizer: Deptartment of Geography, University of Chile
COMLAND paper sessions at the IGU / UGI Regional Congress, Nov. 14-18, 2011
Commission on Land Degradation and Desertification - International Geographical Union
Abstracts are welcome on a range of topics related to land degradation, desertification, soil erosion, climate change, and environmental management and policy. We seek papers that examine land degradation within a variety of subfields that utilize a diverse range of approaches (field, modelling, historic, process, etc...). Depending on the range of paper topics the presentations will be grouped into more specific themes. The format of presentation is a standard 20 minute talk. Participants should register for "theme 24" via the official web site for the congress. Please send Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu), Secretary of COMLAND, a note and copy of your abstract to inform of your interest in participating in the official organized COMLAND sessions. All participants will need to submit their abstract and registration according to IGU guidelines via the official IGU web site.
2010
SOUTH AFRICA
SAAG 2010 Bennial Conference
Landscape Denudation or Land Degradation?: Integrating the Geomorphic Processes of Landscape Change in Southern Africa
Overview of Meeting by Owen Graham
Dates: Sessions: September 3-5, 2010; Pre-conference land degradation field trip, August 31 – September 2, 2010
Organizer: Professor Kate Rowntree (k.rowntree@ru.ac.za), Department of Geography, Rhodes University, Grahmstown, South Africa
Description:
SAAG invites you to attend their biennial conference to be held in Grahamstown in September 2010. We would especially like to extend this invitation to all geomorphologists from overseas who have done research in southern Africa so as to share their findings with the local South African geomorphological community. We would also like to encourage Masters and PhD students to join us for all conference activities and hope to be able to subsidize their costs. Posters presenting their ongoing research will be welcomed. A pre-conference land degradation field trip is planned to the Karoo, as well as a workshop on sediment fingerprinting. Please see first circular for further details and registration information, and contact Prof. Kate Rowntree.
Cost: US $1,000.
Organizing Committee and leaders:
Local organizer: Prof Kate Rowntree. k.rowntree@ru.ac.za; +27(0)488457
International organizer: Prof Ian Foster, i.foster@westminster.ac.uk; +44(0)7813354452
Cooperating Organizations:
Local: Department of Geography, Rhodes University, Grahmstown, South Africa
International: International Geographical Union (IGU); COMLAND
ISRAEL
Schedule of Presentations and Abstracts and Overview of Overview of Meeting and Field Trip by Paul Hudson
Land Degradation and Desertification
COMLAND Field Meeting in Haifa, Israel, July 5-11, 2010:
Paper sessions and five day field trip to Northern Israel and Dead Sea regions
In coordination with the IGU / UGI Regional Meeting in Israel
Dates: July 5-11, 2010
Organizer: Professor Moshe Inbar (Department of Geography, University of Haifa)
Description:
COMLAND meeting in coordination with the IGU Regional meeting in Israel. To include paper sessions and five day field excursions to Northern Mediterranean and Dead Sea Rift regions. Note that the COMLAND meeting is a pre-IGU meeting, and finishes one day prior to the opening of the IGU/UGI meeting in Tel Aviv.
Please see second circular for further details, and contact Prof. Moshe Inbar (inbar@geo.haifa.ac.il) for registration information.
Cost: US $1,000. (includes registration, 6 hotel nights, all meals, field trip transportation)
Organizing Committee and leaders:
Moshe Inbar (inbar@geo.haifa.ac.il)
Micha Klein
Noam Greenbaum
Lea Wittenberg
Dan Malkinson
Cooperating Organizations:
International: International Geographical Union (IGU); COMLAND
Regional/Local: Dept. of Geography, University of Haifa, Israel
2009
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY
International Conference on Land and Water Degradation
Processes and Management
(http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=16521)
Dates: September 6-9, 2009
Organizer: Dr. Gregor Ollesch, gregor.ollesch@ufz.de, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Dept. of Soil Physics, Magdeburg, Germany
Description:
There is an urgent need to improve our practical and theoretical understanding of land and water degradation processes; in particular the physical, chemical and biological deterioration of soils and water bodies in various regions of the world. This conference will bridge the gap between land and water and will bring together scientists from various disciplines with different methodological backgrounds.
Topics:
International: COMLAND
Regional/Local: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
MURCIA, SPAIN
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DESERTIFICATION IN MEMORY OF PROFESSOR JOHN B. THORNES
(http://fobos.bio.um.es/thornesi/doku.php)
Summary of meeting
Important Dates:
Description:
The Area of Physical Geography at Murcia University and the Geomorphology Spanish Society invite you to participate in a special meeting entitled International Conference on Desertification in memory of Professor John B. Thornes.
Professor Thornes (1940-2008), professor of Physical Geography and head of the Geography Department at King's College, University of London, was an exceptional researcher and Physical Geographer. He had a very special relationship with Spain throughout his life. In 1967 he developed his Doctoral Thesis in the Upper Duero, and since then carried out numerous research projects, especially in the Mediterranean area. Several institutions and universities from different countries have distinguished him with honours, including scientific societies, universities and research centres in Spain. In 1998 the Geomorphology Spanish Society named him "Honor member" and in 2006 the University of Murcia also named him "Doctor Honoris Causa".
With this conference we offer a very deserved tribute to this scholar of enormous human qualities, as a serious, rigorous and innovative researcher, which is reflected in numerous publications and in the memories of those that met and worked with Prof. Thornes. We invite all persons, whether you directly worked Prof. Thornes or were influenced by his scholarship, to participate in this tribute. Papers and poster submissions are welcome within the following topics. Please see the conference web site, or contact Prof. Asunci�n Romero D�az (arodi@um.es) for queries and abstract submission.
International/National: Spanish Geomorphological Society; COMLAND
Regional/Local: Dept. of Physical Geography - Murcia University, Spain
KUWAIT
Conference on Land Degradation in Dry Environments
Meeting Summary, by Xiaoping Yang
Dates: March 8 - 14, 2009
Organizers: Jasem Al-Awadhi, Kuwait University (e-mail: jawadhi@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw), Mohammed Al-Sarawi, Earth and Environmental Dept., Mohammed Khozami - Geography Dept, Jasem Al-Ali- Geography Dept.
Description:
Drylands cover about 41% of Earth's land surface and are home to more than 38% of the total global population of 6.5 billion. Some form of severe land degradation is present on 10 to 20% of these lands, the consequences of which are estimated to affect directly some 250 million people in the developing world, an estimate likely to expand substantially in the face of climate change and population growth. Population increases in semi-arid and arid regions and changes in regional climate have often led to degradation of the land, and sometimes to the collapse of societies in these regions. The problem is as old as civilization. Nowadays Mongolia and China, parts of the middle east and the US Southwest face such problems. Showing these examples will be one of the goals of this coming Conference on Land Degradation.
Topic 1: Earth Surface Processes
Topic 2: Ecotourism, Urbanization, Sustainable Development, and Management Policy
Topic 3: Provisional Tools and Methodologies for Land Degradation Assessment
Topic 4: Climate Change and Land Degradation
Topic 5: Rehabilitation and Soil Conservation
A post-conference field trip is being organized to the United Arab Emirates (March 12-14, 2009)
Cooperating Organizations:
International: COMLAND ; International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG)
Regional / Local: Kuwait University, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research; United Arab Emirates University
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Adaptation to Global Change
COMLAND sessions at the 7th Meeting of the IAG / AIG
Meeting Summary, by Arthur Conacher
Dates: July 6-11, 2009
Organizers: Arthur Conacher (Arthur.Conacher@uwa.edu.au), Dept. of Geography, University of Western Australia, and Gregor Ollesch, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg Germany
Description:
Papers will be considered that focus on the ambiguity of the role of land degradation as both a cause and a consequence of global change in a broad sense. The question is to adapt to and prevent or avoid the adverse consequences of global change (although the title of the session only includes adaptation). A related topic may link to the questions of risk and resilience or vulnerability of landscapes and land use systems to land degradation, which is in turn linked to global change.
A wide range of field trips is planned by the IAG / AIG, as well as an intensive three-days course for young geomorphologists. Notice of publication of accepted papers in a leading journal will be announced in due time. Note: Please contact Prof. Arthur Conacher if you intend to submit an abstract.
Cooperating Organizations:
International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG); COMLAND
2008
Tunisia
31st International Geographical Congress, Tunis 2008
August 12 - 15
COMLAND organized sessions
COMLAND Session: "Land Degradation and Environmental Change"
IGU Session #: TC04.23
The International Geographical Union's (IGU) Commission on Land Degradation solicits papers for "special sessions" to be held at the 2008 International Geographical Congress in Tunis. We are interested in papers which concern the topic of "Land Degradation and Environmental Change" with a focus along one or several of the following interdisciplinary fronts: Historical Human Impacts, Land Degradation and Society, Management of Land Degradation, and Natural Drivers of Land Degradation. We welcome papers from a range of methodological approaches, as well as historical and process based studies.
Note: For registration purposes, the session # is TC04.23. You must specifcy the session number to be included in the COMLAND session.
For information onregistration and abstract submission, please see the following link to the
IGU Tunis website (http://www.igc-tunis2008.com/), or if you have any questions about the meeting. Please submit abstracts or questions to Gudrun Gisladottir (ggisla@hi.is) or Paul Hudson (pfhudson@mail.utexas.edu). We ask that you notify us after you have received confirmation of your registration.
JAPAN & TAIWAN
LAND USE AND LAND DEGRADATION: Land Degradation Processes, Dynamics of Land Degradation:
Registration information and second circular (pdf)
Optional Japan Field Trip: 5th-7th June 2008
Seminar (Taiwan): 8th-10th June 2008
Field Trip II (Taiwan): 11th-13th June 2008
Overview of Symposium
The main theme of the symposium is land degradation and land use change in a dynamic environment. Land degradation in response to land cover and land use change are critical issues through out the world. Japan and Taiwan are particularly appropriate venues since these countries lie in a region that is regularly subject to the threat of earthquakes and typhoons and have a high population density such that the problems of landuse and land degradation are especially prevalent and dynamic.Regional differences give rise to a diverse array of impacts and scenarios, requiring different approaches for effective management. This symposium will provide a platform for dissemination of research findings and will promote discussion of these topics. The paper sessions and an additional field trip are held in Taiwan.
An optional pre-symposium field trip is being held in Japan (see url below).
Organizers
Professor Jiun-Chuan (jclin@ntu.edu.tw), Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Prof Takashi Oguchi, Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo, Kasahiwanoha, Japan
2007
International Workshop on Environmental Change and
Sustainable Development in Arid and Semi-arid Regions
INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA
Preconference field trip: 7 - 9 September, 2007
Conference: 10 - 17 September, 2007
Published report: Yang, X. and Conacher, A. 2007. Episodes 30 (4), 297-298.
Pre conference field trip report
Post workshop report
Note: Early bird registration ends April 1; Deadline for abstract submission is July 1
Workshop Themes
Professor Xiaoping Yang, Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Conference web site with registration information
(http://www.iggcas.ac.cn/iw07/index.htm)
2006
Vietnam Study Tour 17-27 February 2006
o First Circular
o Second Circular
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MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
14-19 May 2006
Organizer: Laouina Abdellah
International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO)
Sustainable Management of Soil and Water in Semi-arid Environments
First Circular
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BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
3 - 7 July 2006
IGU Regional Congress:
Land Degradation: Causes, Implications and Management
The theme for COMLAND is Land Degradation: Causes, Implications and Management.
Pre-Conference Field Trip (June 29th - July 2nd)
INVITATION
The Second Circular for the International Geographical Union Regional Congress in Brisbane, Australia, 3-7 July 2006, is now available on www.igu2006.org.
COMLAND has been allocated six sessions (including a business meeting) on the theme:
- LAND DEGRADATION: CAUSES, IMPLICATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
In addition there will be two themes jointly organised with the Geomorphology Commission:
- GEOMORPHOLOGY AND LAND DEGRADATION,
- SCIENTIFIC GUIDELINES IN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING
You are all cordially invited to submit papers which link to these themes.
DEADLINES
24 February 2006 Receipt of abstracts for specialist sessions (such as ours). This is also the deadline for Super Early Bird Registration (A$490 versus standard registration A$790). Students A$390. This and other information, including the formal submission of abstracts, are in the Second Circular in www.igu2006.org, which also contains the Registration Form.
Themes:
- Land Degradation
- Geomorphology and Land Degradation
- Scientific Guidelines in Environmental Decision-Making
Would you therefore PLEASE send to Arthur Conacher your intention to present a paper as soon as possible. Please indicate in which of the above themes you wish to present your paper. [Formal abstracts must be submitted online through the above website.]
Please note that the organisers have specified that presenters can be the first author of only one paper and cannot be involved in more than two papers.
FIELD TRIP
Pre-Conference Field Trip (June 29th - July 2nd)
Information about the COMLAND fieldtrip in Brisbane has been released and it can be seen at the following weblink:
http://www.sages.unimelb.edu.au/news/comland/index.html
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MEKELLE, ETHIOPIA
19-25 September 2006
COMLAND International Symposium on Environmental change, geomorphic processes, land degradation and rehabilitation in tropical and subtropical highlands
For more information, see: http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/geografie/frg/ (click on symposia).
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2005
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam April.
This meeting has been postponed to April 2006.
Uberlandia, Brazil May 16-22:
International Symposium on Land Degradation and Desertification
o General Information: http://www.ig.ufu.br/comland/index.htm>http://www.ig.ufu.br/comland/index.htm
o Poster
o Information about Accomodation, Travel, Meals and Field Trips
o Further Information and Second Circular
o Final Field Trip Report
o Publications
Zaragoza, Spain - September 7 - 11: In coordinatation with the 6th Meeting of the International Association of Geomorphologist
COMLAND overview by Moshe Inbar
2004
Solsona, Catalonia, Spain � May 15-20:
International Conference on Understanding River/Catchment Dynamics - Natural Processes and Human Impacts
o Further Information
o Expression of Interest: pdf-Document
o Circular
o General Information
o Information on the Symposium and Field Trip
o Circular
o Call for Papers
2003
Catamarca, Argentina May 5-10:
International Conference on Land Degradation and Desertification im Semiarid Mountain Areas
o Poster
o First call for Papers
Russia July: A workshop on land degradation in cold climate winters as part of an IGU meeting in Russia. Details of the IGU meeting are at http://igu.org.ru/en/events/barnaul_2003.html or contact the workshop organizer: Dr. Gregor Ollesch, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Soil Science, Brueckstrasse 3a, D-39114 Magdeburg, Telephone: +49 391 8109660, Fax: +49 391 8109699, E-Mail: ollesch@gm.ufz.de.
Reykjavik, Iceland � August 16-23:
COMLAND meeting and field trip - Organizer: Gudrun Gisladottir
o Further Information
o Registration Form: pdf-Document or Microsoft-Word-File
o Information for Contributors
o Update on the Meeting
o Location of the Meeting and Description of Accommodation
o Closing Comments on the Paper Presentations
o Reports on Iceland Field Trips C�ceres, Spain � September 21-24:
Sustainability of Dehesas, Montados and other Agrosylvopastoral Systems. For further information contact Dr. Susanne Schnabel at E-Mail: snadal@unex.es.
Mexico City � October 27 - November 2: In coordinatation with the Regional Meeting of the International Association of Geomorphologist
Soil Erosion and Geomorphic Features of Land Degradation.
o Further information
o Abstracts
2002
Grahamstown and Durban, South Africa July 29 - August 8:
IGU Regional Congress COMLAND field trip and paper session. Land Degradation in the Eastern Cape Frontier Region. Leaders: Kate Rowntree and Roddy Fox.
2001
Santiniketan, India January 9-11:
XXII Conference of the Institute of Indian Geographers and COMLAND. Organized by Professor V. C. Jha, full member of COMLAND and attended by 225 participants. The emphasis was on the geographical interactions with regard to the fact that millions of hectares are affected by land degradation, reducing their potential capacity to provide goods and services to the community.
Mexico May 7-14:
Organized in an excellent way by Dr. Jose Luis Palacio and colleagues, the COMLAND Mexico meeting was an unqualified success, with more than 60 participants from distant parts of the world, from Finland to Argentina. Forty-one papers were submitted in oral or poster presentations, and the meeting included a five days excursion from Mexico City to the Paricutin volcano in the state of Michoacan.
Land degradation as a result of land use changes, is a major problem in the urbanized areas of the large City of Mexico, as well as in the deforested mountains and hills. The message was that change is occurring at a pace which demands immediate actions from local and government authorities, but that measures, which have been taken are not always supported by appropiate scientific research.
For many of the participants it was their first encounter with Mexico, its spectacular volcanic landforms and the warm and friendly human environment (further information: http://www.igeograf.unam.mx).
Tokyo August 23-28:
Fifth International Conference on Geomorphology. COMLAND session S28: The role of Geomorphology Combating Land Degradation. Conveners: A. J. Conacher and Ono, Y. Nine papers were presented, covering many world areas with land degradation and desertification problems: China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Spain, USA, India, Israel and Turkey.
Upington, South Africa August 31 - September 2:
Dryland Change 2001, Understanding Future Drylands from Past Dynamics, convened by COMLAND and IGCP-413. Organizers: Mike Meadows and Dave Thomas.
The meeting was a fruitful mix of scientists from both the IGCP and COMLAND communities, and the talks ranged from land management of floral displays in Namaqualand to Aeolian dust sources in Central Asia to the environmental history of the Australian desert. Two field trips were organized in conjunction with the conference (further information: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~igcp413).
2000
Pittsburgh, USA April 4-10:
Field trip and COMLAND session in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Organizer: Anthony Orme.
Seoul, Korea August 16:
TO3-s1 Session of the IGC Korea Congress. Organized by COMLAND. Local organizer: Jong-Wook Kim. 9 papers were delivered on general and regional cases, and on socio-economic impacts of land degradation. Most of the studies focus on social and economic factors.
Seoul, Korea August 16:
Special Session I: Sediment Budgets in Geomorphic Systems. Organized by the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and COMLAND. Sediment budgets and their implication for land management was the main topic of the 6 papers presented in the session.
1999
Jerusalem, Israel May:
In Cooperation with the Hebrew University, IGU GERTEC Commission and IAG: Drainage Basin Dynamics and Morphology.
Perth, Australia September:
In Cooperation with the University of Western Australia: Agriculture, Land Degradation and Desertification.
1998
Lisbon, Portugal August:
IGU Regional Conference, in cooperation with IGU Commission on Sustainable Development: Land Sea Interactions.
1997
Cairo, Egypt February:
Joint with Egyptian Geographical Society: Climate Changes and Human Impact on Desertification.
Lima, Peru May:
Joint with Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina and University of Haifa: Conservacion y abandono de andens.
Rende, Italy August:
In conjunction with IAG: Mediterranean Erosion.
1996
Haague, Netherlands August:
IGU 28th Congress- Special paper session.
2019
- Australia (Townsville): 8th International Symposium on Gully Erosion (21-27 July 2019) COMLAND is supporting this Symposium
- A COMLAND Business meeting may be convened (to be confirmed during the Symposium).
- All enquiries should be directed to the Symposium Organisers as shown in the Symposium website: 8ISGE@csiro.au
- Slovenia: Thematic IGU Conference with special COMLAND Session. 24-26 September 2019, University of Primorska in the town of Koper at the Slovenian (Adriatic) coast. Theme: "Transformation of Traditional Cultural Landscapes". FIRST CIRCULAR (EN) contains information on venue, important dates, excursions, scientific and organising committee. (FIRST CIRCULAR - FR).
- All information about the conference can be found on the following web page: http://lucc.zrc-sazu.si/Koper2019.aspx
- Details on GRANTS.
- Abstract submission has started. The electronic application form can be reached here: http://lucc.zrc-sazu.si/Koper2019/AbstractSubmission.aspx
- When submitting the abstract author will have to choose the “Topic”. COMLAND has proposed two topics: a) Past and present land degradation in the Mediterranean and other environments and b) Land management practices and global change; but also some of the other topics may cover land degradation issues. There has been no formal alignment of IGU commissions with conference topic titles in order to encourage people in different IGU commissions to interact as much as possible.
- A COMLAND Meeting will be scheduled during the conference.
- The Registration form will be available from 1 April 2019.
- Conference participants may take part in a two-day post-conference excursion to south-eastern Slovenia from 27th to 28th September (organised by the IGU Commission on Land Use and Land Cover Change).
- Researchers are invited to "spread the word" on this event amongst other COMLANDers and professional colleagues who might be interested in this event.
- FINAL PROGRAM
2014
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA
COMLAND Meeting & Field Trip: 25 – 29 October 2014 in Central & Southern Tasmania in association with the Annual Conference of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ)
EIANZ Annual Conference: 30 & 31 October 2014 (conference in Hobart)
Organiser of Field Trip: Owen Graham (owen.comland@gmail.com), COMLAND Steering Committee, Australia
Cooperating Organisations:
Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand; Forestry Tasmania; University of Tasmania; Copper Mines of Tasmania; Environment Protection Authority (TAS); NRM South.
FIELD TRIP BROCHURE
REPORT ON FIELD TRIP
MINUTES OF COMLAND MEETING DURING FIELD TRIP
KRAKOW, POLAND
COMLAND Meeting and Field Trip (14 - 17 August 2014)
in association with the IGU Regional Meeting in Krakow, Poland (18 - 22 August 2014)
Organiser: Dr. Pawel Prokop (pawel@zg.pan.krakow.pl), Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow
Cooperating Organisations
- International: International Geographical Union
- Regional/Local: Polish Academy of Sciences
Link to excursion section: http://www.igu2014.org/index.php?page=trips_academic_excursions
COMLAND excursion title: Land degradation and reclamation in the Silesian Upland and the Polish
Carpathians
FIELD TRIP BROCHURE
REPORT ON FIELD TRIP
MINUTES OF COMLAND MEETING DURING FIELD TRIP
2013
JAPAN
COMLAND Meeting and Field Trip
in association with the IGU Regional Meeting in Kyoto, Japan
IGU Regional Meeting Dates: August 4-9, 2013
Abstracts are welcome on a range of topics related to land degradation, desertification, soil erosion, climate change, and environmental management and policy. We seek papers that examine land degradation within a variety of subfields that utilize a diverse range of approaches (field, modelling, historic, process, etc...).
Please send Prof. Takashi Oguchi (oguchi@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp) or Prof. Silvio Rodrigues (silgel@com.br), COMLAND Secretary, a note and copy of your abstract to inform of your interest in participating in the official organized COMLAND sessions.
All participants will need to submit their abstract and registration according to IGU/IGC guidelines and the official web site of the Kyoto IGU/IGC Regional Congress.
Field trip: A pre-Congress COMLAND field trip will be organized by Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Suwa of the University of Tokyo. Please contact Prof. Suwa (suwa@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp) for more information about the COMLAND field trip.
Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Suwa, Director of Science, Earth Scientist
Visiting researcher of Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo, and visiting researcher of Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University
Home address: Kashiwabecho 15, Sakyoku Shimogamo, Kyoto 606-0815 Japan
2012
SARDINIA, ITALY
COMLAND Meeting and Field Trip in Cagliari, Sardinia
LAND DEGRADATION IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS: CAUSES, PROCESSES AND MANAGEMENT
Second circular
REGISTRATION and PAYMENT INFORMATION
Hotel and accommodations
Mini poster
Second Circular (with transportation updates, critical dates, etc..., note: see 1st circular for field trip stops, map, etc...)
Abstract Format and Submission
Expression of Interest
First Circular (includes detailed itinerary, field trip sites, map, etc...)
Dates: October 13-19, 2012
Lead Organizer:
Dr. Andrea Vacca (avacca@unica.it)
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Cagliari
Cagliari, Sardinia
Italy
Description
Land degradation has long been a fundamental issue within Mediterranean environments. Sardinia provides ample opportunities to examine different types of land degradation and associated management strategies, and will be the focus of this COMlAND field meeting. We solicit papers from a range of subfields related to the topic of land degradation or land management within Mediterranean environments, but also more generally across all types of landscapes and physical settings. Papers are welcome which address the topic using any methodological approach, including historical and process based studies. Papers will be further divided according to thematic and/or methodological approaches based on the range of abstract submissions.
Format and Schedule
The meeting begins with a greeting and overview Saturday evening (Oct. 13) in Cagliari. A full day of paper sessions scheduled for Sunday (Oct. 14). The field trip will depart Monday (Oct. 15) for southern and central Sardinia and returns to Cagliari Friday (Oct. 19). A detailed itinerary is included in the first circular. Information on registration costs and accommodations will be included in the second circular.
Cooperating Organisations
International: IGU - COMLAND
Regional/Local: University of Cagliari, LAORE Sardegna, AGRIS Sardegna, IGEA SpA
COLOGNE, GERMANY: August, 2012
COMLAND Sessions and Pre-Congress Field Trip
IGU Main Congress Web site
COMLAND sponsored two themed sessions with the IGU Congress in Cologne, Germany
Main Congress (themed paper sessions): August 26 - 30, 2012
COMLAND Paper Sessions:
COMLAND is pleased to announce the call for abstracts for three distinct sessions at the 2012 International Geographical Union Congress in Cologne, Germany.
1. Land Degradation and Desertification in the context of Global Environmental Change: Management, Vulnerability, and Policy
2. Land Degradation and Geomorphology: Monitoring, Assessment, and Theory Development
The format of presentation is a standard 20 minute talk. Participants should register in "theme 24" via the official IGU Congress web site. Online registration for the IGC 2012 will open on 2 November 2011. Please send Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu), Secretary of COMLAND, a note and copy of your abstract to inform of your interest in participating in the official organized COMLAND sessions.
1. Land Degradation and Desertification in the context of Global Environmental Change: Management, Vulnerability, and Policy
Chair(s): Guðrún Gísladóttir (Univ. of Iceland) & Paul F. Hudson (Univ. of Texas at Austin)
Description:
Managing land degradation and desertification is a pressing issue in the context of global environmental change. Developing effective policy and management strategies requires knowledge of a comprehensive range of physical and social processes and how they may be modified and adjust to anticipated global environmental change scenarios, including different manifestations of climatic change or sea level rise. The goal of this session is to bring together researchers interested in the management of specific types of landscape environments to cope with different forms of global environmental change along the lines of several interrelated questions: How is management being approached and what are the lessons learned? What types of physical modifications (engineering and earth works) are undergoing to cope with land degradation and/or desertification? What are the obstacles to effective policy for managing land degradation and desertification? We welcome a comprehensive range of topics including academic and applied scientists from universities and government agencies who work at the interface of land degradation and desertification, including land use management, agricultural policy and food security, soil erosion, change, flooding, risk analysis, and river and coastal zone management. The presentations will be further organized into appropriate themes depending on the range of topics represented within submitted abstracts. Publication of papers will be sought in an appropriate peer reviewed academic journal. Please contact Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu) or Guðrún Gísladóttir (ggisla@hi.is) with questions.
2. Land Degradation and Geomorphology: Monitoring, Assessment, and Theory Development
Chair(s): Paul F. Hudson (Univ. of Texas at Austin) & Guðrún Gísladótti (Univ. of Iceland)
Description:
Geomorphology and land degradation science have a long and distinguished history of integrated scientific inquiry. Geomorphology, as a distinct scientific discipline, provides academic and applied scholars of land degradation with theoretical frameworks and methodological tools for understanding the origin, magnitude, and controls on land degradation and desertification. Geomorphologists increasingly play important roles in landscape restoration strategies, including conceptual and applied roles. This session seeks presentations that address the study of land degradation from all sectors of geomorphology, including hillslope (runoff and soil erosion), fluvial, coastal, and aeolian processes. We welcome contributions based on field, experimental, as well as theoretical modeling. Presentations will be further organized into appropriate themes depending on the range of topics within submitted abstracts. Publication of papers will be sought in an appropriate peer reviewed academic journal. Please contact Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu) or Guðrún Gísladóttir (ggisla@hi.is) with questions.
2011
SANTIAGO, CHILE
Second Circular: COMLAND Field Meeting to Atacama Desert, Nov. 9-13 (prior to IGU Congress)
IGU COMLAND EXCURSION - CHILE 2011
THE COPIAPO VALLEY IN THE ATACAMA DESERT:
LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY, LANDUSE COMPLEXITY, AND DEVELOPMENT
Organizer: Deptartment of Geography, University of Chile
COMLAND paper sessions at the IGU / UGI Regional Congress, Nov. 14-18, 2011
Commission on Land Degradation and Desertification - International Geographical Union
Abstracts are welcome on a range of topics related to land degradation, desertification, soil erosion, climate change, and environmental management and policy. We seek papers that examine land degradation within a variety of subfields that utilize a diverse range of approaches (field, modelling, historic, process, etc...). Depending on the range of paper topics the presentations will be grouped into more specific themes. The format of presentation is a standard 20 minute talk. Participants should register for "theme 24" via the official web site for the congress. Please send Paul Hudson (pfh@austin.utexas.edu), Secretary of COMLAND, a note and copy of your abstract to inform of your interest in participating in the official organized COMLAND sessions. All participants will need to submit their abstract and registration according to IGU guidelines via the official IGU web site.
2010
SOUTH AFRICA
SAAG 2010 Bennial Conference
Landscape Denudation or Land Degradation?: Integrating the Geomorphic Processes of Landscape Change in Southern Africa
Overview of Meeting by Owen Graham
Dates: Sessions: September 3-5, 2010; Pre-conference land degradation field trip, August 31 – September 2, 2010
Organizer: Professor Kate Rowntree (k.rowntree@ru.ac.za), Department of Geography, Rhodes University, Grahmstown, South Africa
Description:
SAAG invites you to attend their biennial conference to be held in Grahamstown in September 2010. We would especially like to extend this invitation to all geomorphologists from overseas who have done research in southern Africa so as to share their findings with the local South African geomorphological community. We would also like to encourage Masters and PhD students to join us for all conference activities and hope to be able to subsidize their costs. Posters presenting their ongoing research will be welcomed. A pre-conference land degradation field trip is planned to the Karoo, as well as a workshop on sediment fingerprinting. Please see first circular for further details and registration information, and contact Prof. Kate Rowntree.
Cost: US $1,000.
- Workshop registration R 200
- Field trip fee R1000
- Conference registration R 600
Organizing Committee and leaders:
Local organizer: Prof Kate Rowntree. k.rowntree@ru.ac.za; +27(0)488457
International organizer: Prof Ian Foster, i.foster@westminster.ac.uk; +44(0)7813354452
Cooperating Organizations:
Local: Department of Geography, Rhodes University, Grahmstown, South Africa
International: International Geographical Union (IGU); COMLAND
ISRAEL
Schedule of Presentations and Abstracts and Overview of Overview of Meeting and Field Trip by Paul Hudson
Land Degradation and Desertification
COMLAND Field Meeting in Haifa, Israel, July 5-11, 2010:
Paper sessions and five day field trip to Northern Israel and Dead Sea regions
In coordination with the IGU / UGI Regional Meeting in Israel
Dates: July 5-11, 2010
Organizer: Professor Moshe Inbar (Department of Geography, University of Haifa)
Description:
COMLAND meeting in coordination with the IGU Regional meeting in Israel. To include paper sessions and five day field excursions to Northern Mediterranean and Dead Sea Rift regions. Note that the COMLAND meeting is a pre-IGU meeting, and finishes one day prior to the opening of the IGU/UGI meeting in Tel Aviv.
Please see second circular for further details, and contact Prof. Moshe Inbar (inbar@geo.haifa.ac.il) for registration information.
Cost: US $1,000. (includes registration, 6 hotel nights, all meals, field trip transportation)
Organizing Committee and leaders:
Moshe Inbar (inbar@geo.haifa.ac.il)
Micha Klein
Noam Greenbaum
Lea Wittenberg
Dan Malkinson
Cooperating Organizations:
International: International Geographical Union (IGU); COMLAND
Regional/Local: Dept. of Geography, University of Haifa, Israel
2009
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY
International Conference on Land and Water Degradation
Processes and Management
(http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=16521)
Dates: September 6-9, 2009
Organizer: Dr. Gregor Ollesch, gregor.ollesch@ufz.de, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Dept. of Soil Physics, Magdeburg, Germany
Description:
There is an urgent need to improve our practical and theoretical understanding of land and water degradation processes; in particular the physical, chemical and biological deterioration of soils and water bodies in various regions of the world. This conference will bridge the gap between land and water and will bring together scientists from various disciplines with different methodological backgrounds.
Topics:
- nutrient dynamics in the land-sediment-water system
- function of buffer strips and floodplains for catchment health
- physical, chemical and biological processes of soil degradation
- methodological approaches to estimate and regionalise nonpointsource pollution
- spatial heterogeneity, variation and prediction of land degradation
- methods to review outcomes of mitigation strategies and catchment management
- regional studies of land and water degradation, especially in industrialised and urbanised areas, cold climates and Mediterranean regions
International: COMLAND
Regional/Local: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
MURCIA, SPAIN
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DESERTIFICATION IN MEMORY OF PROFESSOR JOHN B. THORNES
(http://fobos.bio.um.es/thornesi/doku.php)
Summary of meeting
Important Dates:
- Conference dates: September 16-18, 2009
- Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2009
- Review and suggestions by the scientific committee for authors: 28 February 2009
- Full text submission deadline: 31 April 2009
- Full-text review by the Scientific Committee: 30 May 2009September 16-18, 2009
Description:
The Area of Physical Geography at Murcia University and the Geomorphology Spanish Society invite you to participate in a special meeting entitled International Conference on Desertification in memory of Professor John B. Thornes.
Professor Thornes (1940-2008), professor of Physical Geography and head of the Geography Department at King's College, University of London, was an exceptional researcher and Physical Geographer. He had a very special relationship with Spain throughout his life. In 1967 he developed his Doctoral Thesis in the Upper Duero, and since then carried out numerous research projects, especially in the Mediterranean area. Several institutions and universities from different countries have distinguished him with honours, including scientific societies, universities and research centres in Spain. In 1998 the Geomorphology Spanish Society named him "Honor member" and in 2006 the University of Murcia also named him "Doctor Honoris Causa".
With this conference we offer a very deserved tribute to this scholar of enormous human qualities, as a serious, rigorous and innovative researcher, which is reflected in numerous publications and in the memories of those that met and worked with Prof. Thornes. We invite all persons, whether you directly worked Prof. Thornes or were influenced by his scholarship, to participate in this tribute. Papers and poster submissions are welcome within the following topics. Please see the conference web site, or contact Prof. Asunci�n Romero D�az (arodi@um.es) for queries and abstract submission.
- Topics:
- Physical Geography Modelling
- Soil erosion and desertification
- Fluvial morphology
- Relations water - land � vegetation
- Impact of livestock and agriculture in terrestrial ecosystems.
International/National: Spanish Geomorphological Society; COMLAND
Regional/Local: Dept. of Physical Geography - Murcia University, Spain
KUWAIT
Conference on Land Degradation in Dry Environments
Meeting Summary, by Xiaoping Yang
Dates: March 8 - 14, 2009
Organizers: Jasem Al-Awadhi, Kuwait University (e-mail: jawadhi@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw), Mohammed Al-Sarawi, Earth and Environmental Dept., Mohammed Khozami - Geography Dept, Jasem Al-Ali- Geography Dept.
Description:
Drylands cover about 41% of Earth's land surface and are home to more than 38% of the total global population of 6.5 billion. Some form of severe land degradation is present on 10 to 20% of these lands, the consequences of which are estimated to affect directly some 250 million people in the developing world, an estimate likely to expand substantially in the face of climate change and population growth. Population increases in semi-arid and arid regions and changes in regional climate have often led to degradation of the land, and sometimes to the collapse of societies in these regions. The problem is as old as civilization. Nowadays Mongolia and China, parts of the middle east and the US Southwest face such problems. Showing these examples will be one of the goals of this coming Conference on Land Degradation.
Topic 1: Earth Surface Processes
Topic 2: Ecotourism, Urbanization, Sustainable Development, and Management Policy
Topic 3: Provisional Tools and Methodologies for Land Degradation Assessment
Topic 4: Climate Change and Land Degradation
Topic 5: Rehabilitation and Soil Conservation
A post-conference field trip is being organized to the United Arab Emirates (March 12-14, 2009)
Cooperating Organizations:
International: COMLAND ; International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG)
Regional / Local: Kuwait University, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research; United Arab Emirates University
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Adaptation to Global Change
COMLAND sessions at the 7th Meeting of the IAG / AIG
Meeting Summary, by Arthur Conacher
Dates: July 6-11, 2009
Organizers: Arthur Conacher (Arthur.Conacher@uwa.edu.au), Dept. of Geography, University of Western Australia, and Gregor Ollesch, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg Germany
Description:
Papers will be considered that focus on the ambiguity of the role of land degradation as both a cause and a consequence of global change in a broad sense. The question is to adapt to and prevent or avoid the adverse consequences of global change (although the title of the session only includes adaptation). A related topic may link to the questions of risk and resilience or vulnerability of landscapes and land use systems to land degradation, which is in turn linked to global change.
A wide range of field trips is planned by the IAG / AIG, as well as an intensive three-days course for young geomorphologists. Notice of publication of accepted papers in a leading journal will be announced in due time. Note: Please contact Prof. Arthur Conacher if you intend to submit an abstract.
Cooperating Organizations:
International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG); COMLAND
2008
Tunisia
31st International Geographical Congress, Tunis 2008
August 12 - 15
COMLAND organized sessions
COMLAND Session: "Land Degradation and Environmental Change"
IGU Session #: TC04.23
The International Geographical Union's (IGU) Commission on Land Degradation solicits papers for "special sessions" to be held at the 2008 International Geographical Congress in Tunis. We are interested in papers which concern the topic of "Land Degradation and Environmental Change" with a focus along one or several of the following interdisciplinary fronts: Historical Human Impacts, Land Degradation and Society, Management of Land Degradation, and Natural Drivers of Land Degradation. We welcome papers from a range of methodological approaches, as well as historical and process based studies.
Note: For registration purposes, the session # is TC04.23. You must specifcy the session number to be included in the COMLAND session.
For information onregistration and abstract submission, please see the following link to the
IGU Tunis website (http://www.igc-tunis2008.com/), or if you have any questions about the meeting. Please submit abstracts or questions to Gudrun Gisladottir (ggisla@hi.is) or Paul Hudson (pfhudson@mail.utexas.edu). We ask that you notify us after you have received confirmation of your registration.
JAPAN & TAIWAN
LAND USE AND LAND DEGRADATION: Land Degradation Processes, Dynamics of Land Degradation:
Registration information and second circular (pdf)
Optional Japan Field Trip: 5th-7th June 2008
Seminar (Taiwan): 8th-10th June 2008
Field Trip II (Taiwan): 11th-13th June 2008
Overview of Symposium
The main theme of the symposium is land degradation and land use change in a dynamic environment. Land degradation in response to land cover and land use change are critical issues through out the world. Japan and Taiwan are particularly appropriate venues since these countries lie in a region that is regularly subject to the threat of earthquakes and typhoons and have a high population density such that the problems of landuse and land degradation are especially prevalent and dynamic.Regional differences give rise to a diverse array of impacts and scenarios, requiring different approaches for effective management. This symposium will provide a platform for dissemination of research findings and will promote discussion of these topics. The paper sessions and an additional field trip are held in Taiwan.
An optional pre-symposium field trip is being held in Japan (see url below).
Organizers
Professor Jiun-Chuan (jclin@ntu.edu.tw), Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Prof Takashi Oguchi, Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo, Kasahiwanoha, Japan
2007
International Workshop on Environmental Change and
Sustainable Development in Arid and Semi-arid Regions
INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA
Preconference field trip: 7 - 9 September, 2007
Conference: 10 - 17 September, 2007
Published report: Yang, X. and Conacher, A. 2007. Episodes 30 (4), 297-298.
Pre conference field trip report
Post workshop report
Note: Early bird registration ends April 1; Deadline for abstract submission is July 1
Workshop Themes
- Case studies and theories relating to land degradation and sustainable development in arid and semi-arid as well as sub-humid regions of various continents
- Comparisons of regional-scale reconstruction of Late Quaternary changes in the deserts of various climate zones (monsoon regions, subtropics and westerlies)
- Natural and human impacts on the landscape in various climate zones
- Interactions amongst aeolian, fluvial and lacustrine processes in desert margins.
Professor Xiaoping Yang, Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Conference web site with registration information
(http://www.iggcas.ac.cn/iw07/index.htm)
2006
Vietnam Study Tour 17-27 February 2006
o First Circular
o Second Circular
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MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
14-19 May 2006
Organizer: Laouina Abdellah
International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO)
Sustainable Management of Soil and Water in Semi-arid Environments
First Circular
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BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
3 - 7 July 2006
IGU Regional Congress:
Land Degradation: Causes, Implications and Management
The theme for COMLAND is Land Degradation: Causes, Implications and Management.
Pre-Conference Field Trip (June 29th - July 2nd)
INVITATION
The Second Circular for the International Geographical Union Regional Congress in Brisbane, Australia, 3-7 July 2006, is now available on www.igu2006.org.
COMLAND has been allocated six sessions (including a business meeting) on the theme:
- LAND DEGRADATION: CAUSES, IMPLICATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
In addition there will be two themes jointly organised with the Geomorphology Commission:
- GEOMORPHOLOGY AND LAND DEGRADATION,
- SCIENTIFIC GUIDELINES IN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING
You are all cordially invited to submit papers which link to these themes.
DEADLINES
24 February 2006 Receipt of abstracts for specialist sessions (such as ours). This is also the deadline for Super Early Bird Registration (A$490 versus standard registration A$790). Students A$390. This and other information, including the formal submission of abstracts, are in the Second Circular in www.igu2006.org, which also contains the Registration Form.
Themes:
- Land Degradation
- Geomorphology and Land Degradation
- Scientific Guidelines in Environmental Decision-Making
Would you therefore PLEASE send to Arthur Conacher your intention to present a paper as soon as possible. Please indicate in which of the above themes you wish to present your paper. [Formal abstracts must be submitted online through the above website.]
Please note that the organisers have specified that presenters can be the first author of only one paper and cannot be involved in more than two papers.
FIELD TRIP
Pre-Conference Field Trip (June 29th - July 2nd)
Information about the COMLAND fieldtrip in Brisbane has been released and it can be seen at the following weblink:
http://www.sages.unimelb.edu.au/news/comland/index.html
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MEKELLE, ETHIOPIA
19-25 September 2006
COMLAND International Symposium on Environmental change, geomorphic processes, land degradation and rehabilitation in tropical and subtropical highlands
For more information, see: http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/geografie/frg/ (click on symposia).
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2005
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam April.
This meeting has been postponed to April 2006.
Uberlandia, Brazil May 16-22:
International Symposium on Land Degradation and Desertification
o General Information: http://www.ig.ufu.br/comland/index.htm>http://www.ig.ufu.br/comland/index.htm
o Poster
o Information about Accomodation, Travel, Meals and Field Trips
o Further Information and Second Circular
o Final Field Trip Report
o Publications
Zaragoza, Spain - September 7 - 11: In coordinatation with the 6th Meeting of the International Association of Geomorphologist
COMLAND overview by Moshe Inbar
2004
Solsona, Catalonia, Spain � May 15-20:
International Conference on Understanding River/Catchment Dynamics - Natural Processes and Human Impacts
o Further Information
o Expression of Interest: pdf-Document
o Circular
- Publications
o General Information
o Information on the Symposium and Field Trip
o Circular
o Call for Papers
2003
Catamarca, Argentina May 5-10:
International Conference on Land Degradation and Desertification im Semiarid Mountain Areas
o Poster
o First call for Papers
Russia July: A workshop on land degradation in cold climate winters as part of an IGU meeting in Russia. Details of the IGU meeting are at http://igu.org.ru/en/events/barnaul_2003.html or contact the workshop organizer: Dr. Gregor Ollesch, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Soil Science, Brueckstrasse 3a, D-39114 Magdeburg, Telephone: +49 391 8109660, Fax: +49 391 8109699, E-Mail: ollesch@gm.ufz.de.
Reykjavik, Iceland � August 16-23:
COMLAND meeting and field trip - Organizer: Gudrun Gisladottir
o Further Information
o Registration Form: pdf-Document or Microsoft-Word-File
o Information for Contributors
o Update on the Meeting
o Location of the Meeting and Description of Accommodation
o Closing Comments on the Paper Presentations
o Reports on Iceland Field Trips C�ceres, Spain � September 21-24:
Sustainability of Dehesas, Montados and other Agrosylvopastoral Systems. For further information contact Dr. Susanne Schnabel at E-Mail: snadal@unex.es.
Mexico City � October 27 - November 2: In coordinatation with the Regional Meeting of the International Association of Geomorphologist
Soil Erosion and Geomorphic Features of Land Degradation.
o Further information
o Abstracts
2002
Grahamstown and Durban, South Africa July 29 - August 8:
IGU Regional Congress COMLAND field trip and paper session. Land Degradation in the Eastern Cape Frontier Region. Leaders: Kate Rowntree and Roddy Fox.
2001
Santiniketan, India January 9-11:
XXII Conference of the Institute of Indian Geographers and COMLAND. Organized by Professor V. C. Jha, full member of COMLAND and attended by 225 participants. The emphasis was on the geographical interactions with regard to the fact that millions of hectares are affected by land degradation, reducing their potential capacity to provide goods and services to the community.
Mexico May 7-14:
Organized in an excellent way by Dr. Jose Luis Palacio and colleagues, the COMLAND Mexico meeting was an unqualified success, with more than 60 participants from distant parts of the world, from Finland to Argentina. Forty-one papers were submitted in oral or poster presentations, and the meeting included a five days excursion from Mexico City to the Paricutin volcano in the state of Michoacan.
Land degradation as a result of land use changes, is a major problem in the urbanized areas of the large City of Mexico, as well as in the deforested mountains and hills. The message was that change is occurring at a pace which demands immediate actions from local and government authorities, but that measures, which have been taken are not always supported by appropiate scientific research.
For many of the participants it was their first encounter with Mexico, its spectacular volcanic landforms and the warm and friendly human environment (further information: http://www.igeograf.unam.mx).
Tokyo August 23-28:
Fifth International Conference on Geomorphology. COMLAND session S28: The role of Geomorphology Combating Land Degradation. Conveners: A. J. Conacher and Ono, Y. Nine papers were presented, covering many world areas with land degradation and desertification problems: China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Spain, USA, India, Israel and Turkey.
Upington, South Africa August 31 - September 2:
Dryland Change 2001, Understanding Future Drylands from Past Dynamics, convened by COMLAND and IGCP-413. Organizers: Mike Meadows and Dave Thomas.
The meeting was a fruitful mix of scientists from both the IGCP and COMLAND communities, and the talks ranged from land management of floral displays in Namaqualand to Aeolian dust sources in Central Asia to the environmental history of the Australian desert. Two field trips were organized in conjunction with the conference (further information: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~igcp413).
2000
Pittsburgh, USA April 4-10:
Field trip and COMLAND session in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Organizer: Anthony Orme.
Seoul, Korea August 16:
TO3-s1 Session of the IGC Korea Congress. Organized by COMLAND. Local organizer: Jong-Wook Kim. 9 papers were delivered on general and regional cases, and on socio-economic impacts of land degradation. Most of the studies focus on social and economic factors.
Seoul, Korea August 16:
Special Session I: Sediment Budgets in Geomorphic Systems. Organized by the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and COMLAND. Sediment budgets and their implication for land management was the main topic of the 6 papers presented in the session.
1999
Jerusalem, Israel May:
In Cooperation with the Hebrew University, IGU GERTEC Commission and IAG: Drainage Basin Dynamics and Morphology.
Perth, Australia September:
In Cooperation with the University of Western Australia: Agriculture, Land Degradation and Desertification.
1998
Lisbon, Portugal August:
IGU Regional Conference, in cooperation with IGU Commission on Sustainable Development: Land Sea Interactions.
1997
Cairo, Egypt February:
Joint with Egyptian Geographical Society: Climate Changes and Human Impact on Desertification.
Lima, Peru May:
Joint with Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina and University of Haifa: Conservacion y abandono de andens.
Rende, Italy August:
In conjunction with IAG: Mediterranean Erosion.
1996
Haague, Netherlands August:
IGU 28th Congress- Special paper session.