Catastrophic events, both past and present, serve as stark warnings against the abuses or misuse of our land. Entire ancient civilizations disappeared because they did not consider the degradation of soils and other resources submitted to intense, unsustainable uses (Hillel, 1991; Lowdermilk, 1978). Current trends in many countries have led or are leading to similar ends, unless a new approach is taken to conserve soil productivity. Vast amounts of land in Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe and America are being taken out of production due to salinization, desertification and other human-induced phenomena, and are in danger of permanent degradation. Soil degradation is closely associated with inefficient use of rainfall, deterioration of biological resources and loss of biodiversity. Therefore, there is an urgent need to not only increase agricultural productivity but also to improve current land use practices to prevent the degradation of land currently under cultivation, and restore to adequate production levels land which is presently degraded or in the process of degradation. To achieve these goals, there are various scientific, technical, political and socio-economic obstacles which must be overcome.

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