The Regional Workshop on Salt-Affected Soils from Sea Water Intrusion: Strategies for Rehabilitation and Management was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and held from 31 March to 01 April 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. In convening the workshop, FAO brought together interested parties involved in post-tsunami, salt-affected soil assessment and rehabilitation work, namely 18 government representatives from five countries[1] (India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, and Thailand) affected by the 26 December 2004 tsunami in Asia and 15 representatives of international, regional and sub-regional organizations, including non-governmental organizations. The workshop provided participants the opportunity to share information, collectively assess initial findings related to rehabilitation needs and opportunities, share plans and proposals for future rehabilitation work, and develop mechanisms for collaboration and joint activities.
The overall goal of the proposed workshop was to strengthen and enhance rehabilitation efforts for reclamation of salt-affected soils in tsunami-affected areas and to identify suitable management practices for sustainable crop production.
The objectives of the workshop were to:
identify and exchange information on appropriate methods for reclamation and management of salt-affected soils so that agricultural production can resume;
recommend technical guidelines for alternative planning of sustainable land management and improved saline soil mitigation;
strengthen the coordination and collaboration of national, regional and international agencies involved in the rehabilitation and management of salt-affected soils in tsunami-affected areas; and
develop a regional strategic framework for coordinating the actions to be taken at regional level - this will help to support the rehabilitation of tsunami-affected soils and to address other land and water management issues that arise during the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas.
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[1] Unfortunately, there were
no participants from Sri Lanka. |
