Process
Preparatory Phases
Maximising ParticipationThe preparatory phase of the 1999 Conference began in July 1998, a full 14 months before the Maastricht meeting. The considerable length of this period allowed as broad a range as possible of land users and planners, development practitioners and decision-makers, private industry, the international community and governments, to contribute to the process. Since the very beginning, broad-based participation has remained a guiding principle of the whole process.Stock-Taking
The most important part of the whole process has been the Stock-Taking. The MFCAL Approach is based on extensive information collection and assessment. A special working group - the Vision Committee - was formed at FAO Headquarters to oversee the process. Parviz Koohafkan, Chief, Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Service (AGLS) was appointed Chairperson of the VC (as the Vision Committee was known). The Stock-Taking process was completed in nine intense months. The information and data collected has provided the empirical foundations of two Technical Documents.The Stock-Taking process can be divided into three main components: