Approaches to Land Classification [antikvár]

-Ill - Foreword The papers presented here formed a part of the backgrovmd documentation of an Expert Consultation on Land Evaluation for Rural Purposes which was convened by the Pood and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in co-operation with the University of Agriculture and the International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement, Wage-ningen, Netherlands. The meeting was held at the International Agriculture Centre, Wageningen, 6-12 October 1972. The Consultation, which climaxed two years of preparatory work, was aimed at encouraging the standardisation of land evaluation methods as a means of improving communication between resource surveyors and those who need to make use of resource survey information. More specifically, it was planned to develop a framework of land evaluation that would be widely acceptable to survey and planning organisations alike and which would meei: the needs of the widest possible range of users. Proposals for such a framework were developed, prior to the consultation, by two multidisciplinary committees; one in the Netherlands the other within PAO. A document describing these proposals is included in a report on the Consultation which has been published by, and may be obtained from, the International Institute for Land Keclamation and Improvement, Wageningen. y/ Also included in the documentation of the Consultation but not previously published was this series of papers which describe many of the approaches to the classification of agricultural land developed or adopted in the past by different countries or by different organisations throughout the world. They are reproduced here since, together, they are thought to provide a valuable comparison of the diversity of existing methodology and, individually, they record methods which have proved their worth in different environments. It is hoped that a wider distribution of these papers will assist the many who, concious of the importance of understanding the wise alternatives of land use, are presently engaged in developing improved systems for evaluating land. The reader will appreciate that the views expressed in these papers are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of FAO. Edouard Saouma Director Land and Water Development Division 1/ "Land Evaluation for Rural Purposes", Publication No. 17, International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement, P.O.Box 45i Wageningen, The Netherlands, (Price: 9 Dutch Guilders).