ISHS Acta Horticulturae 573: International Symposium on Techniques to Control Salination for Horticultural Productivity
PREFACE |
| Authors: | S. Anaç, U. Aksoy |
| Abstract:
FOREWORD It is a great pleasure and an honor for us to welcome you all to the “International ISHS Symposium on: Techniques to Control Salination for Horticultural Productivity” and to the “Workshop on Environmental Impact of Water Quality, Irrigation Practices, Soil Type and Crop Interactions” that is being organized as a satellite meeting with the ISHS symposium. We express our sincere appreciation to the scientists coming from different countries who have joined us here in Antalya in order to share their experiences with other scientists on the impact and control of salination and environmental problems particularly faced in semi-arid plant production ecosystems. The primary objective of agriculture is to provide food and fiber needs of human beings. These needs increase as the population increases; additional increase occurs as te average income-purchasing power increases. The world population was about 6 billion in the year 2000 and is projected to be 8,5 billion in 2025. The population and purchasing power increase will result in growing demand for food in the future, and it is estimated that the increase in agricultural production must be advanced 50 percent over the next 30 years in order to maintain the present level of food intake. This conclusion is based on recent predictions of the FAO, that the global demand for food, fiber and bio-energy products is growing at an annual rate of 2,5 percent. It has been stated by various international organizations that there is limited cultivable area for expansion in the world and production growth must come from the yield increases per unit area increases. The expected increase in food production must come primarily from irrigated land, because the irrigated land at present accounts for about 15 percent of the cultivated land but produces 36 percent of the world’s food production. The world’s irrigated land is estimated to be 240 million hectares according to the latest work of the World Watch Institute. It has been estimated that expansion of irrigation overall needs to be 2,2 percent per year in order to meet the growing world food need. The present rate of expansion in irrigation is less than 1 percent per year (2 million ha per year) and unfortunately fall below the rate of increase in population. In many locations around the world, various environmental degradation problems have occurred increasingly and the major concern has been on the sustainability of agriculture due to waterlogging, desertification, loss of biological diversity, adverse effects of toxic agricultural chemicals on human health and the flora and fauna of associated ecosystems, and the salination of soil and water resources. At present about 10 million hectares of arable land are being lost per year through soil degradation. Soil salination is identified as one of the major causes of soil degradation. The salinity affected area is growing at a rate of about 2 million hectares per year which is of the same order of magnitude as the annual expansion of world’s total irrigated area. It is estimated that, 20 percent - 48 millions ha - of the world’s irrigated land has been salt affected. Thus, a critical need faced by many countries is to control, even to reverse the present extent of environmental degradation resulting from mismanagement of soil and water resources. The challenge goes beyond the interests or capacities of a single group, it involves all components of the society, and learning to cope with salination of our resources is not just a task of researchers or engineers or farmers or decision makers, it requires the integrated activities of the all stakeholders. The stakes are high. Once the soil or water is affected by salination, it requires years to treat and large amount of energy and costly efforts. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen the interdisciplinary fora to discuss the impact of salinity and environmental consequences of resource use will generate ideas to develop sustainable production systems. This symposium has its roots in the project supported by the European Union AVICENNE Program entitled “Generating New Techniques to Control Desertification and Salination Effects in the Mediterranean Basin”. During the first research coordination meeting in 1995, the researchers from Portugal, Spain, Israel and Turkey, as the scientific committee, decided to hold this symposium in Antalya - Turkey. The workshop is organized as a satellite meeting with the symposium. The workshop is taking place as an activity within the framework of co-operation between five agricultural faculties in Turkey and ARO Volcani Center in Israel. We hope that the conclusions and recommendations resulting from the meetings will be useful and successful in achieving the main objectives for future activities among the collaborating countries. On behalf of the organizing and supporting institutions, we, as the conveners would like to wish you all, productive and enjoyable time here in the fascinating environment of Antalya.
Prof.
Dr.
Suer Anaç Conveners
PREFACE The ISHS Board of Directors | |
