Program Topics Areas and Sub-topics

Managing Landscapes for Environmental Quality
Environmental performance is an increasingly important determinant of the commercial viability of agriculture and the acceptance of various land uses.  The landscape is expected to function as a filter and reservoir for drinking water, habitat, and corridors to support biodiversity and a sink for sequestering carbon.  There is increasing scrutiny of land uses that could impair there functions such as on-site treatment systems, golf courses, aggregate/forest extraction and agricultural production.  Designing policies, programs, and practices to manage the impact of land use on the environment is one of the most important and difficult challenges facing policymakers, scientists, educators, providers of technical assistance, and the producers.  Sustainable development of our landscapes will require an economic system that supports environmental goals.  Papers presented in this theme area will help us understand how this challenge can be met for crop and animal production systems, housing and recreational developments and other land uses.  Sub-topics –

• Management practices, technologies and decision tools for soil, water and/or air quality protection
• Quantifying the environmental benefits of management practices and technologies for soil, water, and/or air quality protection
• Environmental performance standards for agricultural production systems
• Methods of evaluating conservation and environmental impact
• Successful application of Environmental Management Systems to various systems
• Strengths and weaknesses of voluntary and regulatory programs for environmental management
• What are the potential economic and social impacts of  environmental quality in land use decision making?
• Market-based approaches to environmental management
• Land management tools that recognize and balance the multiple needs of the community
• Watershed and other environmental based planning experiences and practices
• International environmental conventions, including biodiversity, climate change, desertification, and waters
• Other

Assessing and Communicating the Effectiveness of Conservation and Environmental Programs
There is growing demand for accountability of both tax dollars spent or the imposition of regulations by all government programs.  Justifying spending on environmental programs or regulating land use will require demonstration of the benefits and performance of various policies and practices.  This is never a simple task but is particularly challenging in the environmental world where natural weather and landscape variability can mask the best of intentions.  As demand for conservation and environmental programs continues to grow, a question emerges from policy makers, agencies, interest groups, and the public: How do we measure success?  How do we best communicate to the public our success?  Sub-topics –

• Monitoring vs. modeling: case studies and practical solutions
• Measuring and reporting economic and social benefits
• Predicting and/or evaluating the environmental benefits of management practices for soil, air and/or water quality protection
• How do we measure and communicate risk/probability associated with agricultural practices?
• Scales of effective measurement and reporting: Field, watershed, eco-region, etc., practice vs. system
• Research: status, gaps, new technologies, and methods
• Adoption of conservation and environmental programs: Success and failure
• Measuring success: what measures or indicators should be used
• Future conservation and environmental policy: A historical assessment
• Market-based approaches to environmental management
• Determining the sources of evaluation funding
• Alternative strategies for encouraging environmental conservation
• Communication of conservation effectiveness
• Educating the public: How to communicate about conservation and the conservation ethic
• Other

The Growing Debate Around Water Use
Water will become increasingly more precious as population and economies increase the need for high quantities of water.  Farm, industry, and consumer uses will increasingly compete with the environmental functions of water in the future.  Conservationists will be in the middle of these debates.  Papers and symposia are encouraged that will help us address these problems with facts and new ideas to help manage the conflict our communities are experiencing.  Sub-topics –

• Water quality and quantity as a natural resource
• Water as a limitation to future growth of agriculture, industrial development, population growth or ecological balance
• Water use by different ecosystems – quantifying environmental uses/functions of water
• Carrying capacity of the Great Lakes Basin, including international watershed management experience
• Water budgets, water balances – current state of the art, impacts of climate change
• Potential for water reclamation and re-use
• Increasing the efficiency of water use in urban and rural communities
• Development of decision-aid tools to assist in water management
• Agricultural/urban influences on water quality
• Decision making processes, techniques, and policy options to manage water allocation
• Water diversion issues, conflicts and opportunities - transwatershed, transboundary
• Successful (and not so successful) water conservation program stories
• Other

Consumer Demand and Policy Effects on Agricultural Resources
Changing policies, economic conditions, and cultures are changing the type of food produced, where it is produced and how it is produced.  Consumer shifts such as designer foods for the rich (genetically modified nutraceuticals), subsidized commodity production, and concerns for food safety will have land use impacts.  We are encouraging papers and symposia that will help us understand how conservation issues will change as food production demands adjust to meet the world population needs and desires.  Sub-topics –

• Alternative crop production
• Impact of trade policy on food production and natural resources
• Impact of climate change on the food supply
• Development of sustainable agricultural systems
• Soil quality in intensive agriculture and non-intensive production systems
• Improving natural resources in intensive and non-intensive production systems
• Development of decision-aid tools for natural resource management
• Cropping decisions based on policy changes
• Community supported agriculture
• Environmental benefits and risks from genetically modified organisms
• Linking food safety and environmental quality
• Linking food quality and environmental quality – a challenge to consumers
• Other

To download a PDF of the Call for Papers brochure, click here.

The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) has a membership of more than 7,000 individuals and business leaders throughout the world.  Members of SWCS are educated and trained natural resource conservationists, practicing primarily in the United States and Canada.  The SWCS annual conference brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers at all levels of government, along with a broad cross-section of other interest groups to explore current issues in natural resource management and planning.