Paddy and Water Environment : Opening new opportunities for cooperation and discussion in the specific topic of sustainable paddy farming

Abstract

With this first issue of the first volume of the journal Paddy and Water Environment, a new unique international peer-reviewed publication series has been started. The new journal is launched by the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering (PAWEES), a new society that was founded just 1 year ago. As President of CIGR, the International Commission of Agricultural Engineering, I would like to express my best wishes for a good start to a successful series of publications and I wish Editor-in-Chief and President of PAWEES Prof. Yohei Sato always a large pile of highquality submitted papers on his desk. The fact that it was possible to launch the journal within a very short time under the patronage of the reputable and well-known Springer-Verlag as publisher demonstrates the high relevance of the subject and the great commitment of all involved in the advancement of it. With roughly 140 million ha all over the world, rice is one of the three leading food crops. Its contribution to feeding almost half of the world’s population is of immense importance. Since more than 75% of the world’s rice production comes from irrigated land, the particularities of cultivation, which is quite different in its nature compared with that of upland agricultural systems and farming, must be understood in depth. Therefore further studies of the paddy rice farming agro-ecosystem and its interactions with the environment are essential. Scientists, engineers, researchers, planners, and farmers need opportunities to discuss their findings, ideas, and knowledge for a sustainability-orientated paddy farming. CIGR has recognized the outstanding relevance of land and water engineering for a long time. Its Section I is devoted to just this subject, and Prof. Yohei Sato took over the Chair of this section from 1 January 2003. The section is one of the most active ones in CIGR. Among other events, it organized a special technical session “Paddy Field Agriculture”, which was held during the 14th Memorial CIGR World Congress in Tsukuba, 2000. I am sure that also in future CIGR events the topics of soil, water, environment, and adequate technologies will remain in the focus of interest. In particular, these topics will be dealt with as a main subject during the forthcoming CIGR Conference in Beijing (11 to 14 October 2004). CIGR is looking forward to a fruitful cooperation of all scientists, researchers, and practitioners working on the specific topic of sustainable paddy farming. The new journal Paddy and Water Environment will open up new opportunities for cooperation and discussion in this specific field. May these opportunities be used intensively!