Dear Colleagues,
We may be witnessing a special moment of history of the IGU at this IGU Commission Conference on “Global Rural Development and Land Capacity Building” held at Yulin City, China, on 26-29 August 2017, as I sense some ground-breaking energy in it.
It is the first major meeting organized by the Commission on Agricultural Geography and Land Engineering (IGU-AGLE) since its establishment in December 2016. Starting a new Commission in the IGU is not an easy task, and there were a number of people led by Professor Yansui Liu who made enormous effort to realize it swiftly. Holding an IGU Commission Conference at this scale focusing on this ambitious theme within only eight months from the birth of the Commission is extraordinary, and it might have been possible only with strong determination, enthusiasm, and hope of many people on the mission of this new Commission.
I see the theme of this Conference ambitious partly because it proclaims ‘global’ rural development, and partly because it refers to land capacity ‘building’. ‘Global’ perspective of rural development and ‘building’ higher land capacity based on improved knowledge and understanding on each locality and land-related technology are both important for rural development, but they haven’t been common in geography. I believe the outcomes of this Conference can be a notable contribution to the ‘key focal challenge’ No.5 of Future Earth, namely ‘to promote sustainable rural futures’.(for detail, see http://www.futureearth.org/media/future-earth-2025-vision) Likewise, they can contribute to some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, such as ‘zero hunger’ and ‘life on land’. (for detail, see http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/)
I am looking forward to seeing the outcomes of this Conference, which will surely consolidate IGU-AGLE Commission and its mission, inspire the other IGU Commissions, and may even go beyond the IGU, attracting the attention of broader range of people seeking rural sustainable development in the world.
With Best Regards,
Yukio Himiyama, President of the IGU