Keynote Sessions

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The XIX International Congress is set in a time of unprecedented change, with increasing uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of established systems of land use. The major threats are the continuing rapid increase in the human population of the world, the pressure on land resources to meet food requirements, the effects of global warming on climate stability, and the consequence of these factors on land resource stability and food production potential. Overlying these threats is the impact of the global economy on land use policies.

Projections made at the XVIII International Grassland Congress in 1997 suggested that food production could be expanded to meet the needs of the world ís population at least to 2020, but only by means of accelerated investment in agricultural research and development, and by the willingness of governments to control open market systems. However, following a period in the 1960ís and 1970ís when funding increased in most regions of the world in real terms, there has been a steady erosion of support for research and development at both national and international levels, with particularly worrying consequences to the food production capability of poorer nations. This effect has been exacerbated by the increasing emphasis on "market forces" economic models for determining priorities in research and development programmes.

There can be no doubt of the continuing importance of grasslands to food production and environmental stability, and it seems probable that there will be continuing emphasis on relatively simple pastoral systems in most regions of the world and a move away from high- capital, high-energy systems in regions where they currently exist. There will, therefore, be a continuing need to maintain a broad spectrum of research expertise, and close coordination of production and conservation interests, in order to ensure effective and timely responses to specific (and largely unpredictable) threats and opportunities which develop in future.

These issues are discussed in relation to the future of the International Grassland Congress, and the scope for influencing national and international policy and practice in resourcing and managing grassland research and development programmes.

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Grassland Production and Management – Trends and Perspectives for the 21st Century

The XIX International Congress is set in a time of unprecedented change, with increasing uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of established systems of land use. The major threats are the continuing rapid increase in the human population of the world, the pressure on land resources to meet food requirements, the effects of global warming on climate stability, and the consequence of these factors on land resource stability and food production potential. Overlying these threats is the impact of the global economy on land use policies.

Projections made at the XVIII International Grassland Congress in 1997 suggested that food production could be expanded to meet the needs of the world ís population at least to 2020, but only by means of accelerated investment in agricultural research and development, and by the willingness of governments to control open market systems. However, following a period in the 1960ís and 1970ís when funding increased in most regions of the world in real terms, there has been a steady erosion of support for research and development at both national and international levels, with particularly worrying consequences to the food production capability of poorer nations. This effect has been exacerbated by the increasing emphasis on "market forces" economic models for determining priorities in research and development programmes.

There can be no doubt of the continuing importance of grasslands to food production and environmental stability, and it seems probable that there will be continuing emphasis on relatively simple pastoral systems in most regions of the world and a move away from high- capital, high-energy systems in regions where they currently exist. There will, therefore, be a continuing need to maintain a broad spectrum of research expertise, and close coordination of production and conservation interests, in order to ensure effective and timely responses to specific (and largely unpredictable) threats and opportunities which develop in future.

These issues are discussed in relation to the future of the International Grassland Congress, and the scope for influencing national and international policy and practice in resourcing and managing grassland research and development programmes.