ICT, integral models and new methods support farmer´s and forester´s integration into environmental caretaking and risk-management

Farmers and foresters – in total worldwide more than 2 billion people - manage large parts of most of the countries, in some 90% or more. Rich, risk-exposure countries with beautiful nature like Austria or Switzerland due to mountains did a lot of excellent environmental caretaking because of intensive tourism and reduced with the help of government existing risks, supported by legislation, avalanche-, torrent- or river- departments, land consolidation units, Chambers of Agriculture, Ministerial departments etc. and were supported by farmers with a general concept: Managing a farm or forest correctly, manages also the environment well. EC´s GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) took this concept EC-wide. Changing risk patterns and also population increase needs taking care more of regional environment- and/or risk related questions – together with farmers. Many new strongly needed workplaces supporting all of us also can be created. New technologies (ICT and global orthoimages, GIS, GPS, GPRS, mobile equipment for outdoor use, precision farming/forestry technologies, sensors, etc.) and increased know how understanding interrelations of environment-related factors allow better planning of needs and to-dos avoiding future problems. Preventing is better than healing!