The main objective of the NASREC programme was to strengthen the capacity of national soil and land resources institutions to disseminate information about the major soil of their country to a wide range of users. The main objective of the NASREC programme was to strengthen the capacity of national soil and land resources institutions to disseminate information about the major soil of their country to a wide range of users. Special reference was paid to the potentials and constraints of different soils for various types of land use. Four main categories of activities were implemented: basic training courses; building of soil monolith expositions with supporting documentation; development and handling of soil databases; and after-training support services. NASREC started in Colombia in 1980. The programme assisted with the development of 12 national soil reference collections in African, Asian and Latin American countries.
The NASREC programme was formally terminated in 1995, when existing and potential collaborators and resource persons reviewed the performances of the programme. The final workshop (Wageningen, 6-17 November 1995) reviewed past performances and developed elements for possible follow-up activities. It also familiarized participants with new information technologies in soil science and application programmes to improve communication with users of natural resources information.
NASREC activities were sponsored by the Netherlands Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS), with additional support from UNESCO, the Life Sciences and Techologies Development Programme (STD2) of the European Community and the Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW).