Biography
Background
Ted C. Sheng, Retired and Honored Professor of the Department of Earth Resources, Colorado State University (CSU) is best known for his international experiences in watershed management, especially in policy, education and training work.
Ted was born in Chiahsin, Chekiang, China in October 16, 1924. After he obtained his first degree in Soil and Agronomy from the National Chekiang University and got married, he moved to Taiwan in 1947. He worked with Taiwan Forest Bureau and Taiwan Tea Company for several years, than, he joined the Chinese-American Joint Committee on Rural Reconstruction ( JCRR- de facto Ministry of Agriculture) for 16 years ( 1953–1968), in the field of soil conservation, wind erosion control, and watershed management. During that period he came to study at CSU twice, in the newly established department of Watershed Management. When he obtained his M.S. Degree in Watershed Science (1966) he was the first Chinese nationality who owned an advanced degree in watershed. After his returning to Taiwan, he was in charge of the
watershed program for the whole nation. At the same time, Ted helped the National Chung-Hsing University in central Taiwan to establish a new department of Soil Conservation and taught there part time as Associate Professor.
International Experiences
From1968 to1984 he was employed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, stationed at Jamaica, El Salvador, and Thailand. During his 17 years of services with FAO, he had numerous assignments to other developing countries to assist them in
watershed policy, planning, and training.
When Ted Sheng retired from FAO, he was invited to teach at CSU in international watershed management because of his unique and long experiences in this field. He taught at CSU from 1984 to 1995 and continued his service as Affiliated Professor up to 2014. He had also served on Master’s and Doctor’s Committees for 28 successful candidates, most students were from
developing countries.
Meantime, he worked with CADI (Computer Assisted Development Inc.) as an international consultant to a dozen developing countries.
His experiences in professional training have been plentiful. He conducted training courses and seminars in many countries: Including Jamaica, El Salvador, Thailand, Taiwan and Myamar (Burma).
His International short missions were sponsored by World Bank, OAS (Organization of
American States), UNDP (United Nations Development Program), FAO and USAID. Mostly for formulating new projects or review and evaluate the existed ones.
Honors
Among others, Ted C. Sheng’s major honor received includes:
1) Soil and Water Conservation Society’s highest Honor: Hugh Hammond Bennett Award (1991) 2) Chinese Soil and Water Conservation Society’s Life Time Achievement Award (2015)
Publications
During Ted Sheng’s long career, he attended many international conferences, presented papers, and produced many publications. The major ones are as follows:
- Watershed Conservation II: A Collection of Papers for Developing Countries. 1990. Colorado State University (Fort Collins) and Chinese Soil and Water Conservation Society (Taipei, Taiwan).72 pp. (Available in CSU Library)
- Watershed Conservation: A Collection of Papers for Developing Countries 1986. Colorado State University (Fort Collins) and Chinese Soil and Water Conservation Society (Taipei, Taiwan).92 pp. (Available in CSU Library)
- Watershed Survey and Planning 1990. FAO Watershed Management Field Manual 13/6 (Rome). 170 pp*. (Available in Archive: 2 CD—FAO Conservation Guide) - Terraces and Ditches. 1998. FAO Watershed Management Field Manual 13/3 Slope
-Treatment Measures Part II. 33-142 pp*. (Rome, Available as above)
- Soil Conservation for Small Farmers in the Humid Tropics. 1989. FAO Soils Bulletin No. 60. (Rome) 104 pp*.
- Landslide Classification and Studies in Taiwan 1966. Chinese-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction Forest series No.10, (Taipei, Taiwan) 95 pp. - Windbreaks in Taiwan 1961. Chinese-American Joint Committee on Rural
Reconstruction Forest Series No. 7 (Co-Author H. Kang) (Taipei, Taiwan) 49 pp. *FAO has translated them into many of its official languages: Spanish, French, Chinese, etc. In Addition, Ted was co-editor of two conservation books:
- Development of Conservation Farming on Hillslopes. 1991. Soil and Water Conservation Society. Ankeny, Iowa, USA. 332 pp
- Conservation Polices for Sustainable Hillside Farming. 1992. Soil and Water Conservation Society. Ankeny, Iowa, USA. 364pp.
CSU Archived Papers
The current archived papers are unpublished papers of his, produced after Watershed Conservation II, 1990, as follows:
1) “Interagency Coordination in Watershed Conservation.” 1991. Paper presented to the International Workshop on Conservation Polices for Sustainable Hillside Farming. Solo, Java, Indonesia, Mar. 11-15, 1991. IN Conservation Polices for Sustainable
Hillslope Farming (pp. 246-254). SWCS, Ankeny, Iowa. 1992.
2) “A Comparison of Soil Conservation Strategies and Status Between Two Sides of China.” 1992. Paper presented to the International Symposium on the
Socioeconomics of Soil and Water Conservation. Hawaii. Oct 19-22, 1992. IN
Adopting Conservation on the Farm (pp.189-197). SWCS, Ankeny, Iowa. 1994.
3) “Land Capability and the Economic Analysis of Soil Conservation and Land Use: A Case Study in Jamaica.” 1992. Paper presented to the International Symposium on the Socioeconomics of Soil and Water Conservation. Hawaii. Oct 19-22, 1992. (Co-Author: Jan De Graaff IN Adopting Conservation on the Farm (PP.357-368). SWCS, Ankeny, Iowa.1994.
4) “Incentives for Watershed and Conservation Work.” 1994. Lecture for the FAO, UN and CADI (Computer Assisted Development, Inc.) Watershed Management Course, Union of Myanmar. Feb1-Apr.9, 1994.
5) “Challenges and Strategies in Integrated Watershed Management in Developing Countries.” Paper presented to the 8th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference. New Delhi, India, Dec. 4-8, 1994.
6) “Using Geographic Information Systems for Watershed Classification and Rating in Developing Countries.” 1996. Paper presented to SWCS 51th Annual Conference, Keystone, Colorado. July 7-10, 1996 (Co-Authors: R.E. Barrett & T.R. Mitchell) IN
Journal of Soil & Water Conservation. Mar.-Apr. 1997. Vol. 52. No. 2. 1997.
7) “Using GIS for Land Capability Classification and Conservation Farming
Management.” Paper presented to the International Symposium on Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming. Xian, China. Sep. 15-20, 1997. IN Soil Erosion and Dryland
Farming (PP.391-400). CRC Press, New York. 2000.
8) “Planning for Sustainable Watershed Management.” 1998. Paper presented to the APO (Asia Productivity Organization) Seminar on Soil Conservation and Watershed Management in Asia and the Pacific. Taipei. Taiwan, Nov. 4-11, 1998. IN Soil
Conservation and Watershed Management in Asia and the Pacific (pp.29-35). Asian
Productivity Organization, Tokyo, 2000.
9) “Watershed Policy for Jamaica.” 1998. A consulting report submitted to the Government of Jamaica through CADI, funded by UNDP, Mar. 10, 1998. 10) “Important and Controversial Watershed Management Issues In Developing
Countries.” 1999. Paper presented to the 10th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference. Purdue University, Indiana, May 23-28, 1999.”
11) “Land Capability Classification for Hilly Watersheds using Expert Systems.” 1999. Paper presented to the FFTC (Food & Fertilizer Technology Center) International Workshop on Slopeland Use Capability, Los Banos & Manila, The Philippines, Sep. 21-24, 1999.
12) “Bench Terrace Design Made Simple.” 2002. Paper presented to the 12th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference, Beijing, China, May 26-31, 2002. IN
Proceedings, 12th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference. Vol. IV
13) “Principles and Practices of Monitoring and Evaluation for Watershed and
Conservation Projects.” 2007. IN Monitoring and Evaluation of Soil Conservation
and Watershed Development Projects (pp.13-25). Science Publishers, Enfield (NH).
2007.
14) “Managing Watersheds in Developing Countries: What Management Skills and Education are Needed?” 2009. Paper presented to the Conference of Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Watershed Science Program in Colorado State University. March 29, 2009.
Books and CD Donated to the Archive (by Ted Sheng)
- Conservation Polices for Sustainable Hillside Farming. SWCS, Ankeny, Iowa, 1992. - Adopting Conservation on the Farm. SWCS, Ankeny, Iowa, 1994.
- Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming. CRC Press, New York. 2000.
- Soil Conservation and Watershed Management in Asia and the Pacific. APO, Tokyo. 2000.
- Land Capability Classification for Hilly Watersheds Using Expert Systems. Extension Bulletin 485. FFTC, Taipei, Taiwan. 2000.
- Proceedings, 12th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference Vol. IV. Tsinghua University Press, Beijing, China. 2002.
- Monitoring and Evaluation of Soil Conservation and Watershed Development Projects. Science Publishers, Enfield (NH). 2007.
- Lecture Notes, Watershed Management Course, Union of Myanmar (Burma)—A FAO and CADI Supported Course. CADI, Fort Collins, CO, 1994.
- FAO Conservation Guide (2 CDs: English, Spanish, & French))
Appendix
Ted C. Sheng Honored Professor, Colorado State University 1984-1995
El Salvador President A. Molina (taking notes) and his Cabinet Members listen to Ted Sheng’s presentation & recommendation
Received SWCS’ Highest Honor, Hugh Hammond Bennett Award 1991
