GLOBAL SOIL PARTNERSHIP

SOILS ARE UNDER PRESSURE: What we expect from soils from 2012 onwards?

Bio-energy production

Food security: food, forrage, fiber

Climate change adaptation and

mitigation

Platform and material for construction

Regulating, supporting and cultural environmental services

Water storage and provision

Sustain Biodiversity

HELP!

• Soil data - fragmented, partly outdated (fertility, SOC,…), heterogeneous-difficult to compare, not easy accessible, not responding to users demands.

• Soil capacities - increasingly a scarce resource (loss of soil expertise & skills).

• Soil knowledge & research - fragmented (fertility, CC, ecology), domain of soil scientists, not accessible for use by various disciplines/for decision making, not tailored to address problems/development agendas of today.

• Awareness & investments in soil management - extremely low compared to the needs that soil is a precious resources & requires special care from its users.

• Soil policy: Often perceived as a 2nd-tier priority; lack of international governance body to support coordinated global action on their management.

Need for compatible and coordinated soil policies – A unified and authoritative voice is needed to better coordinate efforts and pool limited resources (for agriculture, forestry, food security, UNCCD, CBD, UNFCCC, disaster & drought management, land competition, rural & urban land use planning & development).

Responses to Soils today

• Dirt: it’s right under our feet, but so often we overlook it. But soils are so very, very important. They provide the basis for global food, feed, fuel and fiber production and are crucial for water availability, nutrient cycling, organic carbon stocks, and represent one-quarter of global biodiversity.

• Because it’s everywhere, we tend to overlook the fact that soil is a limited natural resource. On top of that, the world’s limited area of fertile soils are increasingly under pressure from competing land uses. Soil degradation threatens this vital resource, weakening efforts to increase food production for a growing population.

• Soils are often perceived as a second-tier priority and no international governance body to support coordinated global action on their management exists. A unified and authoritative voice for soil management is needed to better coordinate efforts and pool limited resources.

GSP article published at the Food and Ethics Magazine

¿WHY THESE RESPONSES?

• Improve global coordination /governance of the world’s soil resources through an intergovernmental mechanism;

• Put national and regional needs in the centre.

• Involve local institutions and communities to create ownership.

• Catalyse effective and coordinated soils policies and investments to guarantee healthy productive soils for food security and sustained ecosystem services.

Why a Global Soil Partnership?

The GSP was launched by FAO, with the support of EC-JRC, in Sept. 2011 and its Terms of reference are to be endorsed and guided by the Committee on Agriculture in May 2012 to:

200 participants; 100 countries 120 organizations; (int./reg./ national institutes; soil science networks; NGOs; universities research;farmers associations)

GSP Proposed Pillars of Action

•Promote sustainable management of soil resources for soil protection, conservation and sustainable productivity.

•Encourage investment, technical cooperation, policy, education awareness and extension in soils.

•Promote targeted soil research and development focusing on identified gaps and priorities and synergies with related productive, environmental and social development actions.

•Enhance the quantity and quality of soil data and information: data collection (generation), analysis, validation, reporting, monitoring and integration with other disciplines;

•Harmonization of methods, measurements and indicators for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources;

Proposed structure of the GSP

REGIONAL SOIL PARTNERSHIPS

Nanjing, China 8-11 February 2012 Amman, Jordan 1-5 April 2012

Mar del Plata, Argentina 16-20 April 2012

JOIN US TOWARDS THE GSP

THANYOU