The Global Soil Partnership

Newsletter No. 32 | August 2021

Mark your Calendar: 9th GSP Plenary Assembly

8-10 September 2021 | 12:00-15:00 CEST | Virtual meeting

The 9th session of the Global Soil Partnership Plenary Assembly (PA) will be held in a virtual format from 8 to 10 September 2021 (12:00-15:00 CEST). 
FAO Members, GSP partners and GSP designated focal points are invited to join this annual gathering and set the global soil agenda. In accordance with the GSP Rules of Procedure, the official documents for each item of the provisional agenda will be made available by 8 August 2021 on the GSP website.

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Updates on Soil Salinization

Global Symposium on Salt-affected Soils 

Call for abstracts and good practices are open!

What is the state of soil salinity globally? What type of soil salinity and sodicity data are available at the global, regional and national level? How are these made available and used by practitioners, farmers, and decision-makers? Which investments pay back and which ones do not? What are the policies and strategies that successfully address the prevention, management and remediation of salt-affected soils?
The Global Symposium on Salt-affected Soils (GSAS21) together with the launch of the Global Soil Salinity map (GSSmap) will contribute to answering the questions hiding behind this global threat. The Symposium will take place on 20-22 October 2021 in a virtual format. Its Organizing Committee is currently accepting abstracts and good practices that will compete for oral and poster presentations.
Deadline for submission: 1 September 2021.

***The registration and official website of the event will be soon available.

Call for extended abstracts and good practices

Global Soil Salinity Map

Following the positive completion of the Global Soil Salinity map’s capacity development programme involving 320 soil salinity experts from 120 countries, FAO’s GSP is currently entering the harmonization phase. 
Stay tuned - the GSS map will be launched on the first day of GSAS21!

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ITPS SOIL LETTERS | Salt-affected soils are a global issue

Discover the third ITPS letter! It focuses on the salinity and sodicity levels of soil that are dangerously increasing in many areas of the world. Although naturally saline or sodic soils host valuable ecosystems, an increase in salt content of the soil can affect its health and fertility. Effects of salinization will likely be exacerbated by climate change and have further impacts on the prices of commodities produced in those vulnerable areas.

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Soil Prizes and Awards

Glinka World Soil Prize: call for nominations

Take up the challenge! The Glinka World Soil Prize recognizes the efforts of soil scientists and/or institutions in their fight for healthy soils. The call for nominations is open and FAO Members, GSP focal points and partners are invited to nominate their champion (form). This annual prize consists of a cash prize of 15 000 USD and a medal.
CLOSING DATE: 10 September 2021!

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Don’t miss the King Bhumibol WSD Award

Did you organize an outstanding event for #WorldSoilDay 2020 under the motto “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity”? If yes, take your chance and complete the application form.
Every year, the World Soil Day (WSD) Award prizes the most successful WSD celebration with a 15 000 USD check and a medal.
CLOSING DATE: 10 September 2021!

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Updates on Soil Organic Carbon

Can our soils fight climate change? GSOCseq says YES

The Global Soil Organic Carbon sequestration potential map (GSOCseq) is taking shape and will be launched on the 8th of September! After two years of hard work and a vigorous capacity development involving 400 experts from 140 countries, national experts are now sharing their results and main findings. This mapping exercise will enable countries to draw conclusions from the soil potential to sequester carbon and simulate SOC stocks over a 20–year period with the aim of boosting both food security and climate change mitigation.

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Launch of the SOC Technical Manual

Further to the recommendation of the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) , FAO's GSP and ITPS were mandated to collect in one compendium the management practices that are efficient in maintaining or improving the storage of organic carbon in the soil. This SOC manual, produced in collaboration with 400 authors from 54 countries, includes a set of practices, hotspots and case studies in all types of landscapes. It will be launched on the 8th of September during the GSP Plenary Assembly.

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RECSOIL: Recarbonization of global agricultural soils

There is a collective call from the global citizens to decarbonize the economy; GSP response is to recarbonize our global agricultural soils!
RECSOIL is designed to unlock the potential of soil health and soil organic carbon for providing multiple benefits to the planet, people, farmers, investors and all stakeholders. It is a concrete and robust initiative to contribute to the fight against climate change. Farmers are at the centre of RECSOIL as they are the agents of change. 

Visit the RECSOIL website

International Forum on Black Soils Conservation and Utilization

The International Forum on Black Soil Conservation and Utilization was held in Jilin Province, People's Republic of China from 21 to 23 July 2021. Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (MARA) in partnership with the International Network of Black Soils (INBS) of FAO, it served to promote international cooperation on black soils' protection and sustainable future. During the occasion the GSP Secretariat launched the Black Soils video.

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GLOSOLAN News and Updates

SOPs video tutorials on organic carbon

The Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN) harmonizes Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ensuring the replicability of measurement, credibility and traceability of data. Thanks to the support of some network members - (BSWM Philippines and LDD Thailand), GLOSOLAN has also released videos offering step-by-step instructions on how to perform laboratory analyses.

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Spectroscopy online capacity development trainings

GLOSOLAN is launching a series of online training on topics related to soil analysis. The cycle will start with 6 training sessions on dry chemistry/soil spectroscopy. Certificates will be delivered upon attendance.
1) An Introduction to Soil Spectroscopy | 6 Sep 2021 - REGISTER HERE
2) Soil Spectroscopy for accurate measurement of soil physical and chemical properties | 16 Sep 2021 - REGISTER HERE
3) A future for soil spectral inference | 23 Sep 2021 - REGISTER HERE
4) The Brazilian Soil Spectral Library Experience from scientific to society services | 4 Oct 2021  - REGISTER HERE

5) Characterization of soil properties using French national Vis-NIR and MIR spectral libraries | 14 Oct 2021  - REGISTER HERE
6) Measuring reflectance of undisturbed soil surface in the field under laboratory quality: A protocol to assess soil properties that are sensitive to the soil sealing phenomenon | 28 Oct 2021 - REGISTER HERE

Developing capacity for the analysis of fertilizer quality 

On 29-30 June 2021, the International Network on Fertilizer Analysis (INFA) met for its second working session. The meeting was attended by over 200 participants from more than 70 countries. It allowed to establish the governance of the network and define the topics for the working groups. 

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Recent GSP Symposium, Webinars and their Resources 

GSOBI21 Outcome document

The Global Symposium on Soil Biodiversity (GSOBI21) outcome document highlights scientific evidence on the status of soil biodiversity, its impacts and an agenda for action in the framework of achieving the SDGs. The Symposium was held virtually  on 19-22 April 2021 and attended by over 5 000 participants from 160 countries.

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Russian Soil Museum

Recordings, presentations, and photogallery of the webinar "The digitization and modernization of the collection of the Williams Soil-Agronomic Museum", held on 20 May 2021, have been published online.

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Soil Pollution

The FAO/UNEP webinar (4 June 2021), attended by 1500 participants from 181 countries, was successful in launching the “Global Assessment of Soil Pollution”. Recordings and presentations are online.

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LAC webinar

Attended by 1 500 participants from 78 countries, the webinar "Technical and financial tools on the potential of soils in LAC" on 4-8-9 June 2021, was a key event in the region. Resources are online.

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Recent Regional Soil Partnership meetings

The 8th ESP plenary meeting

The 8th European Soil Partnership meeting was held on 24 June 2021. Attendees discussed ESP soil-related activities/products, its sub-regional partnerships (Alpine, Pyrenean and Eurasian Soil Partnership), soil governance, ESP positioning during the 9th GSP Plenary Assembly, and other topics such as the EU Expert Group on Soil Protection, and EIONET.

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The 8th ASLAC plenary meeting

The 8th Latin American and Caribbean Soil Partnership meeting was held on 1 July 2021 in a virtual format. Participants discussed the ongoing work of the partnership, its orientations and priorities,  elected the Steering Committee and Regional Chairs of the Working Groups and discussed the upcoming GSP Plenary Assembly.

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The 5th AfSP plenary meeting

The 5th African Soil Partnership plenary meeting took place virtually on 6-7 July 2021. A brief overview of the Partnership's  accomplishments and way forward opened the meeting, followed by the presentation of national programmes, challenges  and opportunities for collaboration supported by national examples and  partners in the region. 

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New publication

SSM in Eurasia

FAO and the Eurasian Centre for Food Security (ECFS) are launching the publication "Sustainable soil management (SSM) in the Eurasian region". Prepared in the framework of the Eurasian Soil Partnership together with the ECFS of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, this book collects Eurasian country experiences in the application of the recommendations contained in the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management.  In Eurasia soils face serious degradation processes associated with low technological level of farming as well as excessive pressure from high-tech cultivation and use of chemicals. This book aims to provide a common basis for enhanced conservation and protection of soil resources.

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Upcoming events

EUROSOIL 2021

In the framework of Eurosoil 2021 "Connecting People and Soils" to be held from 23 to 27 August 2021, the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership is organizing the workshop "Global soil governance: Status and future perspectives" on 25 August 2021 from 11:30 to 13:00 CEST in a virtual format. This event aims to reflect on the work done so far and what still needs to be done to ensure healthy soils for all in the coming years. 

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  • 9th Plenary Assembly of the Global Soil Partnership: 8-10 September 2021
  • Global Symposium on Salt-affected Soils: 20- 22 October 2021
  • 7th working session of the International Network of Soil Information Institution: 09-11 November 2021
  • 5th plenary meeting of the Global Soil Laboratory Network:  23-25 November 2021
  • World Soil Day 2021: 5 December 2021
See online version

CONTACT 
For more information visit: http://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/en/ or contact us at: GSP-Secretariat@fao.org 

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