Global Soil Partnership’s vision - a sustainable and productive use of the soil resources of the world and sustainable agricultural production is the core message of the presentation. It addresses the key role of soil resources for sustainable land management and sustainable development, soil a finite resource, the impact of human activity on soil, critical soil issues in relation to food security and climate change adaptation and mitigation, soil productivity, soil degradation – status and trends, current and future challenges, future food demand, population growth, water scarcity and outlooks.

1. GLOBAL SOIL PARTNERSHIP
Sally Bunning and Ronald Rojas Vargas
Land and Water Division, FAO Rome
Prepared for the
Town Hall Event European Geosciences Union
24 April 2012 in Vienna

2. Outline
• Why are Soils so important?
• What are the Challenges: past, present and future?
• Global Soil Partnership
• Why?
• Vision and mission
• Pillars of action
• Governance
• Status of its establishment
• Regional Soil Partnerships
• How can EGU scientists/members contribute to the
GSP?

3. 1. Why are Soils so Important?

4. Why soils?
Soils are a complex and strategic resource:
Soils are very diverse and formed over generations; there are many soil
classes. The soil properties, health and functions depend on mineral and
biological complexes and are related to climate, terrain and land use. Soils
are the basis for food and agriculture and provide many ecosystems
services

5. Why Soils?
Soils are Finite on a Human Time Scale
• Worldwide soil is being eroded (carried away by wind and runoff) much faster than it is
being replenished. In Somalia: an average of 100 tons/ha of topsoil per year is lost
(SWALIM, 2009).
• However, natural soil formation from the mineralisation of rock and breakdown
of organic matter into stable humus is a very slow process - to form 2 - 2.5 cm of
soils, requires approx. 1000 years.

6. Why soils?
Soils provide multiple Ecosystem Services
(Source: Black,2011)

7. What are the Challenges for Soils:
Past, Present and Future?

9. Soil Productivity and Degradation
• Over some 50 years, world annual production of cereals coarse grains, roots and tubers,
pulses and oil crops has grown from 1.8 million tonnes to 4.6 billion tonnes.
• These huge gains in agricultural production and productivity were often accompanied by
negative effects on agriculture’s natural resource base (externalities)
• The land degradation effects are so serious that they jeopardize future productive
potential: soil degradation and loss of biodiversity, salinization of irrigated areas, over-
extraction of groundwater, build up of pollutants and pest resistance…..
• The declining quality of land and water resources available for food, feed, fibre, timber and
fuel production has major implications for future food security and sustainable livelihoods.
• Many of today’s soil and crop, livestock and forest management systems are unsustainable:
– extreme overuse of fertilizer in the EU  serious nitrate build up in water resources that
threatens vast areas.
– extreme under-use of organic and mineral fertilizer in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa 
soil nutrients exported with harvested crops are not being replenished, leading to soil
degradation and declining yields.

10. Soil degradation status and trends
(Global land degradation information system)
• Soils of varying degradation status (low to high) show increasing
degradation trends (GLADIS, 2011):
– Water and wind
erosion
– Nutrient and
SOM depletion
– Acidification
– Salinisation
– Compaction
– Contamination

11. CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR
MANAGING SOILS
- In 50 years the world’s cultivated area has grown by 12%;
the irrigated area has doubled; agricultural production
has grown 2.5 to 3 times, B thanks to significant increase in
yield of major crops.
- But, global achievements in production in some regions
are associated with degradation of land and water
resources and deterioration of ecosystem goods and
services.
- Towards 2050, rising population and incomes are
expected to call for 70% more food production globally,
and up to 100% more in developing countries (relative to
2009). Yet, the distribution of land and water resources does
not favour countries that need to produce more in the future.
- The largest share of increased agricultural output will most
likely come from intensification of production on existing
agricultural land. This will require widespread adoption of

12. SYSTEMS AT RISK (SOLAW)
B
- A series of land and water systems now face the risk of
progressive breakdown of their productive capacity
(driven by demographic pressure and unsustainable
agricultural practices).

13. SYSTEMS AT RISK (SOLAW)
B

14. CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR
MANAGING SOILS
- However, the potential exists to expand production
efficiently to address food security and poverty while
B
limiting negative impacts on other ecosystem functions.
- Actions include not just technical options but also a set of
enabling conditions to promote sustainable intensification
and reduce production risks/constraints (remove perverse
incentives; improve land tenure/access to resources;
strengthen land and water institutions and support services-
knowledge exchange, adaptive research, etc.)
- National budgets and ODA allocated to land and water
needs to be substantively increased (reverse –ve trend)
- There is also a need for much more effective integration of
international policies and initiatives dealing with land and
water management.

15. NEW FAO PARADIGM FOR AGRICULTURE
B

16. NEW FAO PARADIGM FOR AGRICULTURE
B

17. FUTURE CHALLENGES
Growing population demands:
•Healthy soils to increase food production and ensure food security (crop,
livestock, forest, fuel), support rural development & reduce poverty.
B
• Diverse farming systems to maintain supporting and regulating services
and to provide healthy diets & nutrition
• Actions to reduce post harvest losses and food waste.

18. FUTURE CHALLENGES
Growing Water scarcity:
Climate change scenarios predict reduction of
rainfall in some semi-arid regions and erratic,
unreliable rainfall in many areas.
Is much of the water lost as runoff and
evaporation (as above)?
Or is the soil ready to capture and retain
water ( as below)?
Soil and vegetation management practices are key to
efficient water use in crop, grazing and forest systems

19. FUTURE CHALLENGES
Climate change adaptation and mitigation:
• Under climate change scenarios, the provision of environmental systems
to meet demands of the growing population remains a challenge
• Soils play a key role in climate change adaptation (resilient, productive
farming systems, efficient use of water) and mitigation (C sequestration;
reduced GHG emissions)

20. FUTURE CHALLENGES
Soils under increasing Pressure
Degradation threatens this vital resource; Limited area of fertile soils is under
increasing pressure; capacity to continue to increase food production for the
growing population is diminishing.
Population Urban expansion,
growth and Food mining and loss of
security productive land
Competition for Demand on soils
water and water for bioenergy
scarcity production
Climate change Soil
adaptation and contamination-
mitigation heavy metals,
Effects on soil health and soil life (soil
wastes
biodiversity) and ecosystem functions
/services- hidden role of soils

21. 2. Global Soil Partnership

22. Soils situation today: Major concern
• 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).

23. Why a Global Soil Partnership ?
A Global soil Partnership (complementing the Global water
partnership) can bring due recognition and concerted action
with stakeholders at international, national and local levels to
protect and sustain soil and water resources as the basis for
sustainable agriculture and food security.
It will provide a platform and intergovernmental mechanism
for updating and sharing knowledge on soils, for developing
capacities of users and technical institutions and providing
information and evidence for strengthened policies and
investment programmes.

24. 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:
• 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
200 participants; 100 countries
policies and investments to guarantee 120 organizations; (int./reg./
healthy productive soils for food security and national institutes; soil science
sustained ecosystem services. networks; NGOs; universities
research;farmers associations)

25. GSP Vision and Mission
• The Vision of the GSP is the improvement of the global governance of
the limited soil resources of the planet in order to guarantee healthy and
productive soils for a food secure world, as well as sustain other
ecosystem services on which our livelihoods and societies depend
including water regulation and supply, climate regulation, biodiversity
conservation and other cultural services.
• The Mission of the GSP is to develop
capacities, build on best available science, and
facilitate the exchange of knowledge and
technologies between stakeholders, for
sustainable management of soil resources at all
levels with a view to enhancing food security,
protecting ecosystem services, and contributing
to poverty alleviation in an era of increasing
human demands and climate change.

26. GSP Proposed Pillars of Action
1. Promote sustainable management of soil resources and improved global
governance for soil protection and sustainable productivity;
2. Encourage investment, technical cooperation, policy, education awareness
and extension in soils;
3. Promote targeted soil research and development focusing on identified gaps,
priorities and synergies among economic/productive, environmental and social
dimensions;
4. Enhance the quality and availability of soil
data and information: collection, analysis,
validation, reporting, monitoring, integration with
other disciplines;
5. Harmonize and establish voluntary
guidelines of methods, measurements and
indicators for soil protection and sustainable
management.

27. Proposed structure of the GSP
Open to all governments, relevant
stakeholders and organizations.
ITPS- 25 high level scientists providing
scientific & technical advice to GSP & FAO.
(selected and appointed through country
representatives to FAO).
RSPs are fundamental
Secretariat will implement the GSP through (composed of any type of
Regional Partnerships (hosted at FAO; part of its regional/national bodies
funding from FAO’s regular program). working on soils).

28. Progress in GSP establishment
2. Towards RIO+20 (Unified Soils
1. A Technical Working Group (TWG) was side event, June 2012).
established (Oct. 2011) to prepare the draft
- GSP is included in 1st draft of Final
of the Terms of Reference for the RIO+20 document (support of
establishment of the GSP. 76 voluntary partners).
members worldwide reviewed the working
- 2 unified Soil Side events will be
version of ToR and a consolidated version
conducted at Rio+20 to position soils
was prepared end Feb. 2012 in discussion at the highest level policy agenda.
&d agreement with Regional Chairs of
- Under the GSP, FAO is starting the
country Permanent Reps. to FAO.
process for:
2 page version TOR prepared for
• Recognition by UN System of the
consideration / endorsement by COAG World Soil Day
(May 2012).
• Implementation of Global Soil Week
2012.
• Recognition of the International
Year of Soils 2015.

29. Progress in GSP establishment
3. Networking and Actions to address soils issues in the field
FAO is funding LOAs with a leading institution in the regions to set up institutional
networks as basis of the Regional Soil Partnerships and start a process of
developing soil information systems in which capacity development is priority:
•Asia: coordinated by Soil Science institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences; 1st meeting -16
countries & many institutions  Nanjing Communiqué (11 Feb 2012)
• MENA: coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture Jordan and ICARDA; 1st meeting early
April; in addition to an Amman communiqué agreed to develop an FAO TCP project
• Latin America: coordinated by EMBRAPA, Brazil, & Argentina; 1st meeting 16-20 April
2012;.
• Africa: to be developed in consultation with TSBF-CIAT, ICRAF , Afnet network and other
partners
The RSPs will prioritise and implement the GSP plans of actions, while
addressing local needs with local experts and fostering south-south
cooperation and collaboration (e.g. Globalsoilmap.net, Global soil forum etc.)

30. ASIAN SOIL PARTNERSHIP
Priorities for Asia (Nanjing, April 2012)
• to share and transfer knowledge & new
technology within and beyond the region
• to provide soil information to all those with
interest in sustainable use of soils and land
resources
• to build consistent and updated Asian soils
information systems and start to contribute
to global soil information through initiatives
such as GSM
• to train new generations of experts in soil
science and land management

31. Progress in GSP establishment
4. GSP Workshop "Towards Global Soil Information: activities within the
GEO Task on Global Soil Data” 20-23 March 2012, FAO HQ Rome.
The workshop aim was to review the
state of the art of tools and techniques
for mapping soils at global and regional
scales as an input for defining future
activities for implementation under the
GSP. Soil data/information user demands
were also reviewed.

32. Town Hall Event Discussion
(Vienna 24 April 2012)
How can members of the European Geosciences
Union contribute to the GSP?

33. How can EGU members contribute to GSP
We invite soil scientists/ institutes/members of EGU to suggest
How could you contribute to the GSP Pillars for soil protection, sustainable
management and food security in the region and globally?
What in your view are the main needs and priorities:
1. to promote sustainable soil management (What practices? Where?)
2. to improve soil information & its use (What gaps? How/Where to
monitor/survey? How to integrate with other disciplines?)
3. to enhance investment, technical cooperation, policy, education
awareness and extension in soils (what support?)
4. to promote targeted applied soil research (What gaps and priority
issues in the region? How to address economic, environmental &
social impacts?);
5. to develop and promote harmonised guidelines, methods,
measurements and indicators (What is needed for sustainable soil
management and for soil protection?).