The GSOP18 conference highlighted soil pollution as a critical, yet overlooked issue impacting food security, health, and the environment, requiring urgent action from the scientific community and policy makers. Recommendations included developing scientific evidence through case studies, raising public awareness campaigns, and establishing guidelines for sustainable soil management. Collaborative efforts are essential for addressing soil pollution through technical cooperation, educational initiatives, and ongoing assessment and monitoring.

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GSOP18:
Conclusions and
way Forward100COUNTRIES
Ronald Vargas
Global Soil Partnership, FAO

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A very successful first step…….
- UN Scientific Panels and Agencies working together for a common
objective: addressing soil pollution.
- Scientific community actively engaged.
- Member countries (Policy/decision makers in the driving seat).
- Soil pollution……….a hidden/ignored reality…….NOT ANYMORE

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Direct contribution to the UNEA3 Declaration

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GSOP Statistics
522
PARTICIPANTS
2 – 4 MAY
2018

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Participants
Female Male
312
MEN
210
WOMEN
GSOP Statistics

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54
ORAL
PRESENTATIONS
106
ORAL
PRESENTATIONS
GSOP Statistics160+ EXTENDED ABSTRACTS RECEIVED
160+
EXTENDED
ABSTRACTS
RECEIVED
Numbers
Poster presentations Oral presentations

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GSOP Statistics
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0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Africa Asia Europe LATC NENA North
America
Pacific
REGIONAL BALANCE

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Conclusions? Findings?

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Is there scientific evidence that soil pollution is a
real threat to food security/safety, environment and
health?
- Through all the presentations in the different sessions, this was very
clear.
- Soil Pollution is a reality and a fact, but should not be
hidden/ignored further!
- Scientific gaps: yes, there is a need to invest on concrete case
studies that demonstrate scientifically the problem and its impacts.
- Conventional soil survey: focused on increasing productivity but not
addressing the need for understanding the content of
pollutants……we need to change this!
- Evidence based and applied research is needed: advanced countries
need to share their know how with developing countries.

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It will be interesting to understand (scientifically)
how many pollutants people ingest (without
knowing) in an average per day in different locations
through the different sources (food, air, water,
medicines, etc.)…….

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What is the main driver of soil
pollution?
- HUMAN ACTIVITIES
- Focus is on increasing PRODUCTIVITY/PRODUCTION……..How to
produce more? But there is no sensitivity towards the impacts of
doing so!
- Consumers (general public): unaware of the impacts (to the
environment, health and food) of consuming more, the risks of
processed products without information on the ingredients (and
impacts they have)……not even aware on the existence of soils, its
importance and the risk of soil pollution.
- Producers: driven by economic benefits but not much with the
environmental, social and life responsibility.

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Can we deal with soil pollution as soil
scientists alone?
- Soil pollution requires an integral approach as there are different
sources, land uses and decision makers.
- Soil pollution should be addressed through Sustainable soil
Management.
- A multidisciplinary group of stakeholders (like participants of
GSOP18) should take the lead in addressing this threat.
- Researchers need to work together with decision makers (science
policy interface) and please join the efforts of the UN.

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Way forward

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Specific outputs
- GSOP18 Proceedings
- GSOP18 Outcome document “Be the solution to soil pollution”.
- Special issue on “Environmental Pollution Journal” and
“Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Journal”.
- A forum of experts that will work towards addressing soil pollution.

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Building scientific evidence
- To jointly build case studies with scientific evidence regarding
concrete examples of soil pollution and its impacts in the different
sectors in different regions.
- They will serve as the evidence to demonstrate the need for concrete
bold actions against sol pollution.
- Awareness raising campaigns can be developed based on these
findings……

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Awareness raising and advocacy
- Join the campaign “Be the solution to soil pollution”
- Organize regional and national awareness raising campaigns
- Target: children, youth, general public and decision makers.
- A continuous process……...

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Capacity development and training
- Develop educational material on soil pollution (from assessment to
remediation) by a core group of experts in all languages and make them
available online and through printed copies for free distribution.
- Organize training courses at regional and national levels on soil
pollution.
- Facilitate the exchange of researcher/students from developing and
developed countries.
- Organize a symposiums every certain period of time (at global and
regional levels) to monitor progress made after GSOP18.

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Global Assessment of Soil Pollution
- Although we heard many times that data availability is an issue, we
cannot postpone this responsibility (an assessment).
- A collaborative effort and from FAO/GSP/ITPS, we are fully committed
to make it a reality.
- Condition: bottom-up approach where countries lead it under agreed
technical specifications and methodology.
- Harmonization is a very important condition for this assessment.

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Establishment of Working groups
- To develop feasible and regionally contextualized guidelines for
assessing, mapping, monitoring and reporting on soil pollution,
including threshold levels and background levels that guarantee the
inclusion of bioavailability.
- Also, countries who are making efforts against this threat, should
have the opportunity to report under different platforms.
- On managing soil pollution, so they can prepare guidelines, manuals,
etc.

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Implement existing normative/tools and
formulate others needed (especially at
national levels)

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Targeted research and technical
cooperation
- Technical cooperation between countries with experience on soil
pollution and those that require technical support should be envisioned.
- Advances on research, especially on remediation of polluted sites
should be promoted (emerging pollutants but also on residuals from old
contaminants). This should take into account the reality in the
developing countries.
- A platform for research findings on soil pollution should be established
and database of successful practices addressing soil pollution be
established.
- Create a neutral fund for supporting research on soil pollution especially
of young researchers.

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It is our responsibility to provide healthy
soils for our children…..
Let’s work against soil pollution and let’s
promote sustainable soil management.