Agenda of the 5th NENA Soil Partnership meetingFAO
The Fifth meeting of the Near East and North African (NENA) Soil Partnership will take place from 1-2 April 2019 in Cairo, Egypt. The objectives of the meeting are to consolidate the NENA Soil Partnership, review the work plan, organize activities to establish National Soil Information Systems, agree to launch a Regional Soil Laboratory for NENA, and strengthen networking. The meeting agenda includes discussions on soil information systems, a soil laboratory network, and implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management. The performance of the NENA Soil Partnership will also be assessed and future strategies developed.
This document summarizes the proceedings of the first meeting of the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN). GLOSOLAN was established to harmonize soil analysis methods and strengthen the performance of laboratories through standardized protocols. The meeting discussed the role of National Reference Laboratories in promoting harmonization, and how GLOSOLAN is structured with regional networks feeding into the global network. Progress made in 2018 included registering over 200 laboratories, assessing capacities and needs, and establishing regional networks. The work plan for 2019 includes further developing regional networks, standard methods, a best practice manual, and the first global proficiency testing. The document concludes by outlining next steps to launch the regional network for North Africa and the Near East.