The NENA Soil Partnership, established in 2012, aims to promote sustainable soil management and address soil-related threats through regional cooperation and workshops. Key milestones include the development of work plans, the establishment of task forces, and international network growth concerning soil types, notably addressing issues like soil pollution and carbon mapping. Recent initiatives focus on capacity building, policy awareness, and technical cooperation among member countries to enhance soil management practices.

1. NENA Soil Partnership
Dr. Jahanbakhsh Mirzavand

2. Milestones
• 2012 | Establishment of the NENA Soil
Partnership
• 2014 | 2nd NENA Soil Partnership
meeting
• 2015 | 3rd NENA Soil Partnership meeting
• 2018 | 4th NENA Soil Partnership
meeting
- Reactivation of the Partnership
- Review of the governance and objectives of the
Partnership
- Development of an annual work plan

3. Milestones
• 2019 | 5th NENA Soil Partnership meeting
- Review of the work performed by the Partnership since their 4th
meeting
- Development of an annual work plan
- Establishment of a task force, headed by Dr. Bahram Taheri of
Iran, to write regional climate change adaptation and mitigation,
and co-benefit proposals related soil nexuses using international
mechanisms as well as the EU H2020
As a start, a regional TCP project on SSM was submitted to FAO-RNE
- Commitment of the Pillars’ Chairs and national focal points to be
more active and proactive

5. Activities implemented from June 2018 to June
2019
Promote sustainable management of soil
resources for soil protection, conservation
and sustainable productivity
Chair: Dr. Rafla Attia, Tunisia

6. Implementation at the national
level through the organization of
national multi-stakeholder
workshops
Iran, December 2018

7. International Network of Black Soils
Iraq and Syria joined the network.
However…

8. International Network of Black Soils
NENA countries do not have black soils. Proposal to establish
a network on the dominant soil type in NENA or to address the
major soil threat in the region
Proposal to establish the International Network
of Salt-Affected Soils

9. Activities implemented from June 2018 to June
2019
Encourage investment, technical
cooperation, policy, education, awareness
and extension in soil
Chair: Dr. Muhammad Manhal Alzoubi, Syria

10. Translation of soil education and awareness raising
material to Arabic, including development of Arabic
websites

11. A four-monthly series of policy briefs to tackle main
issues in the region

12. A four-monthly series of policy briefs to raise awareness
and trigger action on main soil-related issues in the region
Official launch at the Land and
Water Days 2019 (31 March, Cairo,
Egypt)
• It links sustainable soil management and soil threats such as soil
degradation to hot topics in the policy agenda: food and water security,
food and energy security and hence climate change adaptation and
mitigation and people displacement;
• It promotes the idea that the Sustainable Development Goals and other
international commitments cannot be achieved without practicing
Sustainable Soil Management, which should be supported by policy.

13. The NENA Soil Partnership’s Facebook page

14. Celebration of the World Soil Day 2018
“Be the solution to soil pollution”

15. Countries committed to support the development of
regional specific material and to implement the Global
Soil Doctors Programme

16. Activities implemented from June 2018 to June 2019
• Promote targeted soil research and development focusing
on identified gaps, recognition of national, regional and
global overlaps, setting the priorities and identification of
synergies with related productive, environmental and social
development actions
• Systemic development of nexus sciences, research and
development between soil and other elements and topics
such as water, food, energy and climate change
Chair: Dr. Bahram Taheri, Iran

17. Support the development of an
online database for soil science
R&D (ReSoil)

18. Database for Science and R&D
• Proposal for development of an interactive
Global Soil and Soil Nexus
Sciences/Scientists/Science and R&D
institutions Database
• Development of the preliminary scope of
datafields, data structure and database
architecture for the pilot version of database to
start in NENA region

19. Interested countries committed to contribute
to the writing of the Soil Atlas of Asia by the
JRC-EC and GSP/FAO
Geographic coverage of the Atlas

20. Completion of the survey on soil pollution for the
“Assessment of the global status and regional trends
of soil pollution”

21. Soil Pollution Workshop
• Development of a training workshop by Iran on emerging
pollutants, point-source and non-point source pollution of soil
and groundwater, to be delivered in NENA and other regions,
based on discussions in GSP6 and noting the prevalence of
mention of oil pollution in the regional countries’ responses in
the soil pollution questionnaire
X(m)
Y(m)
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0
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0 20 40 60 80 100 120
CW11
CW146
Raw Oil of Pumping
Station
CW110
Dorsun abad
D1
D2

22. Activities implemented from June 2018 to June
2019
Information and Data
Chair: Dr. Rachid Moussadek, Morocco

23. Improvement of the National Soil Organic Carbon
Maps (Iran and Palestine)
Update of the Global Soil Organic Carbon Map

24. Establishment of National Soil Information Systems
and contribution to the Global Soil Information System
(GLOSIS)
Completion of the Country Soil Information Survey and the survey to
overcome data fragmentation

25. Activities implemented from June 2018 to June
2019
Harmonization of methods, measurements
and indicators for the sustainable
management and protection of soil
resources
Chair: Dr. Imad Ghanma, Palestine

26. Implementation of the Global Soil Laboratory
Network (GLOSOLAN)
• Participation in the 2nd GLOSOLAN meeting, Rome, Italy
28-30 November 2018
• Provision of inputs to implement GLOSOLAN activities
Note: Iran to lead the development of the GLOSOLAN SOP
on inorganic carbon (CaCO3 equivalent)
• Launch of the Regional Soil Laboratory Network for the
NENA region - Jordan or Iran, June 2019 [TBC]

27. Many thanks for
your attention