4 January 2016: The eighth edition of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Global Soil Partnership (GSP) newsletter reviews major developments on the international soil agenda in 2015, including the adoption of land- and soil-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets, and the conclusion of the International Year of Soils (IYS) 2015, which was marked by more than 600 events around the world. The newsletter highlights several new initiatives to keep soils on the global agenda in 2016, including the proposed establishment of a World Soil Prize to be announced on 5 December, which is World Soil Day.

Among other 2015 achievements, the newsletter highlights the establishment of the International Network of Soil Information Institutions, and the finalization of several flagship publications, including the ‘Status of the World’s Soil Resources (SWSR),’ ‘Revised World Soil Charter,’ the ‘Farmer’s Compost handbook’ and ‘Understanding Mountain Soils: A Contribution from mountain areas to the International Year of Soils 2015.’ It also notes the publication of a diverse “information box” of materials and resources in different languages, including fact sheets, infographics, educational booklets, videos, posters, interviews and stories.

Noting the challenge of turning these outcomes into concrete actions, the newsletter describes ongoing regional and national-level initiatives to promote sustainable soil management, such as the completion of the Macedonian Soil Information System and the Turkish soil carbon and soil fertility system and the development of soil information systems in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Malawi.

The newsletter concludes by highlighting new initiatives in 2016, notably the FAO Council’s endorsement of a proposal to develop Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management through a participatory process. The new guidelines will seek to support the implementation of the World Soil Charter in order to effectively promote sustainable soil management.

Other resources featured on the GSP website include a publication by the FAO’s Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), titled ‘Can Carbon (SOC) offset the Climate Change?,’ which explains the rationale for adopting soil organic carbon (SOC) as one of the four ITPS priorities for action. The website also offers an animation titled ‘Sustainable soil management: A major step in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,’ which explores challenges in achieving the soil-related SDGs, and a poster titled ‘Soil, an essential ingredient to healthy food and nutrition’ that depicts some sustainable soil management practices to help reverse soil nutrient depletion. [GSP Newsletter # 8: December 2015] [IISD RS Story on SOC Publication] [IISD RS Stories on IYS 2015] [IISD RS Story on SWSR] [GSP Website]