23 June 2015: ‘Understanding Mountain Soils,’ a joint publication of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) and the University of Turin, offers technical insights on the sustainable management of mountain soils as a contribution to the International Year of Soils 2015. The publication was launched on the opening day of the GSP Plenary Assembly in Rome, Italy.

The book describes the main features of mountain soil systems and the diverse ecosystem benefits that they provide, noting in particular their role as a water source for more than half of the world’s population. Diverse case studies from around the world are used to illustrate the deeply rooted relationship that mountain communities have with soil, and the associated environmental, economic and social values that have contributed to the sustainable management of mountain resources for centuries. Against this backdrop, the book highlights some threats to fragile mountain soils as a result of climate change and human actions such as rapid deforestation, and unsustainable farming practices and resource extraction methods, all of which affect soil fertility and contribute to land degradation as well as disasters such as floods and landslides.

Various interventions by FAO and other organizations are highlighted, including: cultivation of agave in Mexico to provide alternatives to livestock herding; the introduction of fast-growing nitrogen-fixing broadleaf trees and local grasses in Nepal to restore exhausted soils and provide rapid plant cover, thereby reducing landslide risks during monsoons; the replacement of “slash-and-burn” forest clearing with “slash-and-mulch” agroforestry systems in swathes of Central America; and the high-tech mapping of “erosion hot spots” in Viet Nam that has allowed farmers to change the way they tend coffee trees, contributing to reduced soil runoff.

One of the main objectives of the book is to promote the sustainable management of mountain soils “on behalf of mountain peoples,” to counter their marginalization from decision-making processes and development programmes, and their vulnerability to soil-related disasters. Among its policy recommendations, the book calls for a focus on landscape approaches in mountain areas and global efforts to empower mountain farmers and indigenous peoples and support rural women. It further emphasizes the importance of ensuring that mountain communities are compensated for contributing to improved ecosystem services, including increased carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, erosion control and protection of water sources. [FAO News Release] [Mountain Partnership News Release] [UN News Centre Press Release] [Understanding mountain soils: A contribution from mountain areas to the International Year of Soils 2015]