FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva has appointed Claire Chenu, a French biodiversity and soil sciences expert, and Tekalign Mamo, an Ethiopian soil management expert, as Special Ambassadors for the International Year of Soils (IYS) 2015.
13 May 2015: FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva has appointed Claire Chenu, a French biodiversity and soil sciences expert, and Tekalign Mamo, an Ethiopian soil management expert, as Special Ambassadors for the International Year of Soils (IYS) 2015.
The two Special Ambassadors will participate in events around the world geared to generate public awareness, disseminate technical knowledge and promote effective policies on soils and land management. They are also charged with motivating relevant stakeholders to take advantage of IYS 2015 and finding ways to keep momentum going beyond 2015.
Chenu is Vice-Chair of France’s Scientific Council for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, an advisory committee to the Environment Minister in Paris, France. An expert in soil fertility, Mamo currently holds a teaching position at Haramaya University in Ethiopia and is an adviser to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The 68th session of the UN General Assembly declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS) in order to raise awareness of the importance of soils in terms of food security, nutrition and essential ecosystem services and place soils back on the international policy agenda. Diverse events are taking place at national, regional and international levels under the slogan ‘Healthy soils for a healthy life.’ [FAO Announcement] [IYS 2015 Website]