1 November 2013: During the Second Global Soil Week (GSW), which convened in Berlin, Germany, from 27-31 October 2013, over 400 participants from 70 countries addressed the need to understand and manage soils across global regions, with a focus on integrating soil and land into the global sustainable development agenda.

Sessions focused on material cycles, sustainable land management and soil engineering, international soil policy, and responsible land governance. The Economics of Land Degradation initiative (ELD) coordinated sessions on the economics of land degradation and the role of local policy actions in mobilizing change. The session on economics built on policy papers by ELD. The last two days of the meeting considered pathways to societal change and a series of working groups to deepen the debate. On the final day, the Global Soils Partnership (GSP) Secretariat organized a workshop on a European Regional/Sub-regional Soil Partnership to discuss the possibility of launching a regional initiative. A closing high-level plenary considered key messages of the meeting and welcomed proposals for inclusion in the draft outcome document, an Agenda for Action.

In a session held on 29 October and hosted by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Federal Environment Agency (UBA), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and other partners, participants addressed the integration of soil and land into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the post-2015 development agenda. Opening the session, Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director, IASS, stressed the need for taking action to put soil and land resources on the global sustainable development agenda and for linking SDGs with concrete targets and indicators. At the session, participants also suggested that the findings from GSW discussions on targets and indicators be introduced into the SDGs and post-2015 agenda negotiations. Alexander Müller of IASS stressed that there is “no progress without process,” and underscored the need to identify common ground and agree on targets. He also underlined the importance of the inter-linkages between soil, food, water, energy, and biodiversity to make the case for soils.

Participants discussed call to achieve a land degradation neutral world (LDNW) in the Rio+20 outcome document, focusing on the need for diverse groups considering soils in the context of agriculture, land degradation and drylands issues to come together with the goal of integrating the consideration of soils into the global poverty agenda. Participants said that the key principles of a LDNW include: underscoring the seriousness of the soil and land degradation issue; ensuring a people-centered approach to a LDNW; and promoting a knowledge-based approach. They also suggested that the proposal should include targets and sub-targets for a land degradation neutral world in the areas of degradation, restoration, land-use change and socio-economic aspects, and poverty.

During the week, the GSP presented the workshop report from the ‘Managing Living Soils Workshop’ held in Rome, Italy from 5-7 December 2012. The workshop provided guidance on a Plan of Action for Pillar 1 of the GSP on promoting the sustainable management of soil resources, focusing on identifying: priority issues for the protection of soils; constraints to achieving sustainable soil management; and existing opportunities on which to build. The report provides assessments and case studies from regional groups, and recommendations for the Plan of Action.

Global Soil Week is a collaboration of the Global Soil Forum of the IIAS and its partners. It is a contribution to the Global Soil Partnership. [Global Soil Week Website] [Towards a European Regional/Sub-regional Soil Partnership] [IISD RS Coverage of ELD] [Managing Living Soils] [Soils and Land in the SDGs and the Post-2015 Development Agenda] [IISD RS Coverage of Global Soil Week] [UNCCD News]