February 2014: The Global Soil Partnership (GSP) has released a report from the 2013 launch of its Eastern and Southern African regional partnership.

The report outlines regional needs and priorities with regard to soil. It also features national presentations on the status of soil and land resources from partner countries, including Burundi, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The publication reflects countries’ challenges related to soil erosion, loss of soil biodiversity and fertility, management challenges, policy implementation barriers, the lack of water harvesting facilities, lack of coordination and a lack of soil maps.

The regional partnership launch highlighted needs with regard to capacity building, database management, digital soil mapping and the scale-up of existing maps. It also prioritized needs for infrastructure, equipment and better information on managing specific soil types. It identified gaps on inter alia, communication with policy makers, understanding of appropriate technologies, and sustainable livestock management opportunities.

The Regional Partnership agreed to establish a regional secretariat, to hire a communication organization to assist with branding and targeting stakeholders, and to collaborate with the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS). The meeting was held from 25-27 March 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. [Publication: Launch of the Global Soil Partnership in Eastern and Southern Africa]