6 March 2015: A workshop organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), members of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), international experts and representatives from ten South American countries, has strengthened the South American Soil Partnership’s management structure.

The workshop, which met in Santiago, Chile the 2-6 March 2015, was held within the framework of the International Year of Soils (IYS) 2015. It provided the opportunity: for members of the South American Soil Partnership, including focal points for soils from South American countries and representatives of National Soil Societies, to establish a Management Committee and Secretariat; and to outline the main points of a five-year regional plan to address the key problems affecting soil in the sub-region.

Ronald Vargas, FAO Officer for Soils and GSP Secretary, said the soils of South America feed the region, as well as play a key role in global food security, given that the region is a major food exporter. He noted that degradation impacts a large part of agricultural soils in South America. Soil is a nonrenewable resource, and generating a couple of centimeters of soil can take hundreds of years. According to FAO, 14% of global land degradation takes place in Latin America and the Caribbean, and affects 150 million people, while approximately 50% of Latin American and the Caribbean soils suffer from nutrient deficiencies.

The South American Soil Partnership facilitates linkages between national and local soil and land management programmes and activities in order to strengthen joint ventures and develop synergies. It forms part of the GSP, which aims to promote the sustainable use and management of soils to ensure food and nutritional security, adaptation to climate change, the provision of environmental services and sustainable development. [GSP News Story]