On World Soil Day 2017, the attention of the world will be focused on pressing issues affecting soils, including degradation and pollution, through the theme of the year “Caring for the Planet starts from the ground”. To this end, specific attention will be given to the role of soil organic carbon in mitigating the effects of climate change and to the impacts of plant protection products (PPP) on the environment and human health. Given increasing impacts and public concern on these topics, the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) developed a “Global assessment of the impact of plant protection products on soil functions and soil ecosystems”. The goal of this assessment is to provide a high-level, global-scale scientific opinion on the effects of PPP on soil functions and biodiversity. The assessment is the first contribution towards the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution 2018 (GSOP18) as part of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management. In addition, the ITPS has also prepared a global soil organic carbon map (GSOCmap) by involving member countries and using a distributed approach. The map would support countries to build their own national soil information systems and report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on SDG 15.3.1.

Celebrations on World Soil Day will focus on:

• launching the global soil organic carbon map;

• launching the “Global assessment of the impact of plant protection products on soil functions and soil ecosystems”; and

• launching the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (2-4 May 2018).