Launch of the Pacific Soil Partnership

On the 13th October 2014, the soil community form 12 Pacific countries together with universities, research institutes, SPC and FAO assembled in Suva, Fiji. The meeting was hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and supported by FAO, SPC, CSIRO (Australia) and Landcare Research (New Zealand). The objective of this launch was to establish the Pacific Soil Partnership with its different components. The opportunity was also used for identifying the soil priorities in the region, identifying the mechanisms for developing the implementation plan of the region and understanding how they could be best implemented.

The Suva Communique was prepared by the participants in which they fully support the Global Soil Partnership and expressed that there is need for strengthening the soil institutions through capacity development and investing in sustainable soil management practices.

The Pacific Soil Partnership will be hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and given appropriate resources. The SPC will convene an annual meeting of the partnership or as otherwise necessary.