This production process will be led by an Editorial Board that is composed of the following members: Dr. Luca Montanarella (Italy, Chair), Dr. Maria Lourdes Mendonca (Brazil), Dr. Dan Pennock (Canada), Dr. Kazuyuki Yagi (Japan), Dr. Seyed Kazem Alavi (Iran), Dr. Neil Mckenzie (Australia), Dr. Victor Chude (Nigeria) and Dr. Pavel Krasilnikov (Russia).

As agreed by the Editorial Board, the first ever version of this report will be launched on 5 December 2015 as part of the International Year of Soils 2015 celebration.

The report has the following scope and objectives:

• the Status of the World's Soil Resources report begins with an assessment of global soil resources set within a framework of ecosystem services, and then assesses the threats to soil functions and their consequences for these services. It concludes with a series of recommendations for action by policymakers and other stakeholders.
• provide a global scientific assessment of current and projected soil conditions built on regional analysis and expertise.
• explores the implications of these soil conditions for food security, climate change, water quality and quantity, biodiversity, and human health and wellbeing.
• based on best available  soil information and including a full uncertainty evaluation of the soil information.
• identification of  soil-related knowledge gaps that constrain the achievement of sustainable development.

Apart from ITPS members, recognized soil scientists will be invited to contribute to the different chapters of this report. It is expected that this report will become the official reference on global soil resources, therefore its development will follow a very strict and rigorous scientific process. The target audience of this report will be policy makers, decision takers, scientific and development communities and the general public.