Updates from the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution
Co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP) and Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), UN Environment, the Secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Conventions Secretariat), and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (GSOP18) convened from 2-4 May 2018 at the FAO headquarters, in Rome, Italy. The Symposium brought together more than 500 participants from 100 countries, comprising a wide array of stakeholders, including scientists and policy makers.
he Symposium featured plenary and parallel thematic sessions, organized around the following themes: soil pollution on agricultural fields and other land uses; the impact of soil pollution on food production and safety, the environment and overall human well-being; remediation of polluted sites; and developing policies and setting thresholds for addressing soil pollution and the global status of soil pollution.
The GSOP organizing committee is now working on the outcome document of the Symposium titled ‘Be the Solution to Soil Pollution’. The document will summarize the scientific evidence and data, as well as ideas for overcoming existing challenges and for future steps, tabled by participants during the Symposium.
The co-organizers are now putting together the PowerPoint presentations and scientific posters presented during the Symposium and compiling the various news and articles published in the press on the topic of Soil Pollution. Furthermore, updates will soon be posted on the GSOP18 website, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, the below links will provide you with the latest available information :
ISSD Reporting: ISSD webpage on GSOP18 | Meeting report
Video of the GSOP18 key moments
Discover the results of the photo contest on soil pollution here