Report published | First meeting of International Network of Salt affected Soils
The establishment of INSAS governance, the development of a plan of action and the discussion of its implementation
Attended by 260 participants from 94 countries, the first meeting of the International Network of Salt affected Soils (INSAS) was held virtually on 14-15 April, 2021. FAO’s Chief Scientist, Ms Elouafi, highlighted the importance of FAO in the process of developing and transmitting the best knowledge at a country level and discussed the 3 branched approach - preventing soil salinization, managing salt affected soils and rehabilitating affected soils. The goal of INSAS is to facilitate the sustainable management of salt-affected soils developing useful tools, harmonized methodologies and sharing good practices among farmers and countries. More than 500 members, representing 120 countries, showed a decent global balance of nations, even at such an early stage of the INSAS development.
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Within the first session of the meeting Ms Rodriguez Eugenio presented GSP activities on sustainable soil management. GSP work on salt-affected soils, was detailed by Mr Omuto who offered an overview of the development process of global soil salinity maps (GSSmaps) with 80 countries that had already submitted their map and the ongoing development of the Global Status of Salt Affected Soils. Ms Olivera informed the participants about the Soil Doctors farmer training programme and the tools it provides including posters about soil salinity, pH and heavy metal testing as well as soil kits. Ms Bozeyeva, the National project manager of FAO-KZ added that in the framework of a related regional project, two pilot regions in Kazakhstan developed their salinity maps and provided support for the government of Kazakhstan on sustainable soil management (e.g on Kyzylorda - one of the worst salt-affected regions, in promoting sustainable soil management practices. Ms Suvannang, the GLOSOLAN Chair, described the need for soil laboratories to harmonise and standardise the production of data and protocols in measuring soil salinity and pH. Ms Konyushkova informed participants about the Global Symposium on Salt-Affected Soils taking place on 27-29 October 2021 and its main themes. The high-level meeting will be co-organised by the GSP and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, WASAG, UNCCD, IUSS and the ICBA. Ms Verbeke presented the plan for the celebrations of World Soil Day 2021, and its focus on salt-affected soils.
The second session of the meeting was aimed at setting the scene of the main areas of work. These were:
- The mapping and assessment of salt-affected soils.
- The development of policies on sustainable management of salt-affected soils.
- The development of the guidelines on growing plants and crops under saline and sodic conditions sustaining soil health.
- An integrated soil and water management strategy in saline/sodic conditions.
Among the interveners:
- Mr Guevara on “Mapping and assessing salt affected soils, challenges and opportunities and experience for Latin American and Caribbean regions”;
- Mr Athamneh on “The soil salinity management of the United Arab Emirates;
- Dr De Vos on “The Salt Doctors- improving crop yield under saline conditions”; and
- Mr Boroto on “The Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture”.
The third session focused on the example of an integrated approach to soil salinity management used at a regional scale as well as on several specific cases of soil salination such as the use of grey water and the impact of sea level rise.
Among the interveners:
- Dr Elnaggar on “Biosaline agriculture: lessons learned from agricultural R&D projects in salt-affected areas”;
- Mr Shaumarov on “The integrated approach to soil salinity management in Central Asia and Turkey (CACILM-2 GEF project)”;
- Dr Cornelis on “Effects of Grey Water Use on Salinity and Sodicity: Case Study from Belgium”;
- Dr Negacz on “The impact of sea level rise on soil salinization in Northern Europe and the potential of saline agriculture as an adaptation measure”;
- Dr Rezaei on “Modelling solute transport in SAS: case studies from Iran";
An interactive discussions on the thematic areas and concrete proposals of the work plan was opened afterword and included:
- SAS&Assessment: Mapping, assessing and monitoring of salt-affected soils
- SAS&SSM: Sustainable management of salt-affected soils (practices, policy)
- SAS&Crops: Halophyte agriculture and salt-tolerant crops and plants
- SAS&Water: Integrated soil and water management under saline/sodic conditions
The voting for the work plan was approved by the members of INSAS.
Finally, election for the post of Chair and Vice Chair were held. Mr Jorge Batlle-Sales was elected as the Chair and Ms Kate Negacz as Vice Chair. The voting for the position of the second vice-chair took place online with over 170 members of the network that voted from 71 countries and Mr Meisam Rezaei was elected to this position by the majority of votes.
After the meeting, all members of INSAS were invited to join the Working groups corresponding to their area of expertise and to contribute actively, on a voluntary basis, into the development of the documents of INSAS.
DETAILS OF THE EVENT | AGENDA | CONCEPT NOTE | PRESENTATIONS | RECORDINGS DAY 1 & DAY 2 | PHOTOGALLERY | REPORT