Highlights archive
Healthy soils are a vital resource that sustains food production and the livelihoods of millions of women and men farmers. Worldwide, the use of unsustainable practices is worsening soil degradation, which is already impacting 33 percent of soils, exacerbating food insecurity and gender inequalities. Wide evidence shows that women and men are affected differently by soil degradation due to their unequal access to resources and services, as well as gender based constraints, labor constraints, time poverty and work burden affecting particularly women who face more challenges than men to participate in decision-making processes and to access land, education, technologies, advisory and financial services, which also reduce their ability to invest in soil health and productivity.
Between 22 and 26 May, the capital of Uzbekistan Tashkent, served as a meeting point for experts and soil scientists from all over the world. Notably, Tashkent became the epicenter of three major international events on salt-affected soils: the SecondMeeting of the International Network on Salt-affected Soils (INSAS), the Sixth Plenary Meeting of the Subregional Eurasian Soil Partnership (EASP) and specialized trainings on salt-affected soil analysis conducted by the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN). About 150 participants came together, including representatives from several countries including Australia, Armenia, Bangladesh, China, France, Georgia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Netherlands, Pakistan, Senegal, Spain, Turkmenistan, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
Monrovia - As 33% of the world’s soil is degraded, soil information for sustainable agriculture and land use planning are critical to ensuring the use of land resources does not harm the productivity and the health of the soil, but to contribute to a sustainable and food-secure world.
The second meeting of the International Network on salt-affected soils (INSAS) is taking place this week in Tashkent to address land degradation and build stronger linkages between science, policy, and farmers.
“The International Network on Salt-affected soils brings together 700 experts from 120 countries around the world,” said Maria Konyushkova, coordinator of the International Network on Salt-affected soils.
The Recarbonization of Agricultural Soils (RECSOIL) initiative of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) has officially kicked off in Ecuador with the completion of the first training phase. The programme collaborates with local and national stakeholders to implement sustainable soil management (SSM) practices to improve soil conditions and increase soil carbon stocks. Ultimately, the RECSOIL goal is to mitigate and adapt to climate change, boost soil resilience to extreme weather events, increase farmers' livelihoods, and improve food security.