The Glinka World Soil Prize is named after Konstantin Glinka, an eminent Russian soil scientist known for his work on the geographical distribution of soils. The prize honours distinguished individuals or organizations that promote sustainable soil management and the protection of soil resources, which have a direct impact on people’ well-being. The Glinka World Soil Prize Ceremony took place during the annual celebration of World Soil Day, which this year focused on soil biodiversity under the motto ‘Keep Soil Alive, Protect Soil Biodiversity’. The winner of the Glinka World Soil Prize - edition 2020 is Mr Luca Montanarella, European Commission, who delivered a keynote address during the official celebration, held on 4 December 2020 in a virtual format.

4 December 2020 - The King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award was conferred to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for its commitment to raising awareness of the importance of healthy soils. Particularly during last year's World Soil Day celebration, which addressed soil erosion under the motto "Stop soil erosion, save our future".  Her Royal Highness, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, will give the award. The ceremony will take place in Bangkok in January 2021 where the Princess will officially offer the prize to ICAR, India.

The video entitled "Mission: Keep soil alive!" has been developed within the FAO project "Integrated Natural Resources Management in Degraded Landscapes in the Forest-Steppe and Steppe Zones of Ukraine", funded by the Global Environment Facility.

Watch the video here: English | Ukrainian 

Less than 20 days to go to World Soil Day 2020

World Soil Day (WSD) is the official United Nations Observance held annually on 5 December to draw attention on the importance of healthy soils and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources for a food-secure future. Under the motto “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity” WSD 2020 urges us to focus our attention on the workers belowground - from tiny bacteria to agile millipedes and slimy earthworms - all of which contribute to processes that are indispensable to life on Earth.

In an effort to emphasize the critical role that soils play in major global issues, the GSP secretariat is happy to announce that the Regional trainings on mapping Global Soil Organic Carbon sequestration (GSOCseq) potential have been kickstarted in Latin America and will proceed in Eurasia in the coming week.