Global Symposium on Soils and Water
PRESS RELEASE
Rome - Four days of intense discussion kicked off today with the opening of the Global Symposium on Soils and Water, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The relation between soil and water is deep and the “foundation of our agrifood systems, our environment, and our very existence,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said in opening remarks at the symposium, which includes more than 35 presentations on topics ranging from the impact of chemicals and wildfire on soil water retention capacity to better governance, integrated management and conservation of natural resources.
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PHOTOGALLERY
GSOWA23 Presentations
DAY 1: 2 ottobre 2023
Plenary session
HIGH LEVEL OPENING SESSION
Moderator: Ms Maria Helena Semedo
- FAO VIDEO:
OPENING OF THE SYMPOSIUM
- Ms Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, FAO
OPENING REMARKS
- H.E. Ms Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), African Union Commission (video message)
- Prof Laura Bertha Reyes Sánchez, Past President of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), Mexico
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: SETTING THE SCENE FOR GSOWA23
Moderator: Mr Lifeng Li, Director, Land and Water Division, FAO
- Introduction to the Global Symposium on Soils and Water 2023, Prof Rosa Poch, Chair of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), Spain
- Soil: the virtual Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Prof Rabi Mohtar, Texas Agriculture and Life Sciences University, United States of America
- Breaking barriers on soil moisture assessment, FAO’s WaPOR tool, Ms Livia Peiser, Land and Water Division, FAO
- How to improve the water utilization efficiency of salt-affected soils, Prof Shuwen Hu, China Agricultural University, China
THEME 1. Soil and water management in rainfed agriculture
Moderator: Carolina Olivera, Land and Water Division, FAO
SETTING THE SCENE : Rafla Sahli E. Attia, Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Tunisia
- Panellist 1: Rafla Sahli E. Attia, Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Tunisia
- Panellist 2: Marcos Angelini, Global Soil partnership FAO
- Panellist 3: Hafiz Muminjanov, Plant Production and Protection Division, FAO
THEME 2. Soil and water management in irrigated agriculture
Moderator: Janet Nabwami, Land and Water Division, FAO
SETTING THE SCENE : Marco Arcieri, Vice-President Honoraire, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, Italy
- Panellist 1: Marco Arcieri, Vice-President Honoraire, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, Italy
- Panellist 2: Mabvuso C. Sinda, Head, Soil Science Department, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zambia, Zambia
- Panellist 3: Emilio Fuentes, Universidad Nacional Agrícola (UNAG), Honduras
THEME 3. Soil and water management under One Health framework
Moderator: Yuxin Tong, Land and Water Division, FAO
SETTING THE SCENE : Fairouz Larfaoui, One Health and Disease Control group, FAO
- Panellist 1: Alexei Dominguez, Ministry of Agriculture, Guatemala
- Panellist 2: Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio, Land and Water Division, FAO
- Panellist 3: Fairouz Larfaoui, One Health and Disease Control group, FAO
THEME 4. Integrated soil and water management and effective governance
Moderator: Yusuf Yigini, Land and Water Division, FAO
SETTING THE SCENE : Vera Boerger, Land and Water Division, FAO
- Panellist 1: Rafael Lopez, Ministry of Agriculture, Guatemala
- Panellist 2: Vera Boerger, Land and Water Division, FAO
- Panellist 3: Teemu Viinikainen, Legal office, FAO
DAY 2: 3 ottobre 2023
Plenary session
Technical session | THEME 1 — Soil and water management in rainfed agriculture
- Moderator: Filippo Benedetti, Land and Water Division, FAO
- Integrated management of soil and water resources using biochar technology: The Nigeria experience. James Jayeoba, Nasarawa State University, Nigeria
- The directional amelioration of structure optimization, carbon sequestration and stabilization, function activation in the plow layer of saline-alkali land. Yuyi Li, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
- Soil and water conservation in oil palm plantations. Christopher Teh Boon Sung, Associate Professor, Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Putra, Malaysia
- Water Smart Agriculture – a decade successfully restoring soils and revitalizing rainfed agriculture of smallholder farmers in the Central American dry corridor under a changing climate. Axel Schmidt, Catholic Relief Services, Peru
- Water and Water Quality: Collaborative Innovation 4 Food Production. Katrien Van Hooydonk, Vision on technology for a better world (VITO),Belgium
Technical sessions | THEME 2 — Soil and water management in irrigated agriculture
Moderator: Maria Konyushkova, Land and Water Division, FAO
- Management of irrigation and drainage systems. Mabvuso C. Sinda, Head, Soil Science Department, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zambia, Zambia
- Soil physical quality indicators for water management in areas cultivated with hass avocado. Diana Lucía Correa Moreno, Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (AGROSAVIA), Colombia
- Abu Dhabi's Integrated Approach to Soil Salinity Management and Water Conservation. Bayan Mahmoud Athamneh, Soil Quality Section Manager, Environmental Agency, United Arab Emirates
- Improvement of water use efficiency in an irrigated peach orchard under Mediterranean climate. Rossana Monica Ferrara, Council for Agricultural Research (CREA), Italy
- Connecting the Drops: Near East and North Africa (NENA) Regional Evapotranspiration Network. Vinay Nangia, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Morocco
DAY 3: 4 October 2023
Plenary session
Technical sessions | THEME 3 — Soil and water management under One Health framework
Moderator: Sergejus Ustinov, Land and Water Division, FAO
- How to better integrate soils and water for modelling nutrient losses and diffuse pollution. Panos Panagos, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
- Wildfire impacts on soils and water quality. Carmen, Sánchez García, Research Officer, Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University, United Kingdom
- Linking emerging chemicals in soil to water contamination: The specific case of the 'forever chemicals' - PFAS. Anthony Umeh, Lecturer, Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), University of Newcastle, Australia
- Improving soil fertility and water use efficiency in various environments: PhosAgro best management practices. Vladimir Nosov, Head of competence center, PhosAgro, Russian Federation
- One Health in Action, project in Richmond California. Daphne Miller, Project Scientist, University of California, United States of America
Technical sessions | THEME 4 — Integrated soil and water management and effective governance
Moderator: Giacomo Rocchegiani, Land and Water Division, FAO
- The European Soil Monitoring Law. Christian Probst, Directorate-General Environment, European Commission
- Soil protection governance. Irene Heuser, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- Sustainable soil and water management: Empowering forest productivity and community water access. Guillermo Olmedo, Centro de Investigaciones Forestales Bioforest S.A., Chile
- Integrated management of soil and water resources to support economic and environmental policies. Domenico Ventrella, Council for Agricultural Research (CREA), Italy
- After the Soil Conservation Act: Evidence on soil water response to experimental burning in Kruger National Park. Tercia Strydom, South African National Parks, South Africa
