Global Symposia
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOIL INFORMATION AND DATA
25-28 September 2024
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) and the The Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISSCAS)
The Global Symposium on Soil Information & Data (GSID24), co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization, its Global Soil Partnership and the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISSCAS) will be held in Nanjing, China, September 25-28, 2024.
This symposium will serve as an international forum for stakeholders, encompassing policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, to explore the important role of comparable and reliable soil data and information in addressing global challenges such as food security, climate change, and sustainable soil management.
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOILS AND WATER | 02-05 October 2023
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS)
The Global Symposium on Soils and Water (GSOWA23) will be held in a hybrid format from 02 to 05 October 2023. As 95 percent of our food is produced on land, with soil and water playing crucial roles, understanding the interconnectedness of the resources and the need for integrated management is of utmost importance.
The GSOWA23 is a science policy symposium that aims to review the relationship between soil and water in achieving sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOILS FOR NUTRITION | 26-29 July 2022
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), and the International Network on Fertilizers Analysis (INFA)
The Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition (GSOIL4N), "Soil, where food begins" will be held from 26 to 29 July 2022 in a virtual format. This high-level science-policy meeting aims to review the state of the art on the role of soil fertility in delivering sufficient, high quality, safe, and more nutritious food for better nourished plants, animals, and people. The main objective is to address critical knowledge gaps and provide the basis for discussion among policy makers, food producers, scientists, fertilizer industry, practitioners, and other stakeholders on the creation of solutions that can provide a more nutritious agri-food system for enhancing human health and wellbeing while protecting the environment. More information available soon [...]
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SALT-AFFECTED SOILS | 20-22 October 2021
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), together with the Science Policy Interface of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (SPI-UNCCD), the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), the International Center on Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), the International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS), and the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG)
The Global Symposium on Salt-affected Soils (GSAS21), “Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity” was held in a virtual format from 20 to 22 October 2021. The main objectives of the Symposium included: (1) to share knowledge on salinity prevention, management, and adaptation, and (2) to establish critical connections between science, practice, and policy by facilitating discussion among policy makers, food producers, scientists, and practitioners for sustainable management of salt-affected soils [...]
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOIL BIODIVERSITY | 19-22 April 2021
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), together with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI) and the Science-Policy Interface of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (SPI-UNCCD)
The Global Symposium on Soil Biodiversity (GSOBI21), "Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity" was a science-policy meeting, fully virtual (because of the Covid-19 pandemic) that took place on 19-22 April 2021. The main objective were: (1) to fill some critical knowledge gaps and (2) promote discussion among policy makers, food producers, scientists, practitioners and other stakeholders on solutions to live in harmony with nature, and ultimately, achieve the SDGs through the conservation and sustainable use of soil biodiversity [...]
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOIL EROSION | 15-17 May 2019
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), together with the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
The Global Symposium on Soil Erosion (GSER19), "Stop soil erosion, Save our future" was held from 15 to 17 May 2019, at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The objective of GSER19 was to establish a common platform to present and discuss the latest information on the status of interventions and innovations in the field of soil erosion and related land management. GSER19 was able to translate scientific and policy evidence into decisions and actions to minimize soil erosion for increased food security, ecosystem services, and to promote the restoration of eroded sites. [...]
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOIL POLLUTION | 2-4 May 2018
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), together with the Secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, UN Environment and World Health Organization (WHO)
The Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (GSOP18), "Be the solution to soil pollution" took place from 2 to 4 May 2018 at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The meeting represented the first step towards the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management in terms of preventing and reducing harmful substances in soil in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, the symposium outcomes provided scientific evidence to support actions and decisions to prevent and reduce soil pollution for increased food security and nutrition, and ecosystem services, and promote the remediation of polluted sites [...]
GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOIL ORGANIC CARBON | 21 to 23 March 2017
ORGANIZERS: UN FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and its Science-Policy Interface (SPI-UNCCD), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
The Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon (GSOC17), "Unlocking the potential of Soil Organic Carbon" was held from 21 to 23 March 2017 at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. This science-policy meeting presented the results of the studies demonstrating the potential and challenges of managing SOC in different types of soil – such as peatland, black soils and permafrost soils, grasslands and livestock production system and dryland soils. During the discussions, the participatory approach and the format of the meeting helped participants to refine research questions, identify knowledge gaps and challenges, and to integrate a broad range of relevant stakeholders [...]