Joint report reveals soil pollution as one of the world’s major challenges for ecosystem restoration

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. 

THE REPORT HAS JUST BEEN PUBLISHED! Click here to read it

What role do soils have in mitigating GHG emissions?

Argentina along other countries lead the way in answering this important question and more as the Global Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential Map (GSOCseq) initiative enters the data collection phase

Upcoming launch of the Global Report of Soil Pollution and its summary for policy makers: Be the solution!

4 June 2021 | Zoom platform | 12:30-14:30 CEST (GMT+2)

Soil pollution may be invisible to the human eyes, but it compromises soil capacity to provide ecosystems services, including the production of safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Contaminants move through soil, air and water and enter into agri-food systems, affecting the environment and harming our health. Soil pollution is a global transboundary problem and requires coordinated and joint actions to be prevented and solved.

AGENDA |  REGISTER HERE | #StopSoilPollution 

MAIN REPORT | SUMMARY FOR POLICY MAKERS

Recordings of the webinar: English | French | Spanish

20 May 2021 | Virtual (Zoom platform) | 11:00 - 16:45 GMT+3*

*Moscow time

The Williams Soil-Agronomic Museum, established in 1934 in Moscow, is one of the largest soil museums of the world. The Museum is located at the Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. The Museum exhibits the diversity of soil samples across the globe from the Arctic to tropical regions, agricultural use and preservation of the soil, geneses and anthropogenic soil changes. It has one of the richest collection of soil monoliths assembled throughout the 20th century, with about 900 monoliths displayed and 2,500 monoliths preserved in the storage room that provide a unique full-scale data and a knowledge base on soils.