Highlights from recent ITPS sessions
In November 2025, the 27 experts of the fifth Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) met for the first time at FAO headquarters in Rome during the panel’s 23rd session. Nominated by the 13th Plenary Assembly of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the panel reviewed ongoing activities, set priorities and strengthened its scientific contribution to the GSP. This work continued a few months later at the 24th ITPS session, held online in March 2026, where members assessed progress and further refined priorities for the 2026–2027 period.
👉🏿 Read the full report of the 23rd session here.
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The ITPS in presence gathering, November 2025
A few weeks ahead of World Soil Day 2025, the session marked an important milestone with the election of a new leadership team.
Brajesh Singh was elected Chair by consensus. He outlined priorities focused on strengthening the policy relevance of ITPS outputs, improving the efficiency of scientific deliverables and enhancing collaboration with international scientific and policy bodies.
To support these objectives, five Vice-Chairs were appointed with defined thematic responsibilities:
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Jeyanny Vijayanathan – societal impact and outreach
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Georges Martial Ndzana – technical networks coordination
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Xinhua Peng – technological innovation
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Michael Castellano – international cooperation
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César Marin – publications and scientific outputs
From a technical perspective, the session focused on advancing key components of the 2025–2026 work plan. Discussions covered:
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Soil erosion, including follow-up to the Global Symposium on Soil Erosion (GSER) and the launch of the International Network on Soil Erosion (INSER);
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Soil information and data, particularly the implementation of recommendations from the Global Symposium on Soil Information and Data (GSID24);
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Soil nutrients, with ongoing work on the Global Soil Nutrient and Nutrient Budget Maps (GSNmap), including methodological challenges related to the dynamic nature of soil nutrients and uncertainty quantification;
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Soil biodiversity, through the Global Soil Biodiversity Observatory (GLOSOB), linked to global biodiversity policy processes; and
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Soil organic carbon, including the support to the Recarbonization of Global Agricultural Soils (RECSOIL) initiative and the revision of the Global Soil Organic Carbon Measurement, Reporting and Verification (GSOC-MRV) protocol.
Discussions emphasized the need to improve coherence across the GSP’s technical networks, strengthen links between soil health components (biodiversity, pollution, carbon) and ensure that ITPS outputs effectively inform global policy frameworks.
Online session, March 2026: consolidating priorities
The 24th ITPS session, held online from 17 to 19 March 2026, focused on reviewing progress and refining priorities for the next phase of work.
From a programmatic perspective, the panel agreed to develop a revised work plan for 2026–2027, building on ongoing activities while placing greater emphasis on addressing global challenges, including food and nutrition security, climate change, One Health, and strengthened governance.
Strengthening coordination, outputs and outreach
Across both sessions, the importance of coordination with GSP’s technical networks was reaffirmed. ITPS members agreed to nominate focal points for each network to ensure coherence, scientific soundness of network outputs, and policy relevance, and called for stronger reporting mechanisms and clearer governance structures.
The panel reaffirmed its commitment to producing high-quality scientific outputs, including ITPS Letters and peer-reviewed publications, to strengthen evidence-based policymaking on soils. Priority themes include soil governance, soil health within the One Health framework, nutrient management and emerging topics such as digital tools and artificial intelligence in soil monitoring.
Finally, members acknowledged the need to improve communication and visibility. Proposed actions include ITPS webinars, better use of existing tools such as the Global Soil Doctors Programme, and improved dissemination of ITPS outputs through digital platforms.