About the establishment of the Thai Soil Partnership (TSP)
The Thai Soil Partnership (TSP), established in March 2019, is composed of government, private, academic, religious, civil society, media and public sectors. The partnership aims to provide a platform for knowledge and experience exchange on soil resources, as well as to create activities and guidelines for the sustainable management of soil resources across the country, linking to the Regional Soil Partnership and the Global Soil Partnership.
The most recent activities of the Thai Soil Partnership included:
- Organization of the Thai Soil Partnership Assembly and preparation of the TSP declaration;
- Organization of the annual academic conference on topic following the theme of World Soil Day (WSD) in May 2019;
- Organization of the Soil Resources Expo;
- Organization of a workshop that aims at transferring knowledge, technology and local wisdom on soil resources and its sustainable management;
- Provision of support to research project in the framework of the Center of Excellence for Soil Research in Asia (CESRA);
- Development of the TSP website as a channel for communication and dissemination of soil knowledge on in relation to the partnership activities.
Furthermore, specific activities are being implemented along the 5 five GSP pillars of action:
Under GSP Pillar 1: the Land Development Department organized a Workshop on “The Implementation of Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) in Thailand” (18 - 20 September 2018 at Nakhon Pathom, Thailand) to create a better understanding of the Voluntary Guidelines on Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM) and provide guidance to all stakeholders on how to transfer the basic principles of sustainable soil management into practice.
Under GSP Pillar 2: Thailand, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , established the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award to be presented annually on the 5th of December to the best WSD event organizer. In 2018 Thailand promoted the organization of a Charity Golf tournement and the creation of the World Soil Association to facilitate WSD celebrations within the country, and, in 2019 a CESRA Country Road Run.
Under GSP Pillar 3: Thailand established the Center of Excellence for Soil Research in Asia (CESRA) that will serve as the regional hub for advancing targeted soil research based on regional priorities to inform decision-making and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Under GSP Pillar 4: the Thai Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Map was developed in 2017 thanks to the working group on soil organic carbon data and the support of the Asian Soil Partnership. The process included data investigation and collection (70,000 points of data), statistical analysis, data validation, and the actual production of the digital soil organic carbon map.
Under GSP Pillar 5: four institutes namely the Land Development Department (LDD), the Department of Agriculture (DOA), the Kasetsart University (KU) and the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) participated in the laboratory Proficiency Testing Program (PTP). This activity corresponded to SEALNET activities at the regional level and aimed at calibrating and harmonizing soil testing procedures and practices in laboratories in the framework of the Asian Soil Partnership.