2nd Meeting of the International Network on Salt-affected Soils INSAS | Uzbekistan, May 2023
The salinization and sodification of agricultural land is increasing due to climate change, water shortages, and unsustainable farming practices. Forecasts indicate a 23 percent increase in global drylands by the end of the 21st century. Moreover, 80 percent of this increase will occur in developing nations (European Commission, 2018). Furthermore, UN-Water has estimated that 27 percent of the world’s population (1.9 billion people) endure severe water shortages. This figure has been predicted to increase by 42-68 percent (2.7-3.2 billion people) by 2050 (WWAP/UN-Water, 2018). These projections indicate that salt-affected soils can expand greatly by the end of the 21st century, obliging more farmers to modify their farming strategies in order for their land to remain productive in the context of water shortage and soil salinity. The International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS) will meet in Uzbekistan (Tashkent/Nukus) to address these important topics and build stronger linkages between science, policy, and farmers. The event is organized by FAO's Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the sub-regional Eurasian Soil Partnership (EASP), FAO country office in Uzbekistan together with the World Bank and the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS).
The Scientific Committee of the workshop on Managing Salt-Affected Soils for Sustainable Future is currently accepting abstracts that will compete for oral and poster presentations during this event. The abstracts should be submitted in English, maximum 3.000 characters (without spaces). The deadline for submission of abstracts is 20 April 2023. Abstracts should address one of the following themes:
- Mapping, assessing and monitoring of salt-affected soils;
- Sustainable management of salt-affected soils: Practices and policy;
- Halophyte and saline agriculture and its effect on soil health;
- Integrated soil and water management under saline/sodic conditions.
This 5-day meeting will be the opportunity to:
- Review the progress done by the network in the past two years (2021-2022) since INSAS’ first virtual meeting,
- Discuss and identify the priorities for the network,
- Develop the work plan for 2023-2024,
- Strengthen the cooperation between the members of INSAS,
- Improve capacities of the members by trainings.
The meeting will also include a workshop on salt-affected soils on the first day, where abstracts will be open to interested researchers and practitioners.
On the second day, INSAS working groups will have technical sessions on Assessment, Sustainable soil management, Water, and Crops, where members and stakeholders are expected to participate, and training on soil analysis will be jointly conducted with GLOSOLAN.
On the third day, training will be provided on salt-affected soils, including modeling solute transport, mapping soil salinity, and governance for sustainable management of salt-affected lands.
On the fourth and fifth days, a field trip to the former Aral Sea area in Karakalpakstan will take place.
The meeting will have both in-person and remote participation via Zoom. There is no registration fee, but participants are responsible for their travel, accommodation, and field trip expenses. More information about the agenda and INSAS can be found using the provided links.
More:
- Agenda
- Registration link for online participants
May 22: https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_d8b4xso3SB68foUqfpFjyQ
May 23 - 24: https://fao.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUrfuGsrj8vGN1IF6q76KPlITN6zzviUXBt
