Outcomes of the International Year of Soils
Transcript of Outcomes of the International Year of Soils
Outcomes of theInternational Year of Soils
Sompong NimchuarPermanent Representative of Thailand to FAO
Chair of IYS Steering Committee
General perception about soils
“Because it is everywhere, we tend to overlook the fact that soil is a limited natural resource”
... But soils have been neglected for too long
International Year of Soils, Why ?
Key messages
Healthy soils are the basis for healthy food production
Soils are the foundation for vegetation which is cultivated or
managed for feed, fibre, fuel and medicinal products
Soils support our planet’s biodiversity and they host a
quarter of the total
Soils help to combat and adapt to climate change by playing a
key role in the carbon cycle
Soils store and filter water improving our resilience to
floods and droughts
Soils is a non-renewable resource, its preservation is
essential for food security and our sustainable future
Financial Resources Mobilized for IYS implementation
DonorsKingdom of Thailand $100,000Swiss Confederation $100,000International Fertilizer Industry Association $60,000European Commission ~$40,000Russian Federation ~$30,000International Association of Agriculture Production Insurers $10,000Austrian Hail Insurance Company $10,000TOTAL $350,000
‘Without healthy soils, life on Earth would be unsustainable’
UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
1. Create full awareness of all stakeholders about the fundamental roles of soils for human life and achieve full recognition of the prominent contributions of soils to food security and nutrition, climate change adaptation and mitigation, essential ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and sustainable development
2. to promote effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources
3. to advocate rapid enhancement of capacities and systems for soil information collection and monitoring at all levels (global, regional and national)
4. to catalyze initiatives in connection with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) process and Post-2015 agenda
International Year of Soils, Objectives ?
Objective 1 – Awareness raising
A wealth of communication material
Soil & Climate change
Soil 101 Soil & Nutrition
More than 40 videos produced to promote the IYS
FAO produced several videos and animations:
Videos
IYS logo available in more than 35 languages
Hindi
IsiZulu
Vietnamese
Japanese
Korean
Efforts made to translate the information material into non-FAO languages upon request
Over 6O highlights written for the website with coverage on the IYS section of FAO homepage
Blog : Approximately 25 entries received with more in the pipeline (blog will remain active throughout 2016)
Some key initiatives
IYS events• More than 600
(registered) events• WHERE: more than
70 countries• WHAT: wide range of
events: from art exhibition, to high level meeting, symposium, regional consultations, local workshop, activities in school
More than 150 Articles focusing on the IYS
the Guardian (10), BBC news (3) daily news (1) Sunday times (1) Huffington post (3) Nature (4) New york
times (8) Washington post (1) China daily (1) National
Geographic (dossier)
Other key FAO publications published during IYS
Objective 2 – Promotion of effective policies and actions
Two key outcomes
New developments at policy level
National Soil information systems: implemented in FYROM, Turkey. To implement Afghanistan, Cambodia and Sudan
National legal frameworks: Colombia, Bolivia
Soil restoration programmes: Mexico
Development of Voluntary Guidelines for sustainable soil management.
Objective 3 – Capacities enhancement and systems for soil information collection and monitoring
Capacity development
Capacity development programmes implemented in Africa, Near East and North Africa and plans for 2016 in
other regions.
Objective 4 – SDGs and post-2015 agenda
Of the 17 goals, four contains
targets related to soils
Many thanks for your attention
&
wish you a fantastic
World Soil Day !