The International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) will celebrate its foundation centennial in 2024 in cooperation with the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS). The event will empower the linkages with different disciplines, policy makers, stakeholders, institutions, and associations to effectively address civil society needs within agriculture, forestry, environment, urban planning, energy, education, and other societal issues. The celebration will occur on May 19th and will be followed by two days of congress, with plenary and parallel scientific sessions. Both soil scientists and specialists from other disciplines will participate in each session, focusing on past achievements and future challenges. The congress will be followed by technical and scientific excursions that will range from short, local to long trips, spanning from the Alps to Sicily.
CA4SH Sessions
Advances in soil health monitoring
Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable and regenerative food systems and provide several vital ecosystem services. Sequestering carbon in soils, for example, can have multiple benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, food and nutrition security, biodiversity, and water resilience. However one third of the Earth’s surface is degraded, negatively affecting 3.2 billion people annually. Therefore, targeted investments in soil health are urgently needed. This includes investments in robust methods for monitoring soil health to prioritize and track land management efforts over time. This session will showcase advancements in soil health monitoring from robust field survey designs, to innovations in laboratory methods including soil spectroscopy, as well as advancements in remote sensing. The session will highlight the critical importance for these monitoring methodologies to be applied to answer key knowledge gaps on the impact of land management and landscape restoration practices on soil health. Furthermore, this session will highlight the inclusion of citizen science, to bring stakeholders and communities into the monitoring process, which can lead to the scaling of healthy soil practice. Finally,, this session will discuss opportunities to bring evidence to bear for decision making.
Soil Ambitions: Driving soil health into national and international policy
Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable and regenerative food systems and provide several vital ecosystem services, including sequestration of carbon, provision of critical nutrients, hosting biodiversity, and regulating the water cycle. However, there are few policies that incentivize farmers and pastoralists to invest in practices to maintain and improve soil health. This session will highlight opportunities to include soil health in policies and strategies at the national level, including in the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as ongoing efforts to recognize soil health in the Rio Conventions (UNCCD, UNFCCC, UNCBD) and beyond.
For example, soil has recently made its way into high-level policy mechanisms such as the Australian National Soil Strategy and the European Union Soil Strategy for 2030, and is gaining ground through the United Kingdom with the Soil Health Inquiry. Recent policy assessments identified opportunities for integrating soil health and soil organic carbon in the NDCS (https://bit.ly/46wgO86). In global dialogues, soil health was also included in the decisions following the UNFCCC COP27 in 2022, through the Koronivia joint working group on agriculture, but translating these decisions into enabling policy mechanisms is not a linear path.
This session will contribute to increasing awareness of the need for soil health to be integrated into policy. The session will bring together stakeholders from research, policy, development and farmer organizations, and governments to discuss opportunities to engage and integrate soil health into policy at national and international levels. Key outcomes for the session include: 1) Expand the policy analysis to across countries to identify entry points for soil health; 2) Bring together actors from government, research private sector, and development to share experiences in working with policy makers to scale healthy soil practices; and 3) Identify key action points to support governments to fill knowledge gaps and bring evidence to bear to support policy and decision making.
Soil health for people and planet: Leveraging policy, integrating governance, exploring collaboration and increasing engagement to build a resilient, sustainable future
The British Society of Soil Science is hosting a fireside chat panel session during the IUSS Centennial conference on Monday 20 May from 1-2pm in the ONICE Room. This will be about Soil health for people and planet: Leveraging policy, integrating governance, exploring collaboration and increasing engagement to build a resilient, sustainable future. The session will be chaired by BSSS President, Dr Jack Hannam and will feature a high-profile panel of The Honourable Penny Wensley, Former National Soils Advocate of Australia, Leigh Ann Winowiecki, Co-Lead of the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH), and Dr Irene Heuser, from the IUCN World Commission.
Addressing the challenges of soil degradation requires a varied toolbox that includes solutions from robust policy frameworks and effective governance mechanisms. Policy instruments are needed to support and prioritize soil conservation, restoration, and sustainable management. This discussion session brings together policy advocates, researchers and practitioners, to delve into the multifaceted dimensions of soil policy and governance. We will discover innovative strategies, best practices, and emerging trends that highlight how various policy instruments can be used to safeguard soil health and promote sustainable land management practices. Key themes to be addressed include the role of policy interventions in mitigating soil degradation, how to balance multiple societal demands from soils in policy, integrating traditional knowledge into modern governance frameworks, and the socioeconomic implications of soil management decisions. Moreover, the session will explore where there are opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration, citizen engagement, and international cooperation in advancing soil policy agendas. By fostering interdisciplinary exchange around the complexities of soil governance, this session seeks to catalyze action towards building resilient and regenerative soil systems that can support future generations and sustain planetary health.