This flyer presents key facts from the “Soil Atlas of Asia”, the first ever soil atlas for the region and an important tool to promote its sustainable soil management and preserve soil health. By targeting the general public, decisionmakers, politicians, teachers and even scientists in other disciplines, the atlas aims to raise awareness about the crucial role of soil health among a wide range of stakeholders, support the development and implementation of policies and instruments around agriculture, environmental issues, climate change, development and aid assistance, urban planning, and more, provide educational material to schools and universities, and provide a baseline for further soil assessments in the region.

The preparation of the atlas started in 2018 and involved about 100 soil experts under the facilitation of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP-FAO) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC EC). Financial support was provided by the JRC and the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI), managed by the Rural Development Administration of the Republic of Korea. The atlas forms part of a series initiated by the JRC-EC.

 At its heart, the atlas presents a series of annotated maps that show the diversity of soil characteristics across Asia in a manner that is comprehensible to a general audience. How soils are formed, the key factors that shape soil characteristics and why these vary across Asia are explained in a simple and clear manner.