It underscored the significance of soils in international priorities through bodies like the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS). The project, consistent with EU policies on environmental protection and soil preservation and FAO's Strategic Objectives, particularly in sustainable agriculture, comprised three main components: support for the ITPS, regional Implementation Plans under GSP Pillars, and capacity development for digital soil mapping, especially in Africa. The collaboration between the EU and FAO-GSP aimed to mobilize resources for future initiatives focused on soil conservation. Overall, the project targets sustainable soil management and aimed to reverse soil degradation trends worldwide.

The project contributed to mainstreaming soil governance by supporting the consolidation of regional soil partnerships via the execution of their implementation plans, the functioning of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils – in particular following up on the launch in December 2015 of the Status of the World’s Soil Resources Report – and the implementation of global and regional campaigns to increase soil awareness. It targeted global stakeholders with an interest in global soil governance and linked to global actions such as the Post-2015 agenda, the World Soil Charter and others, as well as regional and national soil stakeholders (from national soil institutions to policy-makers) grouped under regional soil partnerships whose principal focus is on soil governance. The project’s activities were focused around the following three main outputs: (i) the effective functioning of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils as an international mechanism providing scientific advice to the Global Soil Partnership and other panels in which soils play a role, (ii) partial implementation of the Global Soil Partnership’s Plans of Action via Regional Implementation Plans, with a focus on soil governance at global, regional and national levels and (iii) advocacy and awareness-raising activities on the importance of healthy soils.

IMPACT AND OUTCOME

The expected impact of this project was to mainstream Soil Governance, at national and regional level.

As for the outcomes:

1. Achievement of environmental wellbeing through preventing soil erosion and degradation, reducing greenhouse gas emission, promoting carbon sequestration and promoting sustainable use of agricultural inputs for soil health and ecosystems management.
2. Achievement of human wellbeing and social equity through improved use and management of soil resources, enhancing the productivity of healthy food and finding alternatives to soil degrading practices through participatory experiential processes, and being sensitive to issues of gender and rights of indigenous peoples.

Specifically, this project was aimed to:

• Output 1. Effective functioning of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils as an international mechanism providing scientific advice to the GSP and other panels in which soils play a role.
• Output 2. GSP Plans of Action partially implemented via the Regional Implementation Plans with focus on soil governance at global, regional and national levels.
• Output 3. Advocacy and awareness raising activities on the importance of healthy soils implemented, in line with and following up on various ongoing or upcoming processes, such as the Post 2015, the IYS 2025, the World Soil Charted and others.

This project aims to contribute to sustainable agriculture and environmental and human well-being through the sustainable management of soil resources in the framework of an action to extend globally the principles and goals of the European Green Deal, the Soil Strategy for 2030 and the EU Mission. More specifically, it intends to bolster global soil governance, enhance capacities in sustainable soil management, and fortify the resilience of agri-food systems. Through various initiatives, the project seeks to strengthen sustainable agricultural practices and increase productivity by empowering key stakeholders and providing technical support through platforms like EduSOILS and GLOSOLAN. Additionally, it aims to build the capacity of farmers, both smallholders and large-scale producers, in sustainable soil management, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity conservation through programs like the Global Soil Doctors Programme (GSDP). The project also focuses on raising awareness of soil's critical role in nutrition, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity conservation through events like World Soil Day and Global Symposia. Moreover, it aims to improve food security and soil governance by fostering international cooperation, developing national soil information systems, and enhancing soil governance according to the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM).

IMPACT AND OUTCOMES

The expected impact of this project is to contribute to the progress towards global sustainable agriculture and environmental and human well-being through the sustainable management of soil resources. This impact is expected to be achieved through actions to globally scale and adopt the principles and objectives of the European Green Deal, the Soil Strategy 2030 and the EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe, to advance global efforts towards healthy soils.

The outcomes of the project are:

Outcome 1: Increased sustainable production and productivity of agriculture through capacity building of key stakeholders.

• Output 1.1. Strengthened extension and technical services for improved production of and access to more nutritious and safer food through the EduSOILS platform and the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN).
• Output 1.2. Enhanced capacities of smallholder, medium and large farmers for sustainable soil management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, environmental protection and pollution prevention through the Global Soil Doctors Programme.

Outcome 2. More sustainable and inclusive natural resource management.

• Output 2.1. Increased awareness of the role of soil for nutrition, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, environmental protection and pollution prevention through the celebration of World Soil Day, thematic Global Symposia and other events.
• Output 2.2. Enhanced resilience of agricultural systems and adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies focused on soil organic carbon sequestration, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and protection of carbon-rich soils, implemented through the RECSOIL initiative.

Outcome 3. Improved food and nutrition security and soil governance.

• Output 3.1. Strengthened international cooperation for the advancement of soil knowledge and the development of indicators and models, harmonized analysis methodologies, and science-based sustainable management practices overseen by the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS).
• Output 3.2. Up-to-date soil information, data and statistics available at national and regional level to improve information at global level, through the development and consolidation of national soil information systems (NSIS) that are a federated part of the Global Soil Information System (GloSIS) and SOILSTAT.
• Output 3.3. Soil governance enhanced to advance towards healthy soils according to the principles of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM).