The 4th working session of the International Network of Soil Information Institutions (INSII) was held at FAO HQ, Rome, Italy, on 6 - 8 November, 2018. 63 participants from over 35 countries met to discuss 15 agenda items among which the implementation and technical specifications of Global Soil Information System (GloSIS), SoilSTAT, CountrySIS Framework, and the forthcoming global soil maps/ data products (Soil Salinity, Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential, Soil Erosion). As Mr. McKenzie (former INSII Chair) retired, all Chair duties were taken over pro tempore by the GSP Secretariat. The new INSII Chair will be appointed during the 7th GSP Plenary Assembly (5 – 7 June 2019).

Sustainable agricultural solutions to meet food demands  

The media coverage on soil is getting stronger and stronger at global level, and the Guardian, together with other top tier newspapers in the world, covers the topic of soil at relevant time.

The Global Symposium on Soil Erosion (GSER19) will be a high level science-policy meeting, held  from 15 – 17 May 2019, at FAO HQ in Rome, Italy. This Symposium is jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Science-Policy Interface (UNCCD-SPI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The inception workshop of the project “TCP/BHU/3703: strengthening Soil Laboratory facilities and performance to support evidence based decision making” was held on 15th January 2019 at the headquarters of the National Soil Services Centre in Thimpu, Bhutan. This project is funded by FAO through the Technical Cooperation Programme.

The 14^th Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Biodiversity took place in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt on 17-29^th November 2018.