Mountain Soils Publication launched
23.06.2015
Understanding Mountain Soils, a publication offering technical insight on the sustainable management of mountain soils, was launched yesterday during the Global Soil Partnership Plenary Assembly in Rome at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The book is a contribution to the International Year of Soils 2015, and has been jointly issued by the FAO, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, the Global Soil Partnership and the University of Turin.
The book describes the main features of mountain soil systems, their environmental, economic and social values, the threats they are facing and their cultural heritage. Case studies provided by Mountain Partnership members include how shade-grown coffee in Panama improves soil conservation, nuclear techniques that tackle soil erosion in Viet Nam and indigenous approaches in Garhwall, India, that benefit biodiversity and soil quality.
The book recommends a “landscape approach” for the provision of ecosystem services, promoting mechanisms that compensate mountain communities for the carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, erosion control and protection of water sources that their sustainable soil-management systems produce. It also recommends the adoption of appropriate policy measures for people working and living in mountain areas, including indigenous communities and rural women.
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