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Summary of 2.1/Dialogue Session
Grounding global soil and land
initiatives: working on trickling down
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Dialogue Session
2.1 Grounding global soil and
land initiatives: working on
trickling down
21
Date
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
DS
Hosts:
Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) – Germany; Eurasian Center for Food Security – Russia; Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) – China; Brazilian Federal
Court of Accounts (TCU) – Brazil; Millennium Institute – United States; Biovision Foundation
– Switzerland
Background
Global soil and land related initiatives and agreements are crucial to catalyze actions for the
sustainable management and governance of these resources. Examples of these initiatives
are the current process to set universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where soils
and land will play a cross-cutting role to achieve food and energy security, or the setting up
of a Global Soil Partnership to coordinate a unified voice for soils. However, the ultimate success of these initiatives will depend on their effective link and implementation at the regional
and (sub)-national level. Furthermore, the implementation of these initiatives at the different
levels will require the engagement of multiple-stakeholders so that biophysical as well as socioeconomic aspects can be monitored and accountability can be increased. The session included
discussions on successful examples of trickling-down by looking at the recently established
regional soil partnerships, the implementation of sustainable land management technologies
in China, national multi-stakeholder policy assessments and a soil governance audit in Brazil.
Finally, at the session the IASS and its partners presented a proposal to establish national soil
monitoring and accountability initiatives for the implementation of the SDGs1. The aim was to
discuss what has – and has not – worked well in the regionalization of global initiatives to assess
their applicability in other countries and to draw lessons for the implementation of the SDGs.
1
http://www.iass-potsdam.de/sites/default/files/files/grounding_the_post-2015_development_agenda.pdf
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© IASS/StandArt
21
Key messages from the discussions
1) Soils and Land are central to our economies, societies and the environment, and are
therefore key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Soils and land are a matter of crucial global relevance. The protection and sustainable use of
soils and land is central to achieving food security and nutrition for all, realizing thriving rural
landscapes, fostering sustainable agriculture, reducing poverty, and ensuring healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. Hence, soils and land will support the achievement of the SDGs.
Many countries face challenges when having to translate global or regional agreements into
national or local frameworks, especially when dealing with new or emerging issues such as the
implementation of the SDGs. Appropriate institutions, with clearly determined responsibilities,
a good link between states and civil society, and attention to the important role of local governments in many countries, are critical in this regard.
2) Multi-stakeholder mechanisms and processes for soils and land management and
governance are needed at all levels to advance the SDGs
To support an effective and efficient implementation of SDGs linked to soils and land issues,
inclusive national decision-making and stakeholder processes are critical to inform assessments, plans, and monitoring and review.
Due to the critical role of soils and land for attaining the SDGs, it is likely that there will be
competing demands for land. Inclusive national processes for soil and land strategies, plans,
and for monitoring and accountability are necessary to identify synergies and enable debates
on the priorities of soil and land use in the SDGs.
Advancing the establishment or strengthening of such national, inclusive processes would
be reinforced by a respective reference in the SDG/Post-2015 agenda. Such a reference could
“encourage all countries to adopt inclusive national processes for assessments, plans and
follow-up and review on soils and land”.
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Dialogue Session
Advancing the establishment or strengthening of such national, inclusive processes would
be reinforced by a respective reference in the SDG/Post-2015 agenda. Such a reference could
“encourage all countries to adopt inclusive national processes for assessments, plans and
follow-up and review on soils and land”.
3) An enabling institutional and policy environment at relevant levels facilitates the
responsible management of soils and lands during the implementation of the SDGs
Making a case for the economic relevance of soils and land use and strengthening the basis
for monitoring and review of relevant SDGs, will benefit from improved information systems on
soils and land, based on comprehensive indicators.
The Global and Regional Soil Partnerships can play a critical role in amplifying regional solutions, fostering support for the development and implementation of specific regional and
national policies, and galvanizing a coherent and effective collaboration and communication
amongst diverse, context-specific actors working in support of sustainable soil and land management.
Efforts around the world are underway of moving towards more sustainable soil management, for example in the light of degradation resulting from excessive application of nitrogen
fertilizer. Such efforts would benefit from an enhanced sharing of knowledge and experiences
on successful practices and national policy frameworks, including on measures designed to
overcome barriers for the adoption of practices that unfold their full benefits only in the medium- to long-term. Finding technical solutions to soil and land management that work at the
farm-level, is fostered through the active involvement of farmers in research and development.
National Soil Audits can play a key role in realizing coherent, effective and efficient national
approaches to furthering sustainable soil and land management and governance with a longterm view. In this regard, implementing a thorough assessment methodology, capturing the
opinions of farmers, and consolidating regulation can be key foundations, as shown in the case
of Brazil.
4) Emphasizing and understanding the critical links to food and nutrition security,
as well as Climate Change adaptation and mitigation, helps keeping soils and land on the
international agenda
To further strengthen the evidence-basis and foster the interlinkages between soils, sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is
encouraged to consider the issue of soils and food security in its future Programme of Work.
Mitigating and adapting to Climate Change is strongly linked to soils and land management.
Especially in LDCs, land-based activities will be central in adapting to Climate Change, which
may require adequate resources from financial mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund,
accessible for different levels of government.
Contact:
Ivonne Lobos Alva
Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies – Potsdam
ivonne.lobosalva@iass-potsdam.de
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© IASS/StandArt
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© IASS/StandArt
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