Headline:
Global Soil Week features prominently in the Celebration of World Soil Day at FAO
On December 5th 2012, Ivonne Lobos Alva, IASS-Global Soil Forum Research Fellow, took part in an event at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO’s Headquarters in Rome. The event took place in commemoration of FAO joining the International Union of Soil Sciences in the Celebration of the World Soil Day by organizing, as part of the 145 session of the FAO Council, a side event entitled “Securing healthy soils for a food secure world: a day dedicated to soils”.
Simultaneously, the FAO Council endorsed the request of declaring December 5 as the UN World Soil Day and the 193 member countries of FAO during the 146th FAO Council adopted the Terms of Reference of the Global Soil Partnership and urged FAO to move ahead with its implementation.
At the event, Ms. Lobos Alva highlighted the importance of soils to ensure food security and meet the zero hunger challenge launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. She noted the continued degradation of soil resources and the importance of focusing on soil health and soil fertility, of empowering smallholder farmers and women, implementing effective governance instruments and dealing with issues like sustainable consumption and food waste in order to meet the challenge and feed an increasing population.
More information on the event's page http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/events/detail/en/c/161407/ and on the Global Soil Forum's work Global Soil Forum
