*CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE*
*for sustainable production intensification*
Dear Subscribers,
Please see herebelow the key messages of the Online consultation for
developing the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management.
Apologies for cross-posting.
*Amir Kassam *
*Moderator*
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: FSN-Moderator <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 12:11 PM
Subject: [FSN Forum] RE: Online consultation for developing the Voluntary
Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management
To: [log in to unmask]
[image: FAO]
[image: FSN Forum]
*DISCUSSION No. 124 • FSN Forum digest No. 1217*
*Online consultation for developing the Voluntary Guidelines for
Sustainable Soil Management*
*In collaboration with: *
[image: VGSSM]
[image: GSP] <http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/en/>
Dear Members,
The online consultation on the *Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil
Management <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/forum/discussions/soilguidelines>*has
come to an end and we would like to share with you the closing remarks by
the facilitators Ronald Vargas and Dan Pennock alongside a brief summary of
the main points that emerged during this exchange.
Let us join the facilitators to thank you all for sharing over 90 detailed
comments. Your efforts will add value to the formulation process of the
VGSSM and really shows your commitment to this important aspect of the
fight against hunger and malnutrition.
All comments received are available on the consultation's website
<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/forum/discussions/soilguidelines> where you
can also download the full proceedings
<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/sites/default/files/files/124_Soil_Guidelines/PROCEEDINGS_EN_Soils.docx>
.
Thanking you again for your participation, we look forward to the upcoming
discussions.
Best regards,
*Your FSN Forum Team*
*Ronald Vargas *and* Dan Pennock*, facilitators of the discussion
Dear colleagues/contributors,
The e-consultation is now closed, and we would like to thank you all for
your participation in the on-line consultation for developing the Voluntary
Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM). During the course of
the discussion,* it has been fantastic to read the comments and thoughts of
the various range of soil users*, from farmers organizations to NGOs,
universities, soil societies, research institutes, private and public
sector, and individuals too.
*The quantity and especially the quality of the thoughtful comments
received from more than 30 countries are fundamental *and will now enable
the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), the main advisory
body to the Global Soil Partnership, to prepare the first draft of the
VGSSM (end of March 2016). This draft will then be submitted to an
Open-Ended Working Group for its finalization and submission to the Fifth
Global Soil Partnership Plenary Assembly (23-25th May 2016). If endorsed by
the Plenary Assembly, the draft VGSSM will be submitted to the Committee on
Agriculture (COAG) for its review, and if endorsed to the FAO Council. The
full proceeding are available on this website
<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/forum/discussions/soilguidelines>, while you
are invited to follow the next steps of the VGSSM development process on
the Global Soil Partnership webpages
<http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/en/>. You may also contact the GSP
Secretariat <[log in to unmask]> for any
further questions.
So, many thanks to all of you for your insights and the passion you bring
to achieve sustainable soil management worldwide !
*Dan Pennock**, Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils*
*Ronald Vargas**, Global Soil Partnership Secretary*
[image: Anna Antwi]
[image: Anna Antwi]
*Key Messages from E-Consultation *
*The guidelines should not be limited to agriculture alone*: Many
submissions stressed the need to expand the guidelines to include
non-agricultural land uses and pointed out the disparity between the World
Soil Charter and the Guidelines in this regard.
*Need to develop indicators for SSM and monitor adoption*: Many submissions
emphasised the need to develop a suite of indicators that can be applied to
assess SSM; specific measures such as Visual Soil Evaluation, Soil Quality
Assessment, and erosion assessment were suggested.
*Lack of clarity about stakeholders and governance*: There were a number of
comments about the need to clarify the stakeholders this document is
targeted at. This is also linked to concerns about governance – policy
instruments to increase adoption of SSM have to be targeted at the relevant
stakeholder.
*Expand SSM approaches beyond Conservation Agriculture*: There were a wide
range of SSM measures beyond Conservation Agriculture (CA) suggested by
commentators. There were also concerns that the zero-order draft had been
too negative about CA and that it had been too positive about CA.
*Concerns about the voluntary nature of the Guidelines*: Several
commentators expressed the hope that the guidelines could be made more
binding rather than voluntary.
There were a large number of suggestions for concepts that should be added
or highlighted in the VGSSM. Some of those that were endorsed by multiple
commentators were:
*Trade-offs*: Societies need to make choices about the ecological services
offered by soils, and these should be highlighted in the document; this
links the definition of SSM more with the classical definition of
sustainability.
*Soil resistance and resilience*: These related concepts are mentioned in
the document but should be promoted as the basis for SSM assessment.
*Land Capability and Land Use Incapability Classification*: It was noted
that degradation occurs when land use is not linked to land capability.
This is also linked to the governance question raised by others – who
decides on the use of the soil?
*Soils and climate regulation*: Several commentators felt that the
guidelines were weak on the link between SSM and climate regulation.
*Biodiversity and SSM*: The section on protection of biodiversity was felt
to be particularly weak, although the difficulty of assessment was also
acknowledged.
*Role of soil structure and SSM*: Several commentators felt that the role
of soil structure needed to be highlighted.
An integrated soil-sediment-water system approach should be used: The very
strong link between SSM and water resources was emphasised by many
commentators.
*www.fao.org/fsnforum* <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/>
*CONTACT US* <[log in to unmask]> • *DISCLAIMER*
<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/disclaimer-copyright>
------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the FSNFORUM-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=FSNFORUM-L&A=1
########################################################################
To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/scripts/wa-fao.exe?SUBED1=CA-COP-L
|