Soil impacts everything from human health to climate change and on May 26th-30th, the 5th Global Soil Week (GSW) Conference will consider this importance. The four-day conference will convene more than 200 experts, policymakers, and civil society representatives to discuss the urgency for investing in sustainable land management.
“Land and soils constitute the foundation for sustainable agricultural development, essential ecosystem functions, and food security,” according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “They are key to sustaining life on Earth.”
In 2017, U.N. officials called for stronger management of the planet’s soils as a critical natural resource that could “make or break” climate change response efforts. The 2019 GSW will focus on ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for Sustainable and Climate Resilient Agriculture in Africa.’ This is in support of the Malabo Declaration, a commitment by the African Union to pursue shared prosperity and improved livelihoods through agricultural development. GSW hopes to develop a set of actions that can help smallholder farmers in Africa increase productivity and income while preparing for drought, abnormal weather patterns, and other consequences of climate change.
The conference will take place at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya and is co-hosted by Kenya, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and India. On May 27 and 28, the conference will review technical information including case studies, while focusing on study results and possible actions on May 29 and 30.
The event will be live tweeted by @GlobalSoilWeek.
