NAMENAME

www.ciat.cgiar.orgSince 1967 / Science to cultivate change

Soils in the Landscape1st

European Soil Partnership Plenary Meeting 21‐22 May 2014, JRC, Ispra, Italy

Deborah BossioInternational Center for Tropical Agriculture 

“…Promote and strengthen targeted soil  research … to improve governance of the  limited soil resources of the planet … to 

guarantee … a food secure world and other  ecosystem goods and services”

• Transdisciplinary

• Demand driven

One Ecosystem in the

Anthropocene

• We live on one planet

• Surrounded by a paper  thin layer of biosphere

• One tiny sliver of this  layer is the soil

Three Landscapes• Global sustainability agenda

• Political economies • Research networks and Capacity

Global Sustainability Agenda• A zero hunger world

• Climate change adaptation and mitigation • A land degradation neutral world

“Humanity is on a collision course with nature.”

California Gov. Jerry Brown

Global Sustainability Agenda• Post 2015 agenda – SDG’s & land degradation

– Planetary Boundaries, Food Systems, Secure Ecosystems and 

biodiversity and ensure good management of 

Water, Oceans, Forests 

and Natural Resources

Operationalizing land degradation goals will require multiple  interdisciplinary research efforts at multiple scales, to 

support governments in goal setting, financing, metrics  and to guide implementation

***Significant potential to support nascent  sustainability agendas in developing countries***

Political Economies• Strong feature of this century is rapidity

of land use change 

driven by large investment – how can this be sustainable?

• Follow the money to the users who will create impact with  soils research –

soil processes, fertility, variability, ecosystem services

• Emerging feature is the dominance of globalization, income,  and international trade

as major drivers of land use change 

“This globalization has major implications for

governance…and adoption of sustainable practices”

Eric Lambin 2014 GLPOSM

Water Food Energy• Quantifying and valuing clean water from Sustainable Land 

Management to support Payment for Ecosystem Services• Negotiating tradeoffs between food and clean waterUpper Tana Basin of Kenya

Mt Kenya and Aberdares National Parks• Provides 90% of Nairobi’s water • 70% Kenya’s hydropowerUsers are a coalition of hydro and water supply companies, public and private

Growth Corridors & Green Growth• Large internal and external 

investment

• Commercial agriculture, mining,  hydropower

• Massive environmental change

• Will this development be  sustainable and ‘green’

with 

benefits equitable?

Research to help manage land  tenure, soil variability, maintain 

soil health and ecosystem  services

Resilience Building“Resilience is the ability of states, organisations

and individuals to cope with 

and quickly recover from shocks or stresses resulting from fragile contexts, 

crises, violent conflict and extreme natural hazards, and to constantly adapt 

to changing circumstances and transform where it is necessary to

guarantee 

sustainable development”GIZ – NICD, Network International Cooperation in Conflicts and Disasters, 2013

Users GIZ, USAID, WFP, Oxfam, World Vision, GEF (!), CARE, CRS…Horn of Africa, South Sudan, Fragile States…

Building natural capital is fundamental, measuring and monitoring a clear challenge

Climate Smart AgricultureSignificant momentum and investment,  consortium of 

major international NGO’s  (Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services,  World Vision +) promised that 25 million smallholders will 

have adopted CSA by 2025 

IPCC Climate Change 

Projections and strategies  made without site specific  soils information

Networks and Capacity Where’s the Soils?

Research Networks• Future Earth the global research 

platform providing the knowledge and  support to accelerate our 

transformations to a sustainable worldGlobal Land Project +++

• CGIARResearch Program Water, Land and 

Ecosystems, dedicated to sustainable  development of agricultural 

ecosystemsFlagship Revitalizing Degraded Land ++

Capacity Building CIAT TSBF to Soils Research Area

• Degree Training - multiple disciplines • Institution Building – technical support, laboratories• Shared research - funding mechanisms

Messages

• Europe already has an enormous impact on soil  management and land use across the globe

• European Soil Science community vitally important  for achieving our shared sustainability agenda, you  have the resources and quality science

Three landscapes for  ESP action

• Global Sustainability Agenda ‐‐

produce intelligence on and  influence

emerging priorities and implementation SDG’s, IPBES

• Political Economies  ‐‐

engage in on‐going trends with users

of  research who will affect land use and soil management, 

including with e.g. Economics of Land Degradation

• Research Networks & Capacity Building – join networks and  increase targeted international cooperation funding for soils  to foster synergies that enhance research 

Soils in the Landscape“…Promote and strengthen targeted soil research … to improve governance of the limited soil resources of the planet … to guarantee … a food secure world and other ecosystem goods and services”One Ecosystem�in the�AnthropoceneThree LandscapesGlobal Sustainability AgendaGlobal Sustainability AgendaPolitical EconomiesWater Food EnergyGrowth Corridors & Green GrowthResilience BuildingClimate Smart AgricultureNetworks and Capacity�Where’s the Soils?Research NetworksCapacity Building MessagesThree landscapes for ESP action