The Global Soil Partnership has launched its new web site. The Partnership is an important collaboration to develop capacities, build on best available science, and facilitate/contribute to the exchange of knowledge and technologies among stakeholders for sustainable management of soil resources at all levels.

The newly established Global Soil Partnership, just endorsed by FAO’s Committee on Agriculture in May 2012, provides an exciting opportunity to collaborate internationally to pool knowledge and experience on all aspects of soil science. Speaking at a recent meeting at FAO headquarters, soil specialists, international organization staff, the donor community and academics share their views on just what such collaboration can achieve.

During the recent Committee on Agriculture held at FAO Headquarters in May 2012, FAO Water Officer Jean-Marc Faures and Energy Officer Olivier Dubois discussed the challenges facing these sectors today and explained how better integration of the work in these three sectors is key to meeting the food security needs of our planet’s growing population.

Much work has been done since 1992 to move the world closer to a common and sustainable future, but 20 years down the road we have yet to deliver on this fundamental principle – too many people in this world are still not living a healthy and productive life while the world grows in ways that are not always in harmony with nature. FAO seeks to stimulate consensus on the changes needed at, global, regional and national levels to eradicate hunger, support the transition to sustainable food consumption and production systems and ensure greater fairness in food management. It calls for this consensus to be translated into a deep and sustainable commitment to act. And it appeals to all stakeholders represented at Rio+20 to adopt with urgency a new resolve to work together in a genuine spirit of cooperation and partnership to implement the steps needed and hold themselves accountable for achieving the first principle of Rio 1992.

The new GAEZ Data Portal is an interactive data access facility, which not only provides free access to data and information and allows visualization of data, but also provides the user with various analysis outputs and download options. This portal is the result of 30 years of assessing agricultural resources and potential by FAO and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna.