ESP Secretariat

Lead Institute WO Institute of Forest Ecosystems

Involved Institutes KB Institute of Coordination Unit Climate and Soil

Logo of the European Soil Partnership

Secretariat of the European Soil Partnership

Since 2021, the ESP Secretariat is hosted at the Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries (Thuenen Institute, Germany).
The European Soil Partnership is part of a global network of eight regional soil partnerships. This network has been founded as a multi-lateral initiative by FAO member countries and many other governmental and non-governmental institutions. The ESP facilitates and contributes to the exchange of knowledge and technologies about soils, between this region and FAO. Subregional and national partnerships enable close links with stakeholders including land managers and the public. The ESP sees itself as an umbrella networkfor various European initiatives and actions, at the level of regions, countries, EU and its neighbours, and it advocates for their visibility and contributions in the global soil protection movement. More about the mission and objectives of the ESP: https://www.europeansoilpartnership.org/about-us/mission-and-objectives
The Secretariat of the ESP is appointed by the ESP members during the Plenary meeting. Its roles are: facilitating the execution of the ESP implementation plan and communication among ESP partners; supporting the Steering Committee on activities related to the ESP implementation; developing and maintaining the ESP website.

Background and Objective

The Secretariat of the European Soil Partnership:

communicates on behalf of the ESP Chair and Co-Chairs.
coordinates with the EPS secretariat and maintains the ESP website in the APS portal.
develops and maintains the ESP website.
facilitates communication between the ESP partners.
prepares the ESP meetings (in person and via the Internet) and the meeting report.
supports the chairmen and co-chairs of the six areas of action (meetings, communication).
actively pursues implementation in the areas of action.
actively supports external communication.

Approach

Overview of activities 2022:

Organization of the 9th Plenary meeting with plenary report.

ESP contributions to GSP data products, activities and relevant publications in all six action areas:

European experts have contributed to various publications, and participated in trainings (37 experts from 15 ESP countries). A training on soil salinity parameters has been held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan 23 – 25 May 2023. RECSOIL pilot projects are conducted in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. ESP partners are important contributors to the SoiLex platform.During World Soil Day 2022, 184 events were implemented in the ESP region (out of a global total of 2368). 203 laboratories from Europe participate in GLOSOLAN.
Europe experts contributed to Europe Chapter of the 2 nd Status of the World’s Soil Resources Report (SWSR 2025)

Activities 2023:

Launch of the new website of the ESP and organization of the 10th Plenary meeting.

Links:

https://www.europeansoilpartnership.org/

https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/regional-partnerships/europe/en/