The Global Soil Biodiversity meeting has been postponed at a date to be decided. It was originally scheduled to take place from 10-12 March 2020.

The Global Symposium on Soil Biodiversity (GSOBI20) will convene under the theme, ‘Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity.’ The Symposium will highlight the role of nature-based solutions in addressing a number of global challenges and achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), and develop recommendations on how to enhance soil biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

Bringing together policy makers, food producers, scientists, practitioners and other stakeholders, the discussions will be organized around three main themes:

• State of knowledge on soil biodiversity
• Soil biodiversity in action
• Soil biodiversity shaping the future of food system

Specific topics to be addressed in the discussions will include: the state of current knowledge – both scientific and traditional – on the role of soil biodiversity on food production, human health and on sustaining soil biodiversity; knowledge gaps and opportunities for collaborative research, capacity building and technical cooperation; effective and replicable methodologies, techniques, technologies and practices to promote soil biodiversity conservation; and policy options to protect soil biodiversity and encourage the adoption of practices that enhance it.

The Symposium is further expected to contribute to enhanced implementation of the World Soil Charter and the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, developed under the auspices of Global Soil Partnership of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).

The event is jointly organized by the FAO, GSP, and the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), in collaboration with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI).

The Symposium will feature side events by a broad range of FAO member countries, UN agencies, research and farmers’ organizations, and other actors, aimed at showcasing nature-based solutions for biodiversity conservation, food security, human health, and ecological restoration, among other benefits.