In July 2016 the Eurasian Soil Partnership of the Eurasian Center for Food Security, together with the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership Secretariat, published a book— a collection of research papers entitled Land Resources and Food Security in Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. The book was prepared in 2015 under the EASP Implementation Plan of the subregional partnership approved in Izmir, Turkey, which provides for the publication of scientific, research, and working papers that address challenges of sustainable soil management in the region.

The aim of the current EASP publication is to integrate the efforts of researchers and practitioners working in sustainable soil management to tackle the challenging tasks of preserving and improving soils as a major natural resource. Reflecting on the importance of region’s soil quality to food security, such integration is expected to contribute to addressing the tasks of sustainable land use in a broader context— including climate change, social and economic conditions of the region, and issues related to land degradation and desertification.

The book consists of three parts. The first part is dedicated to broader issues of food security and sustainable development and the role played by soil resources. The second part characterizes soil resources of the region, describes issues of their evaluation and degradation, and illustrates the successful practice of soil restoration. And the third places the evaluation and functions of the soil into the context of a systemic approach that covers multiple landscape components. 

The book can be can be freely accessed and downloaded from the website of the Eurasian Center for Food Security of Moscow State University by clicking here.

This news item is adapted from news featured in the latest issue of a monthly newsletter by the Eurasian Center for Food Security (ECFS), a Partner in GFAR. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here. 

Photo credit: ©FAO/Ronald Vargas