Successful Kick-off Meeting for the H2020 SOILGUARD project
The aim of SOILGUARD is to boost the sustainable use of soil biodiversity to protect soil multifunctionality and increase economic, social and environmental wellbeing. This will be achieved by co-creating strong evidence of the links between soil management, soil biodiversity, soil multifunctionality and human wellbeing across biogeographical regions.This evidence will be obtained by means of a holistic ground-breaking Soil Biodiversity and Wellbeing Framework.
Photo: sergio_cerrato
On 21-22 June 2021, the Horizon 2020 project, SOILGUARD, held its inaugural meeting online, kicking off its project activities. Twenty-five transdisciplinary project partners from seventeen countries came together to share the project goals, expectations and results to be achieved during the next four years.
SOILGUARD will assess soil biodiversity status and its contribution to the delivery and value of soil-mediated ecosystem services (ES) in relation to threats i.e. land degradation, unsustainable soil management and climate change.
The evidence will be used to:
i. quantify the environmental, economic, and social benefits of SSM and soil biodiversity,
ii) increase the power to forecast soil biodiversity responses to ongoing and projected challenges, and cascading effects on soil-mediated ES and human wellbeing,
iii) inform national, EU and global policy and conservation frameworks
iv) to mainstream and support SSM practices implementation.
For further details, please contact Mercedes.Munoz@iucn.org
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