Regional Soil Partnership for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean: An Initiative for Promoting Soil Sustainable Management in the Region.

In 2012, FAO members endorsed the establishment of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) with the goal to improve global governance of soil resources. In 2013 the Regional Soil Partnerships (RSP) for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean was launched in Havana, Cuba with the participation of representatives from 15 national soil institutions and also some international institutions and NGOs with presence in the area. The main objective of this paper is to present and discuss the commitments of this RSP for developing a joint Plan of Action to prevent soil degradation and restore degraded soils as a contribution to Food Security of smallholder’s farmers and the provision of ecosystem service and Climate Change adaption and mitigation in the region. During the meeting each country presents the status, priorities and needs for Soil Sustainable Management (SSM). This diagnosis shows that approximately 75% of the agricultural land in the region is affected by some Limiting Factor of their productivity. The participants also shared case studies of programs for the implementation of sustainable soil management practices that need to be scaled up. While representatives from Cuba and Costa Rica showed successful case studies based on the establishment of economical mechanism and incentives for prizing SSM by farmers. It was also agreed that this RSP is an opportunity to joint forces for stimulating wide adoption of these SSM practices. During next time, in the frame of the GSP and in particular this 2015, International Year of Soils, many activities were performed. More recently, last June, in a Workshop with the participation of the Focal Points of the region, an Implementation Plan of activities for the next 5 years, based in the five Pillars of Action of the GSP, were approved