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UID:pretalx-soil-health-now-2026-HFJRT3@pretalx.earthmonitor.org
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261208T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261208T141500
DESCRIPTION:Soil degradation across Africa ranks among the most severe glob
 ally. It is driven by erosion\, nutrient depletion\, unsustainable agricul
 tural practices\, and climate change. Without urgent action to address soi
 l degradation\, it will continue to threaten agricultural productivity\, f
 ood security\, biodiversity\, and the livelihoods of millions of farming h
 ouseholds.\nEffectively addressing soil degradation requires reliable\, ac
 cessible\, and interoperable soil health data and information. However\, a
 cross many African countries\, national soil information systems remain fr
 agmented or underdeveloped\, limiting the ability of policymakers\, resear
 chers\, and practitioners to monitor conditions\, assess trends\, and impl
 ement evidence-based interventions at scale.\nIn response to these challen
 ges\, the EU-funded African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO) project\, led by
  the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)\, will establish a c
 ontinental framework for soil data integration\, monitoring\, and dissemin
 ation. The project aims to develop an observatory framework\, including an
  African Soil Data Centre (ASDAC) and a Soil Health Dashboard. ASDAC will 
 increase soil data availability by endorsing FAIR principles\, while the d
 ashboard will increase the usability of data by producing derived data pro
 ducts. Building on the Soils for Africa (S4A) initiative and its open-acce
 ss continental soil information system\, AUSO will be owned by the African
  Union Commission\, and operation is delegated to FARA. At its core\, AUSO
  is designed as a two-way system: it connects national soil information sy
 stems to continental-scale tools\, standards\, and datasets — strengthen
 ing national capacities — while national data in turn enriches continent
 al soil maps and supports policy development at the African Union level.\n
 After 18 months of project implementation\, the first AUSO results are com
 plete. This session will provide an invaluable opportunity to gather user 
 perspectives and expert feedback\, helping to guide the further developmen
 t of AUSO and ensure that it meets the needs of soil data users across Afr
 ica.
DTSTAMP:20260825T175951Z
LOCATION:Amphitheater I
SUMMARY:Building African Union Soil oservatory - Thaïsa van der Woude\, Pa
 ul van Genuchten\, Abdul-Wahab Mossa\, Chipo\, Betony Colman
URL:https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/HFJRT3/
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