Global Soil Week, held from 19-23 April 2015, provided an opportunity to raise the profile of “the forgotten resource – soil” on the global political agenda.

At a side event during the week, preliminary findings of a study into the economic costs and benefits of ecosystem services derived from sustainable management practices such as agroforestry, restoration and planned grazing management at the landscape level were discussed.

The study, conducted in Mali, Jordan and Sudan, focuses on providing tangible economic evidence to support agroforestry and reforestation in the Kelka region as a means to reverse deforestation and land degradation.

The aim of the study is to develop a methodology that can help countries affected by land degradation to: undertake cost-benefit analyses of interventions; estimate the non-market value of ecosystem services; better understand the value of ecosystem services to local livelihoods; and contribute to improved monitoring and evaluation for total ecosystem assessments.

The side event was convened by partner organizations involved in the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative (ELD).

Global Soil Week is hosted annually by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) Potsdam. In remarks to conclude the week, Executive Director, Klaus Töpfer, outlined how investments in soil rehabilitation result in multiple benefits, from food security to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

Read the full story: Global Soil Week Side Event Discusses Benefits of Sustainable Rangeland Management

See also: Global Soil Week Chair’s Conclusions: “Transformation is needed – transformation is possible”