The Challenge

Soil data is crucial for decision-making in both the agriculture and nutrition sectors.

The Solution

The International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) leads the GODAN Soils Data Working Group (WG) with 60 members in 40 organisations, in 20 countries. The members have recognised that soil data is key to addressing current global challenges, and their mission is to help catalyse the development of a federated global soils information system (GLOSIS), which the Global Soils Partnership (GSP) is currently establishing.

The Outcome

The involvement of GODAN partners in the Working Group gives the necessary broader societal support to soil data specialists, who are working on increasing the exchange of data through better standards.

Involvement allowed ISRIC and the group to engage a new stakeholder group, focusing on use cases (sustainable land management; food security; land degradation; soil organic carbon) and developing open standards in those contexts.