The 2019 Global Soil Week (GSW) took place on May 26-30 in Nairobi, Kenya. This edition’s thematic focus stemmed from the fact that despite ongoing efforts, there is an increasingly urgent need for inclusive investments in sustainable land management, and the conference provided for an action-oriented dialogue conducive to ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for Sustainable and Climate Resilient Agriculture in Africa’. The 4-day conference consisted of two distinct components, the technical segment and the high-level segment, where more than 200 experts, policymakers, civil society representatives discussed and debated potential responses to address the continent’s pressing challenges.
The Global Soil Week 2019 summary report
The Global Soil Week (GSW) 2019 took place from the 26th – 30th of May 2019 at the ICRAF Campus in Nairobi. It would not have been possible without the support of a wide range of partners. We would especially like to thank the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for financial and organisational support. The GSW 2019 was organized by TMG Research gGmbH in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and co-hosted by the Ministries of Agriculture of Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Kenya and the Ministries of Environment of Benin and Madagascar.
La Global Soil Week (GSW) 2019 a eu lieu du 26 au 30 mai 2019 sur le campus ICRAF à Nairobi. Cet événement n’aura pas été possible sans le soutien d’une multitude de partenaires. Nous aimerions particulièrement remercier le Ministère fédéral allemand de la Coopération économique et du Développement (BMZ) pour son soutien financier et logistique. La Global Soil Week 2019 a été organisée par TMG Research gGmbH en collaboration avec la Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) et le Centre international pour la recherche en agroforesterie (ICRAF) et co-organisée par les Ministères de l’Agriculture du Bénin, du Burkina Faso, de l’Éthiopie et du Kenya et les Ministères de l’Environnement du Bénin et de Madagascar.
From the bottom up: Creating an enabling environment for sustainable land management
This guide presents investment strategies designed to create an enabling environment for sustainable land management (SLM) and ecosystem restoration. The investment strategies are based on the main outcomes of Global Soil Week (GSW) 2019, which was held in Nairobi from 26–30 May. The title of the event was “Creat- ing an enabling environment for sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture in Africa”. GSW 2019 was organised by TMG Research in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German international development agency (GIZ), and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). It was co-hosted by the governments of Kenya, Benin, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Ethiopia.
Program 2019
TECHNICAL SEGMENT
Day 1 – Analysis of cases
Different cases were scrutinised by experts in order to identify the relevant enabling and hindering factors to the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable and climate resilient agriculture.
Day 2 – Clustering along dimensions
Insights from the cases were clustered in a response matrix along four different “dimensions”, which are defined as aspects of an enabling environment that represent prominent challenges to sustainable and climate resilient agriculture.
HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
Day 3 – Peer review
The findings from the clustering along dimensions were peer-reviewed by senior experts and lead discussants to increase the validity of the proposed responses.
Day 4 – Call for action
The responses were presented in a plenary session where experts and decision makers identified the distinct roles and responsibilities of stakeholders towards delivery.
Side Events
Prior to the Global Soil Week, the Youth in Soil (YiS) workshop brought together young participants who have significant interest in contributing to the advancement of sustainable and climate resilient agriculture, as well as to promote information exchange (social media reporting) amongst the wider global community about the conference and the topics of discussion.
Following the Global Soil Week (GSW), the IKI funded Climate-SDGs Integration Project: Supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda through ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) organised a side-event named: “Projects never fail, and projects never scale…” – Lessons from the GSW: How to improve donor-funded projects to create a more enabling environment for upscaling Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA)?
As the title indicates, the side-event discussed the current approaches on upscaling EbA, addressing the main question of how successful EbA interventions can be continued in the long-term, for better integrating EbA into policies and to ensure long-term sustainability in EbA investments. These topics were addressed in a plenary discussion with key EbA practitioners, decision-makers and investors to arrive at meaningful insights and recommendations.
