Global Symposium on Salt-Affected Soils: Outcome document
The GSAS21 was held virtually on the Zoom platform on 20-22 October 2021 and was attended by over 4 000 participants. The objective of the symposium was to combine science, policy, and practice to evaluate the issues related to salt-affected soils and to formulate a strategy for the implementation of Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management in the areas affected by salinity and sodicity.
The GSAS21 symposium was structured around three main themes focusing on 1) Assessment, mapping, and monitoring of salt-affected soils; 2) Integrated soil – water – crop solutions in rehabilitation and management of salt-affected areas; 3) Agenda for action to prevent and rehabilitate salt-affected soils, protect natural saline and sodic soils, and scale-up sustainable soil management practices. The fourth session on testimonies from the field was organized to showcase the good practices illustrating the rehabilitation and sustainable use of salt-affected soils.
The symposium included more than 70 oral presentations, and presented over 17 hours of parallel sessions. Recordings of the presentations can be accessed via. In addition, 58 posters were open for public voting during the GSAS. Over 67 000 votes have been received which helped identify three winners of the poster session. The posters are available from.
The recommendations presented in this document aim to support decision-making and innovative actions to minimize the challenges posed by soil salinity and sodicity, thereby assisting in the augmentation of global food security and ecosystem protection through salt-affected soils management in impacted regions.
Cite this content as:
FAO. 2022. Global Symposium on Salt-Affected Soils: Outcome document. Rome.