We do not have to stress the importance of the alpine region in terms of the ecosystems, hydrographic contribution, glaciers, not to mention animal and plant biodiversity. Instead we would like to bring attention to an initiative on alpine soils undertaken by four countries (Slovenia, Germany, Italy and France) to create a specific partnership for alpine soils: the Alpine Soil Partnership (AlpSP).
L’AlpSP, officially founded in March 2018 in Grenoble, brings together soil experts and the users of soil knowledge (authorities, practitioners, NGOs, etc.) to better introduce soil protection into land management practices, and promotes Alpine-wide cooperation on soil protection and soil ecosystem services management. AlpSP links experts on the horizontal and vertical levels: Public authorities and soil experts are thus able to understand the gaps in and needs of soil conservation in order to better integrate solutions and create tools in their day-to-day work as a new standard.
The main objectives of the AlpSP are:
- to bridge the gap between the goals of the European Soil Partnership (ESP)/Global Soils Partnership (GSP) and the local and regional levels, where soil management/protection decisions are made, and
- to foster the implementation of the Alpine Convention’s Soil Conservation Protocol
The activities of the AlpSP focus on five key topics in the Alpine Region: i) Sustainable soil management; ii) Soil awareness raising, education, and didactics; iii) Soil information and research; iv) Regional cooperation and v) The harmonization of data and methods.
We would stress the importance of this initiative that aims to bring together different actors involved with the soil. In the spirit of good resolutions for 2020, we hope that other countries in the alpine regions will join AlpSP.
Gruppo Suolo Europa 