The importance of an updated, harmonized and accessible soil data and maps among others in food security and sustainable development also reverberates at the regional and international levels. In 2012, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) established the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) and its regional counterpart, the Asian Soil Partnership (ASP) as a mechanism for a stronger, interactive, enhanced, and synergistic partnership and collaboration of all stakeholders at all levels to improve the governance and promote sustainable management of soils.

With a shared vision and purpose, the DA-BSWM through the SHA-NSST project, hosted the first ever “Editorial Board Meeting for the Development of the Soil Atlas of Asia” on March 12-15, 2018 in Quezon City, Philippines. It was co-sponsored by the Joint Research Centre – European Commission (JRC-EU) and FAO of the UN – GSP.

The Atlas aims to:

• Raise the awareness of the general public, land managers/owners, policy makers, politicians, NGOs and other scientific communities of the importance of soil in Asia;

• Support policies and instruments for investment, agriculture, environmental issues, climate change, development and aid assistance, urban planning and others;

• Provide educational material to schools and universities to support learning; and

• Provide baseline information for further assessments.