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4 per 1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and the Climate

The 4 per 1000 Initiative aims to show that achieving food security, adapting to climate change and reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are complementary through the preservation and increase of organic matter in soils leading to carbon sequestration. The 4 per 1000 initiative is a multi-stakeholder partnership with the goal of encouraging and supporting its partners on implementing actions to enhance the carbon content of soils with an aspiration rate target of 0.4% or 4‰, based on a transition towards productive and highly resilient agricultural and food systems.

=Purpose and goals of the initiative= The 4 per 1000 Initiative aims to promote and deploy practical measures on the ground that benefit crop and livestock farmers through the implementation of practices favorable to the restoration of soils, to an increase in their organic carbon stock and to the protection of carbon-rich soils and biodiversity.

The Initiative aims to encourage their diverse partners to: =The importance of soils for food security and climate=
 * implement training and outreach programs on agricultural management that preserves and builds up soil carbon
 * fund projects that restore, improve and/or preserve carbon stocks in soils
 * develop and implement public policies and appropriate tools
 * adapt supply chains to ensure soil health-friendly agricultural products

Soils as part of the global carbon cycle
Through the process of photosynthesis, vegetation uptakes CO2 from the atmosphere, converting it to carbohydrate molecules used for plants' metabolism. After vegetation decay, dead biomass is not completely decomposed releasing all fixed carbon back to the atmosphere. It is partly transferred into the soil as litter and over time transforms to build up soil organic matter (SOM). The carbon contained in SOM is commonly referred to as soil organic carbon (SOC).

Soils represent the largest terrestrial reservoir of carbon. They are a key compartment of the global carbon cycle. An estimate of 829 Pg carbon were in the atmosphere in 2011, living biomass contained 450 to 650 Pg carbon and soils 1500 to 2400 Pg carbon (state: 2011 ).

The amount of carbon stored in soils is the result of the balance between carbon inputs and outputs. Carbon enters the soil mainly via plant residues representing a carbon flux from the atmosphere through biomass into the soil. Carbon is transferred into other reservoirs such as rivers and oceans in form of dissolved organic carbon. The release of carbon back to the atmosphere is mainly dependant on decomposition of dead biomass or SOM to its mineral components such as CO2 (heterotrophic respiration). There is a direct link between the amount of carbon stored in soils and atmospheric CO2 concentration.

Rationale behind “4 per 1000”
=History of the initiative= The 4 per 1000 Initiative was launched in 2015 at COP21 in Paris, France. This initiative is part of the Global Climate Action Agenda, which follows on from the Lima-Paris Action Agenda. Its targets contribute to the goal of a land-degradation neutral world. Since its launch, 359 partners from diverse stakeholder groups have joined the initiative.

=Organization of the “4 per 1000” Initiative= The structure and governance of the initiative is defined in the Declaration of Intention from 23 September 2016

Forum of Partners
The Forum of Partners is the initiative's body, in which partnerships and strengthened collaborative actions are built up. It brings together organizations that have signed the Declaration of Intention of Support for the 4 per 1000 Initiative. By signing the Declaration, all partners demonstrate that they share the principles and objectives of the initiative.

The Forum of Partners meets once a year, and also forms a digital community. The "4 per 1000" Forum has 359 partners (as of December 2018). Diverse stakeholder groups are represented:
 * Farmers' and land users organizations (40)
 * States and provinces (42)
 * International and regional organizations (12)
 * Development banks and Foundations (14)
 * Research and academic institutions (80)
 * Civil society organizations (110)
 * Private companies (61)

The full list of partners (as of 13 December 2018) can be downloaded here.

Consortium of Members
The Consortium of Members is the decision-making body of the "4 per 1000" Initiative. The Consortium determines, by consensus-based decisions, the work plan and budget of the initiative. Any non-profit and non-commercial Partner of the initiative can join the Consortium. As of December 2018, 183 organisms are contributing to setting the yearly road map of the 4 per 1000 initiative.

The Consortium of Members meets at least once a year on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Forum, but also at other times according to its own agenda. 4 per 1000 partners can sign the Marrakesh declaration of intention in request to become a member of the 4 per 1000 Initiative.

Scientific and Technical Committee
The Scientific and Technical Committee is the scientific body of the "4 per 1000" Initiative. The Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) was established in November, 2016 during COP22 in Marrakesh.

The STC is made up of 14 high-level scientists of high international reputation, selected by the Consortium of Members on the proposal of the Executive Secretariat. It is a multidisciplinary group, with a balanced composition of geographical origin and gender.

The STC has proposed the 4 per 1000 Research priorities as well as a set of Reference criteria and indicators for project assessment. Both documents have been adopted by the Consortium of Members as Guiding documents of the 4 per 1000 Initiative.

The STC meets several times a year to discuss ongoing and planned activities and provide scientific guidance to the work of the 4 per 1000 initiative. It also works on scientific publications to advance in the field of soil carbon sequestration and provides technical advice on field projects, actions and programs.

The main publications of the STC have been:

Rumpel, C., Amiraslani, F., Chenu, C., García Cárdenas, M., Kaonga, M., Koutika, L.-S. ..., Wollenberg, L. (In review). The 4p1000 Initiative for promoting increases in soil organic carbon stocks: finding common ground to stimulate policy-science-practice interaction. Ambio.

Rumpel, C., Amiraslani, F., Koutika, L.-S., Smith, P., Whitehead, D., Wollenberg, E., 2018: Put more carbon in soils to meet Paris climate pledges. Nature, 564, 32-34. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07587-4

Executive Secretariat
The Executive Secretariat is the executive body of the 4 per 1000 Initiative.

Its mission is to provide support to the three governance bodies (Forum of Partners, Consortium of Members and Scientific and Technical Committee) and to coordinate and implement the activities of the Initiative, notably through the organization and documentation of meetings, the facilitated communication between the 4 per 1000 partners and the management of common tools (website including the collaborative platform and a digital resource center ...).

The Executive Secretariat is made up of the following team:


 * Dr. Paul LUU, Executive Secretary of the “4 per 1000” Initiative since September 2016, is in charge of the coordination of the Executive Secretariat team, the mobilization of resources, implementation of the roadmap and organization of the statutory meetings of all bodies of the Initiative. His regional focus is Asia, Oceania and North America. He is based in Montpellier, France at the CGIAR System Organization.


 * Dr. Paloma MELGAREJO-NARDIZ, is a Sciences Officer in charge of the link with the international research and scientific cooperation program with the STC. She is based in Paris, France at INRA. Her regional focus is Central and South America.

supporting actions and projects of the partners and members of the Initiative. They also represent the Executive Secretariat at science-policy events, building and strengthening partnerships and networks as well as supporting the moderation of the collaborative platform. Dr. Viridiana Alcántara Cervantes and Mrs. Gianna Braun are Officers at the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), and are based in Bonn (Germany).
 * Dr. Viridiana ALCANTARA CERVANTES and Ms. Gianna BRAUN are in charge of following-up actions and

Mrs. Brigitte CABANTOUS is in charge of the logistical organization of the statutory meetings (STC, Consortium and Forum) and contributes to the update of the website. She is based in CIRAD Campus in Montpellier (France).

The human and financial resources allowing the operation of the Executive Secretariat, are provided on a voluntary basis, in form of secondments, by the Ministries of Agriculture of France, Germany and Spain as well as CIRAD.

=Driving factors for soil organic carbon stocks=

=Benefits of maintaining and increasing the amount of soil organic carbon=

=Practical solutions for maintaining and increasing soil organic carbon stocks=

examples from the ground
=Estimating the global and local potential of soil carbon sequestration and losses=

=Controversial issues/Addressing concerns related to “4 per 1000”=

=Links and further reading=