Third meeting of the International Network of Soil Information Institutions (INSII), 31 October - 1 November 2017, FAO headquarters, Rome. Composed by institutions working on soil information in FAO member countries INSII provides expertise, and facilitates soil data/information sharing. Presentation by Neil McKenzie, Chair of the Pillar 4 of the Global Soil Partnership.

1. INSII Roadmap
Pillar 4 work plan 2017-2018

2. INSII: Priority actions for the next year
• Full list of actions is defined by the Pillar 4 Implementation Plan
• We (INSII) are setting priorities for the coming year
• We are providing formal direction to the Pillar 4 Working Group who
will ensure the activities are done
• We are also providing formal direction to the GSP Soil Data Facility
who work with the Pillar 4 Working Group to implement the plan
• We are starting later than anticipated by the Implementation Plan
• We do not yet have the resources anticipated by the Implementation
Plan (~$8.6M external funds over 6 years)

3. Pillar 4 Implementation Plan: Deliverables
• General items
• SoilSTAT
• Tier 1 soil profile database
• Tier 2 soil profile database
• Global soil polygon coverage
• Harmonized World Soil Database V2
• Low-resolution grid v0
• Fine-resolution grid v1
• Capacity development programme

4. General items
• Copyright and data use policy
• Code of ethics
• Develop a Pillar 4 brochure for resource partners
• Selection of GSP Soil Data Facility

5. SoilSTAT
• Preparation of concept note including feasibility and design principles
for soil monitoring and SoilSTAT

6. Tier-1 soil profile database
(large diverse compilation)
• List of institutions that hold profile dataand list of institutions willing and
capable to serve data: by end 2016.
• Web platform and templates for collecting soil profiles and accompanying
analytical data: by end 2016.
• Infrastructure, including web-portal, for distributed access: by mid-2017.
• Infrastructure, including web-portal, for centralized access: by mid-2017.
• Populated Tier 1 distributed and centralized database following P4WG
specifications and GSP and national data sharing policies: by end 2017.

7. Tier-2 soil profile database
(harmonized and representative)
• Soil-geographic stratification: by Q3-2016.
• Tier 2 specifications: by end 2016.
• Document database structure, soil-geographic stratification,
harmonization methods for soil profiles in order to meet the
minimum data requirements: by end 2016
• Web portal for access and download of Tier 2 product: by end 2017.
• Populated and shared database according to specifications: open-
ended starting 2017

8. Global soil polygon coverage
• Specifications for integrating eSOTER, SOTER, and legacy soil maps in
a consistent global polygon coverage with harmonized content,
considering the target scale 1:500k to 1:1M: by Q2 2017.
• Collected set of 1:500k to 1:1M national and regional polygon data
sets: as soon as the data pol-icy is agreed (2016/2017).
• eSOTER maps for areas not covered with 1:500k to 1:1M national soil
maps : by end 2018.
• Global Polygon Coverage according to specifications distributed
through a web-service: 2019.

9. Harmonized World Soil Database V2
• Specifications based on HWSD v1.2: mid-2016.
• Polygon data sets for LAC, NENA and Asia regions: mid-2016.
• Polygon data sets at 1:1M scale for areas represented by the Digital
Soil Map of the World in the HWSD v1.2: end 2016.
• HWSD v2 according to specifications. Proof-of-concept: 2016; final
product: 2017.
• Web page at GSP portal linking to the HWSD v2: by end 2017.

10. Low-resolution grid v0
• Clarification by P4WG whether design specifications are needed, and
if yes, facilitate the development of such: by Q2 2016.
• List of readily available grids that can serve as Version 0 national and
regional products: by Q3-2016.
• Collected set of readily available Version 0 grids: by Q3-2016
• Web-portal for display and access to Version 0 grids: by end 2016.
• Version 0 gridded product with global coverage utilizing existing
global top down layers as a backbone: proof-of-concept by 2016; final
product mid-2018.

11. Fine-resolution grid v1
• Technical specifications document of Version 1 grid designed and
approved (incl. level of harmonization, soil attributes, uncertainties):
by mid 2017
• Exchange schema for data delivery designed: by mid-2017.
• Distributed system and web platform for serving the Version 1 grid: by
end 2018.
• Populated high-resolution global grid: by end 2020.

12. Capacity development program
• Capacity development program: 2016
• Training materials: 2016-2020
• Implemented training (different modalities) according to the program:
2016-2020

13. Activities not explicitly identified by the P4IP
• Hosting of the GSOC map and national data products by the GSP Soil
Data Facility
• Funding campaign
• Design and development of the spatial data infrastructure
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