The International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) has recently approved a proposal for establishment of a Working Group to examine the demand and feasibility of developing an international accreditation for soil scientists.
The proposal was led by Soil Science Australia (SSA) and supported by several soil science societies including Britain, Italy, New Zealand, America and Canada as well as by the Global Soil Partnership of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
The concept of a global accreditation program was initially raised by SSA CEO, Mr Michael Walker, who convened a meeting, held earlier this year in conjunction with the Centenary Celebration and Congress of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) in Florence, where the topic was discussed.
At this meeting it was recognised that SSA has the appropriate experience in establishing and managing accreditation programs, through administering its long-term Certified Professional Soil Science (CPSS) accreditation and associated specialties—Contaminated Soil Assessment and Management (CPSS-CSAM) and Australian Soil Survey (CPSS-AusSS) certifications. The CPSS accreditation is the mark of trust, expertise and excellence in soil science in Australia.
More recently, and with support from the Australian Government, SSA has been delivering Registered Soil Practitioner (RSP) accreditation and associated training for practitioners who work in areas including soil management, soil carbon and acid sulfate soil. SSA is continuing with developing further specialties such as the RSP erosion and sediment control accreditation.
Several other soil science societies also offer accreditation programs. For example, the Certified Professional Soil Scientist, Certified Professional Soil Classifier, Associate Professional Soil Scientist and Associate Professional Soil Classifier accreditations in the U.S.A, and the Chartered Scientist accreditation, which is managed in conjunction with the Science Council, in Great Britain. South Africa also has a registry of natural science professionals, encompassing a wide range of scientific fields covering the basic sciences and many applied derivatives. Soil Science is one of these fields of practice. Several other countries are considering and developing accreditation programs (for example, Canada).
Supporters of the proposal agreed it was important to leverage existing accreditation schemes already in place, and saw the potential to explore development of a mechanism to recognise relevant core skills—that are transferrable from country to country or region to region—that could be supplemented by additional country- or regionally-specific accreditation requirements. An international accreditation scheme could help ensure professionals and practitioners in soil science are able to have their credentials recognised when conducting inter-regional or international work.
SSA thanks IUSS President, Mr Edoardo Costantini, Secretariat Ms Irene Fabbri and also IUSS Division 1 Chair, Professor Richard Heck, for input to the proposal and for assistance in navigating the process for establishment of the Working Group.
SSA is particularly grateful to Dr Dawn Gibas of the American Society of Soil Science who drafted the initial proposal, and with whom SSA partners to provide the examination platform for our CPSS accreditation program.
SSA is leading the Working Group with CEO Michael Walker accepting position of Chair, and Dr Dawn Gibas as Vice-Chair. Several countries and regions are so far represented on the Working Group, including Italy, Hungary, China, France, USA, Britain, Canada, Japan and Africa. Activities have now commenced, and the inaugural meeting of the Working Group is being arranged.
For more information on the scope of the Working Group, contact SSA by emailing [email protected].