CESRA will promote the practice of SSM in Asian countries (as defined in the Soil Atlas of Asia) by implementing the principles of the revised World Soil Charter and the recommendations in the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM). Soil experts from all countries in the region (see Figure 1) will meet at CESRA to share knowledge and experience, contribute to research and development, foster technical cooperation, build their capacities on SSM, develop case studies and ultimately provide sound scientific evidences to advise policy-makers at the national and regional level.

The center will serve as the regional hub for advancing targeted soil research based on regional priorities to inform decision-making. The activities in the work plan of CESRA will be aligned to regional and global priorities as identified in the regional implementation plan of the ASP and in the global implementation plans of the GSP. In this regard, the GSP will provide technical support and guidance to the Centre and facilitate the establishment of South-South cooperation agreements as well as promote technical and scientific cooperation between Asia and other regions. CESRA will report its activities to the GSP Plenary Assembly.

Figure 1. Asian countries served by CESRA. Countries belonging to the Asian Soil Partnership in red.Countries belonging to the Eurasian Soil Partnership in orange. Countries belonging to the Near East and North African Soil Partnership in blue. Countries belonging to the Pacific Soil Partnership in green.