Final ORCaSa meeting held in Paris

From 28-30 April, the ORCaSa project partners gathered in Paris for the last annual meeting. The three-day event featured a dynamic series of workshops and presentations that highlighted the consortium’s achievements since the launch of the project in September 2022, and paved the way for the future of the Soil Carbon International Research Consortium (IRC).

A major focus of the meeting was ensuring a sustainable future for the Soil Carbon IRC beyond ORCaSa. Discussions addressed the development of a long-term business model, the need for diversified funding sources, and strategies to grow the global community through regular webinars, workshops, and an annual symposium.

Regional ambassadors from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the USA, and Australia shared updates demonstrating progress in aligning IRC activities with local initiatives and strengthening regional networks.

From platforms to policy: scaling soil carbon innovation

Enhancing the IRC’s service offerings was also central to the discussions. This includes further development of the Impact4Soil platform—particularly new modules for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV), improved multilingual accessibility, and the integration of AI tools.

The meeting also emphasised the need for a harmonised MRV framework, expanding beyond current crop-based methodologies to include additional ecosystems and use cases such as carbon markets, national policies, and insetting schemes.

Finally, participants reviewed progress on the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which highlights priority themes such as soil management practices, carbon sequestration, and the role of biochar in sustainable land use.

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