LUSES - An International Joint Laboratory on the impacts of rapid Land Use Change on Soil Ecosystem Services

SEALNET. Southeast Asian Laboratory Network

This quality control initiative was initiated in 2014 with the technical assistance of JL Duprey from CEFIRSE IJL, based in India. The initiative, which has now created effective linkages between 19 laboratories across SEA will be continued throughout the second phase of LUSES and will most likely be expanded to more regional laboratories, including laboratories from Cambodia. Importantly, SEALNET has recently become a partner of the Asian Soil Partnership, a regional component of the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership (GSP - http://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/), the UN’s scheme for the promotion of sustainable soil management. SEALNET’s contribution to GSP fits under Pillar 5: “Harmonization of methods, measurements and indicator for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources”, which aims to provide the mechanisms for developing and exchanging globally consistent and comparable harmonized soil information. We anticipate that, given the regional interest and recognition that SEALNET has already gained, it will become a flagship for LUSES and will contribute to raise the level of standardization of a large number of soil analyses laboratories across the region.