The public organization “Society of Soil Scientists and Land Surveyors of Bukovyna “Terra” is a voluntary association of natural persons, established for the implementation and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, satisfaction of public, in particular, economic, social, cultural, educational and other interests of its members and/or other persons, assistance in solving environmental problems, protection, conservation and preservation of the environment and its components, first of all – soils.

The main tasks of the Organization are:

– Establishment and expansion of cooperation in the field of environmental protection and conservation, as well as between public authorities, local self-government bodies, public organizations, enterprises, institutions, organizations and their associations.

– Supporting the free exchange of experience, knowledge, specialists and information in the field of soil conservation, preservation and protection, as well as the environment in general; assistance in providing access to information and knowledge on soil-sphere, which provides for exchange of experience and data with state organizations and institutions, legal entities of various forms of ownership, physical persons, entrepreneurs, educational institutions, including foreign ones.

– Expansion of public participation in the formation of environmental policy, preparation of decisions, the implementation of which may affect the state of the environment; public participation in educational, scientific, cultural programs and activities on land cover and the environment in general.

– Assistance to public authorities, local self-government bodies, public organizations, citizens, communities and other stakeholders, including foreign ones, in their activities on soil cover and environmental issues in general.

– Promotion of education, science and culture, awareness-raising activities, implementation of programs related to the development of environmental protection and democratic civil society.

– Raising the social, economic and legal status of the Organization’s members, promoting the growth of their professional qualifications, educational level, knowledge and experience for the implementation of the statutory activities of the Organization.

The main directions of the Organization’s activity are:

–  Assistance in scientific and scientific-applied research, assistance in development and participation in national, regional and local programs, projects and initiatives, including transboundary and interstate, participation in preparation of projects, relevant acts of state authorities and local self-government bodies aimed at development of sustainable land use and environmental services in general, protection of the rights of each person to a clean environment, preservation and protection of soils and environment, counteraction to their degradation.

– Supporting and expanding research in soil science, land management and cadastre, geomatics, logistics, GIS technologies, agronomy, farming and agrochemistry, as well as other environmental sciences and Earth remote sensing, their applied aspects, in particular mapping, land reclamation, modeling of natural and anthropogenically induced processes.

– Facilitate independent advice, promote the development and implementation of best practices for sustainable soil management on land of different uses, in particular integrated land management systems from local to national levels.

– Proposals and assistance in developing projects for optimal land use and efficient soil utilization for individuals and legal entities, from the farm level to agro-firms and holdings.

– Development and implementation of modern systems for assessing soils and lands, their quality and health.

– Participation in the creation of geographic information systems (GIS) and databases, in providing access to them (including online), in particular through the creation of Internet sites.

– Assist in vectorization of scanned materials of soil survey and other soil survey related materials, as well as creation of maps for various purposes on printed and electronic media.

– Participation in the development of cartographic models (including three-dimensional ones) to identify types and distribution of soil and land degradation processes (erosion, waterlogging, landslides, pollution, screening, reduction of organic matter and nutrient elements, etc.).

– To promote knowledge on soil cover, its function in the biosphere and changes due to anthropogenic impacts, on soils as irreplaceable components of the environment and as an exhaustible resource of mankind, and to promote inventive activities.

– Participation in soil, environmental and other types of monitoring related to soil functioning and use, assistance in independent soil and environmental expertise; Assist in studying the impact of environmental factors on soil and human health.

– Provide independent advice and participation in field and laboratory diagnosis and verification of soils and agro-productive soil group maps to all stakeholders.

– Promoting the conservation of landscape, soil and biological diversity; promoting the development and research of ecological management pathways based on sustainable soil management; promoting the development of nature reserves.

– Participation in holding mass events (congresses, conferences, seminars, symposiums, presentations, press conferences, forums, competitions, training courses, trainings, lectures, meetings, round tables, consultations, creative events, tournaments, competitions, rallies, demonstrations, discussions, other educational and scientific events) related to the performance of the Organization’s tasks and their financing.

– Selection and dissemination of information on the state of the environment and its components, assistance in creation of own information systems and databases, publication of bulletins and other printed products, preparation of audio-visual materials and provision of access to them for stakeholders.

– Development of international relations and establishment of international cooperation primarily with institutions whose activities concern soil problems and the ecosystem services they provide on issues related to the Organization’s statutory activities; inviting foreign specialists to Ukraine to assist in the implementation of the Organization’s projects and programmes.