UTS hosts 3rd Sustainable Phosphorus Summit

An event focused specifically on phosphorus scarcity and food security will be hosted by UTS from 29 February to 2 March 2012.

The 3rd Sustainable Phosphorus Summit brings together key international science, policy and industry stakeholders from different parts of the food production and consumption chain concerned about the role of phosphorus availability and accessibility in global food security, about protecting the environment and supporting rural and urban livelihoods.

Phosphorus security has become a global concern following an 800% price spike of phosphate commodities in 2008.

“It is expected that global supplies of concentrated high-grade phosphate rock may run out in the next 100 years, under current usage patterns,” said Professor Stuart White, Director of the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), which is hosting the summit.

“Of the major plant nutrients, phosphorus appears to be the one with some potential for shortfalls in supplies to generate significant price increases, particularly as reserves occur in a relatively small number of countries, notably China and Morocco.”

“This has serious implications for the world’s ability to feed itself as population increases - the human body needs phosphorus to function, which it gets from food. Much of what we eat, in turn, comes from the phosphorus in soils that enable crops to grow,” said Proff White.

Themes at the Summit will include: sustainable food systems; global phosphate rock production and reserves; phosphorus use efficiency in mining, agriculture and food processing; and sustainable phosphorus strategies and global governance.