Knowledge Product for IYRP 2026 and UNCCD COP17

Policy Support and Integration
Written By CA4SH Coordination

Background

Healthy soil underpins global food and nutrition security, with 95% of food production depending on soil resources. It is also central to ecosystem restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection, water security and resilient livelihoods. Rangelands, which cover more than half of the Earth’s surface and support the direct livelihoods of an estimated 500 million people, are among the ecosystems where soil health is most critical and most neglected. Yet as much as 50 per cent of rangelands are degraded, threatening agricultural productivity, pastoral livelihoods, and community resilience worldwide.

As the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026) unfolds and momentum builds toward United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17 in Mongolia, there is a strategic opportunity to place soil health at the centre of rangeland restoration efforts and to scale agroecological approaches that enhance soil-related ecosystem services, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods. This restoration must be grounded in the traditional knowledge and mobility of pastoralists and rangeland communities who have stewarded these landscapes for generations.

This knowledge product, co-developed by CA4SH and partners ahead of UNCCD COP17, presents the evidence based on soil health as the foundation of rangeland restoration and outlines priority actions for key stakeholders. It aims to contribute to the implementation of Decision 29/COP.16 on rangelands and pastoralists, Decision 19/COP.16 on agricultural lands, and the Rangelands Flagship Initiative to be launched at COP17.

Members have already contributed to a first draft of this brief. CA4SH is now inviting additional inputs to:

  • Strengthen the evidence base

  • Incorporate pastoralist perspectives

  • Refine key messages

  • Align with IYRP 2026 and COP17 priorities

How to Contribute

Please submit:

  • Written inputs

  • Case studies

  • Data or evidence

  • Suggested key messages

Timeline

  • Deadline for contributions: 15 June 2026

  • Launch: UNCCD COP17

Contact

For access to the latest draft or to contribute, please contact:

Dr Leigh Winowiecki
Co-Lead, CA4SH
L.A.Winowiecki@cifor-icraf.org

Daniela Solis
Coordination & Events Lead, CA4SH
coordination@coalitionforsoilhealth.org

CA4SH Coordination
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