2022: This Year in Soil
2022 was a big year for soil and we wanted to celebrate this #WorldSoilDay with a look back on some of the highlights from CA4SH, soil research, and multinational achievements towards our number one goal: scaling soil health globally.
Building a Coalition from the Ground Up
CA4SH was born out of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit so we are rounding up our first year as a coalition. We’ve seen incredible successes and mobilisation towards enhancing global soil health with support from over 100 stakeholders representing NGOs, farmer organisations, member states, institutions, and the private sector.
Through active participation and advocacy at the UNFCCC COP27, we’ve galvanised support for the Soil Health Resolution this year and are working diligently towards our goal of having it taken forward by member states at the COP28 in 2023.
CA4SH also held a side event at the UNCCD COP15 this year, underscoring the important role of healthy soil in fighting desertification, and advocated for soil health on behalf of food and nutrition security at the UNCCD COP15, the UNFCCC COP27, and at CFS50.
At home, we launched our website, built the Resource Centre, introduced a monthly newsletter, started a news room for all things Soil, and even saw #SoilHealth trend on Twitter during COP27. It’s been a whirlwind of a first year for CA4SH and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
Highlights and resources from the CA4SH coordination team this year
CA4SH co-hosted the first-ever Food Systems Summit at the UNFCCC COP27
View the most recent version of the Draft Soil Health Resolution
CA4SH participated in the first World Living Soils Forum which was held by and served as a connector for the private sector to engage in scaling soil health
We also participated in the first-ever UNCCD Food Day! So many firsts!
Science & Practice Get Their Hands Dirty
Robust science encourages decision-makers to look twice when designing policies and actions on the ground to scale soil health. This year, we saw new publications that fill research gaps, draw existing knowledge together, provide updates on the goings-on of land health, and present new methods to monitor and evaluate land health. We’ve gathered a few into one place to sum up the year.
Highlights and resources from country-level soil health advocacy this year
The UNCCD launched the second edition of the Global Land Outlook under the theme of Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience
What happened at the 22nd World Congress of Soil Science? Find out!
The CIFOR-ICRAF Soil Spectroscopy lab can process over 600 soil samples in a day! This 2022 publication will tell you a little more about it
The Land Degradation Surveillance Framework team released a poster to sum up the framework
So did Regreening Africa about their app!
Read the publication Soil macroinvertebrate communities: A world-wide assessment
How can conservation agriculture be a safe space for sustainable soils? Find out
Read the publication Reshaping How We Think about Soil Security
The Soil Health Institute announced a recommended set of measurements to assess and monitor soil health
Multinational Dialogue Hits the Ground Running
Soil has taken centre stage in a number of significant multinational initiatives, programmes and policies over 2022.
It was a huge year for soil at the COPs! At this year’s UNFCCC COP27, agriculture and food stood prominently with soil health acknowledged as a critical player in many dialogues. On paper, soil health featured in a number of decisions in the Koronivia joint work on agriculture – signifying an important shift in awareness of the key role of soil in our fight against climate change. Next year, we hope to see soil health take an even more centralised place in the negotiations!
Released at the very end of 2021, the European Union’s Soil Strategy for 2030 sets out a framework and concrete measures that the commission intends to undertake to protect, restore and sustainably use soil in Europe. To support the implementation of the strategy, the EU spelt out its mission, A Soil Deal for Europe, the main goal of which is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition to healthy soils by 2030. Read more about the Mission and its 8 objectives here.
Highlights and resources from multinational dialogue this year
Soil health made its way into the decisions from the COP27 in the Joint work on the implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security
Check out the European Union Soil Strategy
Australia put out a call for contributions to their National Soil Action Plan this year. Learn more and stay tuned to find out the results
The Government of China is launching a national soil survey – the first in 40 years – to help boost food security and carbon sequestration
