Launch of the Youth4Soil Manifesto Implementation Guide and Hub: From Global Youth Priorities to Action
27 August 2026 | The Youth4Soil network of the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) and the UNCCD Youth Caucus are pleased to announce the launch of the Youth4Soil Manifesto Implementation Guide and the Youth4Soil Manifesto Hub at the UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, at the Action Agenda high-level event Youth4Soil Manifesto and Celebration of the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026.
Soil health is the foundation of food systems transformation, climate action, ecosystems resilience, biodiversity, and sustainable livelihoods, yet soil is degrading at alarming rates, globally. Over 95% of the Earth’s soil is projected to decline by 2050 due to drought, human activity, chemicals, pollution, unsustainable land management, and other pressures. These challenges reduce youth employment opportunities, limit access to land, increase farming costs, and heighten vulnerability to shocks, yet youth voices remain underrepresented in decision-making spaces and governance. Furthermore, young people rarely receive the appropriate financing, resources, education, and institutional support needed to act. Despite facing these mounting barriers, young people all over the World are already taking the lead, restoring degraded lands, practicing composting and agroecology, applying Indigenous and local knowledge, training peers, and demonstrating new forms of leadership to scale soil health in their local environments.
In 2025, CA4SH Youth4Soil and the UNCCD Youth Caucus initiated the development of a Youth4Soil Manifesto to promote a unified, youth-led agenda for action on soil health. It outlines global youth priorities to improve soil health and commitments towards a joint vision for 2050, amplifying youth voices in shaping soil-related policy, science, finance, and practice.
Developed through a series of consultations with more than 200 young people and over 50 organizations across regions, the Manifesto was launched on World Soil Day 2025. It outlines why youth-led action on soil health is urgently needed and what meaningful youth participation and leadership should look like, based on their lived experiences and perspectives.
The Manifesto identifies eight global youth priorities:
Strengthen Soil Literacy and Practical Youth Education for Soil Health
Enable Youth-Led Soil Innovation and Data Systems
Ensure Meaningful Youth Participation in Soil Governance
Equip Youth with the Skills and Professional Pathways for Soil Health Action
Protect and Promote Indigenous and Local Knowledge and Practices as Co-Equal Evidence for Soil Health
Expand Youth Access to Finance and Investment for Soil Health
Centre Gender Equality and Inclusion of All Young People in Soil Health Action
Secure Youth Access to Land and Tenure Rights for Soil Health
In the Manifesto, young people called for practical tools to turn priorities into action. The Guide was developed to answer this call, and draws on the co-creation process behind the Youth4Soil Manifesto as well as a global call for stories.
The Guide is an action and advocacy tool that highlights key recommendations, enabling conditions, and resources to support implementation of the Global Youth Priorities. It also maps global frameworks within the Rio Conventions relevant to soil health to identify where young people are explicitly recognized and supported, and where gaps still remain in enabling youth-led action.
The Manifesto Hub is a living digital space for sharing youth stories, tools, and resources in perpetuity to demonstrate the innovative power of youth in scaling soil health.
The Implementation Guide and Manifesto Hub are designed to be used together as living resources which will be continually co-developed as global priorities shift and youth inclusion in scaling soil health evolves over time.
CA4SH Youth4Soil and the UNCCD Youth Caucus call on global youth and allied organizations to integrate the eight global youth priorities in their work, use the Guide and Hub to support their activities, and collaborate with youth organizations and networks to enable youth-led action on soil health . Furthermore, interested youth can submit their stories to be featured in the Hub and promoted through the CA4SH and UNCCD Youth Caucus communications channels.
