27 August 2026, Ulaanbaatar | At UNCCD COP17 Mongolia, soil health was at the center of the agenda. It was present across negotiations, ministerial dialogues, side events, and the Action Agenda. The numbers give a sense of its scale: the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) network held 72 events alongside 90+ partners across the two weeks. 

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.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH), Landscape Alliance (CIFOR-ICRAF), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program, WWF, and partners, convened senior leaders and partners at UNCCD COP17 Mongolia for a high-level dinner focused on a simple but critical message: healthy soils are fundamental to resilient food systems, healthy ecosystems and a more climate-resilient future.

On Tuesday, 18 August, the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) joined Drynet, AIDER, and Fundación CAUCE on a side event dubbed“Healthy Soils 4 Food: Connecting Agricultural Land Restoration, Food Systems and Nutrition.”

The session brought together diverse voices — soil scientists, policy experts, nutrition advocates, and youth leaders — to explore the vital link between land restoration, soil health, nutrition, and healthy diets.

Five years ago, the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) was launched at the UN Food Systems Summit to advocate for healthy soil as central to food system transformation.

At that time, healthy soil was not formally recognized as a climate solution, despite it being the largest terrestrial carbon sink and having a central role in upholding food and nutrition security, combating land degradation and drought, hosting biodiverse ecosystems, and filtering and storing water, among a myriad of other co-benefits. 

But momentum was growing.

Read the full op-ed by CA4SH co-Lead Dr Leigh Winowiecki

Despite progress over the past five years, soil degradation is continuing to happen at alarming rates, with over 2.3 billion people experience moderate or severe food insecurity, globally. With over 40% of the Earth’s surface degraded, including about 50% of the world’s rangelands, concerted action is needed.

Business as usual is no longer an option.

On this the 2026 Desertification and Drought Day, which coincides with the start of the CA4SH five-year celebrations and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), the theme of this year’s Desertification and Drought Day, Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore., is more relevant than ever.

Read the Op-Ed from Dr Leigh Winowiecki

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) is pleased to share the 2025 Annual Report!

The Coalition has grown substantially in the past year, and this report is a reflection of our ongoing committment to adapt and transform with our members and partners.

Preparing the Annual Report is a critical opportunity for the Coalition to reflect on our progress and map our way forward, and we are excited to present this synthesis of our results to our partners.

We also wish to thank all of our partners who contributed to this report in the form of case studies, forewards, photos and more, and thank you to all of our partners for your dedication and enthusiasm toward scaling soil health globally.

At the twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 23) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Panama City, Panama, young people from around the world gathered to explore how land, food systems, and climate resilience are deeply interconnected. Among the highlights was a keynote conversation with Dr. Barron Joseph Orr, Chief Scientist of the UNCCD, whose work has shaped global understanding of land degradation, drought resilience, and sustainable land management. 

At the twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 23) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Panama City, Panama, the side event “Youth Policy Pathways for Land and Food: Advancing Action on Land Degradation Neutrality” brought together young people, technical experts, and partners to explore the interlinkages between food systems and land, and how youth perspectives can help shape more coherent, inclusive, and actionable approaches to Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). The session was co-hosted by the UNCCD Youth Caucus, World Food Forum (WFF) Global Youth Action Initiative, and Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) Youth4Soil Initiative.

At the recent twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 23) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Panama City, Panama, 15-year-old Angie Michelle Huezo Gámez from El Salvador delivered a powerful and deeply moving intervention. Speaking from lived experience in a region marked by drought, soil degradation, and water scarcity, Angie illuminated how environmental crises shape the lives of children and adolescents, and how young people are already acting to restore land and protect their communities.

At the recent UN Food Systems Stocktake (UNFSS +4) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Hanieh Moghani, Expert Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, addressed audiences at a side event titled From Riyadh to Mongolia: Bridging Action for Agroecology and Soil Health to Transform Food Systems. CA4SH is pleased to share Hanieh’s address so that her words can continue to move stakeholders to take action together.

24 June 2025 | The second virtual #Youth4Soil Solutions Showcase, themed “Restore. Reform. Reap.” spotlighted the critical role youth are playing in reversing land degradation, rethinking failed systems and reaping the collective benefits of healthier ecosystems.

Every year on 17 June, the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) joins in with our global partners, allies, and Coalition members in celebrating World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. CA4SH is firmly rooted in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD). In this op-ed, Dr Leigh Winowiecki (CA4SH Co-Lead and Soil and Land Health Research Theme Lead for CIFOR-ICRAF) looks to this day as a beacon to celebrate our successes and reflect on our way forward as a multistakeholder organization committed to restoring and protecting land.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) is rooted in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Since our official launch in 2021, CA4SH has amassed a membership of over 200 multistakeholder organizations and collaborated with countless partners.

This year, the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNCCD was focused on a people-centred approach to accelerating action on land and drought resilience, themed Our Land. Our Future.

Since healthy soil is essential to land and drought resilience, and provides co-benefits that link with all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the CA4SH network came together for a record engagement at COP16 to advocate for scaling global soil health.

Delegates at COP16 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh have been working to tackle the critical challenge of preserving soil health while feeding the world, with 10 billion mouths to feed by 2050. This COP could accelerate action on land, drought resilience and the green transition across the world. Land restoration is a non-negotiable for a food systems transformation that makes our people, planet and economies healthier and more sustainable over the long-term.

Read the full blog from the World Bank

14-18 October 2024: The World Food Forum (WFF) was held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy. It served as a powerful platform, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to leverage the power of intergenerational collaborations, partnerships, and action across policy, science, innovation, culture, and investment. 

CA4SH members joined a series of youth-led dialogues, workshops, and networking events to highlight the transformative potential of soil health as the foundation of sustainable, resilient food systems. With over 200 members - including farmer organizations, youth, policymakers, scientists, and NGOs - the Coalition is committed to translating science into action, fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, and amplifying the vital role of youth in global soil health initiatives. 

Healthy soil is the cornerstone of sustainable development, playing a crucial role in providing ecosystem services, achieving food and nutrition security for all, and climate regulation. Its significance can be underscored through the lens of the three Rio Conventions: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Each convention addresses a distinct but interconnected aspect of environmental sustainability, but what remains constant is the critical role that scaling global soil health plays in achieving the objectives of the conventions.

To hone in on soil as a holistic approach to global environmental challenges, we have summarized some of the ways that healthy soil is central to the objectives of the Rio Conventions and outlined some of the key ways forward.

June 3 to 13, 2024 - The 60th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiaries Bodies (SB60) took place in Bonn, Germany. Also called the 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference, it brought together an estimated 6,000 attendees to prepare and shape the agenda for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year. This year, we contributed to several side events led by partners to elevate the importance of soil health.

This month, the CA4SH SteerCo met for their third meeting since it’s inception, and the CA4SH Secretariat hosted the second Quarterly Partners Meeting of 2024. With the alignment of the six-month mark of the year, and these two important meetings for strategizing, collaborating, and sharing experiences, this is a great opportunity to reflect on where we are and where we are going for the rest of the year.

Excerpt:

Since the time I began studying soils 25 years ago, we have seen some amazing progress – as well as a collective realization that much more needs to be done to address land degradation and desertification.

Soil is the skin of the Earth. It is now imperative that we raise the public consciousness about soil and make sure its health is on the international agenda.

On 17 June, we observe Desertification and Drought Day to draw awareness to the rapid transformation of land use that has left over 30 percent of the Earth’s terrestrial surface degraded due to unsustainable agriculture and land management practices, deforestation and urban expansion, all of which are exacerbated by climate change.

Read the full story by Dr Leigh Winowiecki on CIFOR Forest News