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.

The COP17 session, “Regenerative Agriculture for Land Restoration and Healthy Diets: Closing the Finance Gap,” co-organised by CA4SH and partners, brought together progress on two complementary initiatives under the COP30 Action Agenda — the Plan to Accelerate Regenerative Agriculture for Healthy Soil and Healthy Diets and RAIZ (Resilient Agriculture Investment for Net-Zero Land Degradation) — while exploring what is needed to build a stronger global business case for regenerative agriculture.

The session, “Advancing Soil Data and Evidence for Rangeland Restoration, LDN Reporting and Decision Making,” brought together perspectives on how soil information systems, harmonised monitoring approaches, open-data platforms and community-led monitoring can strengthen LDN reporting while making evidence more useful to practitioners, policymakers and investors.

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.

For generations, the Basotho people have lived in partnership with their horses, navigating terrain too steep for roads and too wild for machines. Here, where the mountains determine the pace of life, horse and rider move as one carrying food, people, stories, and traditions between remote communities.

It is a relationship built on trust, not ownership.

Ba Jara Thaba—"They Carry the Mountain"—captures this enduring bond through the eyes of filmmaker Ramon Mellett, whose two-year journey into the heart of Semongkong reveals a world that remains remarkably untouched by modernity. Rather than documenting a sporting spectacle, the film lingers in the quieter moments: the stillness before the race, the soft exchange between rider and horse, the silence that follows the thunder of hooves across the highlands.

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

Across global rangelands, livestock move slowly through open landscapes, following rainfall patterns that have shaped ecosystems for generations. To some, these lands appear empty or degraded. But at last week’s GLF Africa 2026 conference in Nairobi, hosted at CIFOR-ICRAF, one message rang clear: rangelands are living systems essential to the future of climate resilience, biodiversity, food security, and soil health.

Held during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), the conference brought together pastoralist leaders, scientists, policymakers, youth advocates, investors, and restoration practitioners from around the world to rethink how rangelands are valued - and who is included in shaping their future.

For young people, the message was impossible to ignore: this conversation belongs to you too.

Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) #Youth4Soil member Lordesturs Gordon attended the conference on behalf of the Coalition, documenting the discussions, experiences, and key themes emerging from the conference through a youth perspective.

The fifth Soil Health Solutions Showcase by #Youth4Soil, convened under the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH), brought together young leaders, scientists and advocates to spotlight practical solutions for soil restoration and sustainable land use. The event featured innovators, researchers and community leaders presenting groundbreaking approaches to restoring degraded land and strengthening food systems.

The second United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) was held from 27–29 July 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, co-hosted by the Governments of Ethiopia and Italy. Marking four years since the inaugural 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, UNFSS+4 served as a critical moment to assess progress, deepen partnerships, and mobilize investments to accelerate food systems transformation globally.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH)—established during the 2021 Summit—was actively engaged throughout the Stocktake. CA4SH co-hosted two thematic side events, co-organized a joint session with fellow UNFSS Coalitions of Action, and showcased its work through an exhibition booth, amplifying the role of healthy soil in delivering on food, nutrition, climate, nature, and land goals.