Research shows that soil is connected to all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, individually and as a holistic solution. To help underscore the importance of these connections, CA4SH has summarized how each of the SDGs links to soil.

Healthy soil is a complex web of nutrient recycling from plants, animals and insects, alike. Organic material in soil is absolutely imperative to the natural processes that provide vital ecosystem services like water filtration and crop growth, and it enters the soil from various stages in the soil food web.

Despite being a product of decomposition processes, healthy soil is never dirty, but it can be unclean. With natural processes at the core of their approach, biotech company Nutrition Technologies has found a way to intervene against plant pathogens that commonly threaten agricultural soils. 

In December, Nature and People as One (NaPO) held a workshop in Karare, an area bordering the Mt Marsabit National Reserve, that brought together 59 community voices representing 39 villages from Parkishon, Kamboe, Loglogo and Karare (important rangelands surrounding the Mt Marsabit Forest). The goal was to assess progress with implementing the Ramat model, celebrate its successes, and assess the challenges.

Story and photos by Adrian Leitoro, Co-Founder of NaPO

“San José, 13 December 2023 (IICA) The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative (VCMI), the Argentine Association of No-till Farmers (AAPRESID), the Group of Producing Countries from the Southern Cone (GPS), the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University (MSU), Gold Standard, Rabobank's ACORN and Climate Focus will join forces in 2024 to support the access of the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean to financing of voluntary and compliance carbon markets.”

Read the full story from IICA

There’s strong evidence linking the health of our soils with the overall human health. Healthy soils play a pivotal role in the production of crops that contribute to the nutritional well-being of individuals. This link between soil health and human health can be understood through several key aspects:

Read the full article from CropNuts

“Another year, another record. Recent news headlines seem to support the adage that records are made to be broken.

Yet while records are usually positive news in sport or the business world, they serve as grim reminders in the context of climate change, where unprecedented highs are best avoided and are also avoidable.”

Story from Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO, CIFOR-ICRAF

“But the truth is soil is literally at the root of many pressing national security challenges that we face.

You all know this, and we know this increasingly with every passing day: without good soil, crops fail, prices rise, people go hungry.”

- Remarks from Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, USA

“Seth J. Itzkan of Soil4Climate discusses the role of holistically managed ruminants to restore soil biology and mitigate global warming. Nikita Zimov (Pleistocene Park) and Alasdair MacLeod (Macdoch Group) in attendance.”

Read the full story from Soil4Climate

December 9th, COP28 UAE - In an event held at the Land & Drought Resilience Pavilion, the Coalition of Action 4 soil Health, the WWF, CIFOR-ICRAF and AICCRA convened a discourse on the imperative need to reinforce Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by emphasizing soil health and nature-based solutions. The event, titled “Strengthening NDCs for Soil Health - learning from practical experience”, brought together a multitude of stakeholders including government representatives, scientists, farmers, and development practitioners to deliberate on critical action for soil health to shape the global climate agenda.

By Aisha and Lukas, Cycle to Farms

“Amidst Criticism, COP28 in UAE Shows Promise for Food and Agriculture

We had the honor of attending COP28 in Dubai as observers, and despite initial skepticism, we came away impressed by the positive tone and the tangible progress made on food and agriculture.”

Click to read the full story

The COP28 Presidency announced that 134 world leaders have signed up to its landmark agriculture, food and climate action declaration.

Click to read the details and download the press release and declaration.

December 5th, COP28 UAE - The Food Systems Pavilion at COP28 was filled with discussions centred around the critical theme of soil health during the event “Common Ground: Soil Health Action for Nature, People, and Climate”, organized by the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) to mark World Soil Day.

In the small village of Kikandwa, in the Mityana district of Uganda, villagers have transformed their landscape by sheer force of will, a commitment to healthy soils, and by working together to form the Kikandwa Environmental Association (KEA).

“With nearly 400 participants from 40 countries, 40+ speakers, 30+ exhibitors, plus our amazing sponsors US Biochar Initiative, Carbonfuture, KMW Energy Systems, Puro.earth, and Pyreg, plus IBI’s first media partner, the Carbon Herald, we had a vibrant three days of presentations, networking, and collaboration.”

Read the whole review from the International Biochar Initiative’s Annual Symposium

SEEADO is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization that works to promote a sustainable environment and agriculture, and mainstream ecotourism into conservation for the benefit of people and biodiversity.

“Soils: Where food begins” will be the theme of this year’s World Soil Day on December 5. In line with this theme, the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH) will celebrate the day at the COP28 Food Systems Pavilion by organizing a full day of events dedicated to this critical but often overlooked ecosystem. The day will end with a dinner on the margins of COP for senior leaders working within the soil health space, to stress the importance of soils as an asset and garner commitments and pledges to further the adoption of sustainable soil management practices at the global level.

Read the full story from IFA

• Agreena registers two million hectares of European farmland on its pioneering soil carbon platform - an area the size of Slovenia

• More than 1,000 farmers across 17 countries have now joined AgreenaCarbon - transitioning from conventional farming to regenerative agriculture

• Agreena’s ability to scale soil carbon removals has been supported through the use of cutting-edge remote sensing technology coupled with machine learning

With increasing droughts, initiatives to restore soil and manage water resources effectively are a necessity to ensure food security, but the clock is ticking, and they must be accompanied by investments in farmers.

By Aggrey Agumya, Sekai Mudonhi for Devex

On the 18th and 25th of October 2023, the CA4SH Soil Health Steering Committee met virtually to discuss the remit of the Committee and the future directions of the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH).

On 17th October 2023, the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the International "4 per 1000" Initiative presented the second instalment of the Soil Carbon Science Webinar Series with the session “Soil Inorganic Carbon: Unveiling its Role in the Global Carbon Cycle”.