The Soil Health Resolution is a set of commitments to enable and scale healthy soil practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change, restore biodiversity, improve water resilience, enhance food and nutrition security, and protect natural and cultural heritage.

Healthy soil is critical for ecosystem restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, water cycling, farmer livelihoods, and food and nutrition security. Despite its importance, soil health has often been overlooked, but momentum is growing as evidenced by recent high-level initiatives such as the Nairobi Declaration as part of the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan and the European Union Soil Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration was launched on 5 June 2021 to galvanise local, national and global action to restore degraded ecosystems. In the same year, the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) initiated a call for coalitions of action to champion integrated, systemic approaches to transform food systems. The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) was launched to bring soil health into focus with participation across sectors and scales to ultimately raise awareness about this critical ecosystem that we depend on, but which is being degraded at unprecedented rates. Since 2021, CA4SH has grown to include nearly 200 members (as of January 2025) representing the public and private sectors, research institutions, non-governmental organisations, farmer organisations and cooperatives, individuals, youth-led organisations, and indigenous organisations to mention some. The initiative has also had a strong focus on gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) in soil and landscape restoration. The Coalition promotes soil as a unifier across a diverse set of stakeholders, building partnerships to overcome critical economic, technical and institutional barriers to the adoption and scaling of healthy soil practices. Furthermore, CA4SH facilitates evidence-based policy and practice action for the scaling of restoration practices that improve soil health. The Private Sector Guiding Group, launched as part of the UNFSS, developed a call to action to support increased investments in healthy soil, and continues to support the actions of the Coalition. Its four working groups focus on communication, soil health monitoring and implementation, policy, and financial investment. In the first three years since its launch, the Coalition has engaged in multinational dialogues and contributed to the adoption of soil health in the outcomes from the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) through the Koronivia joint work on agriculture (now the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration), the UNFCCC COP28 UAE Declaration on Food Systems and Agriculture, the UNCCD COP16 Riyadh Action Agenda and also launched the Soil Health Resolution. Leveraging on the enabling policy environment, the Coalition catalyses public and private sector action with outcomes for economic returns and growth, productivity and rural livelihoods, climate and nature. The positioning of the Coalition in the current global environmental transition is pivotal to drive the multifaceted benefits that soil health improvement offers to food systems transformation and global adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.

African Heads of State and Government formally adopted the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit Declaration, also known as the Nairobi Declaration, during the AFSH Summit. The AFSH Summit addressed the urgent need to improve soil health and enhance fertilizer utilization across the continent to boost agricultural productivity and alleviate hunger and poverty. These priorities were initially identified in the 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution.

Furthermore, the 2014 Malabo Declaration under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) reaffirmed AU Member States' commitment to inclusive agricultural transformation, building on earlier initiatives such as the 2003 Maputo Declaration on CAADP and the 2004 Sirte Declaration on sustainable agriculture and water management. Despite these commitments, AU Member States have faced significant challenges in implementing the objectives outlined in these declarations.

Only through collaborative, cohesive soil health monitoring efforts can AU Member States ensure that interventions are based on evidence to maximize impact. For example, such a monitoring framework can be used to prioritize, track and adapt locally revelant interventions. In turn these data can be used to inform policy and financial investments. This policy brief outlines the case for African policymakers to scale soil information systems (SISs) and integrate them into continental, regional and national policy frameworks.

To reverse Africa's interrelated challenges of land degradation, climate change, food security and biodiversity loss, African Union (AU) Member States will need to markedly increase the health of their soils and invest in soil restoration that is targeted and based on scientific evidence.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) grew out of the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). The objective of the Coalition is to scale soil health globally. Download the brochure to find out more.

For the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH), 2023 was marked by continual learning and exponential growth, and we are celebrating by launching the inaugural Annual Report. Highlights include a reflection on our roots and growing the Coalition (which now has over 170 multistakeholder members and counting!), zooming in on key engagements, advocating for soil health in the climate agenda, achievements, lessons learned, and a look at what’s to come.

This presentation is for use by CA4SH members and stakeholders to introduce CA4SH and communicate key messages around why we should scale soil health.

This presentation is for use by CA4SH members and stakeholders to introduce CA4SH, its objectives, scope and our ongoing activities.

Download CA4SH logos in multiple formats.

Learn more about six practices in farming landscapes that contribute to healthy soils from CA4SH and AICCRA.

Learn more about the connection between climate-smart agriculture and soil health in this presentation from a side event at the Africa Agribusiness and Science Week, Developing the Implementation Modalities for the Soil Initiative for Africa and AFSH Action Plan, from CA4SH and AICCRA.

Available in five languages, the Resolution for Soil Health is a set of commitments to enable and scale healthy soil practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change, restore biodiversity, improve water resilience, enhance food and nutrition security, and protect natural and cultural heritage.

In this presentation, the objectives, desired outcomes, pathways and benefits of adopting the Soil Resolution are broken down, enabling cross-cutting communication of the need for advancing soil health at the UNFCCC COP27 and beyond.

In this official press release from 18 AUGUST 2022, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCD) announced that the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) will hold the first-ever Food Systems Pavilion. CA4SH and other leading international organisations will co-host the event.

Created to aid in disseminating knowledge about the Soil Health Resolution of Soil Champions at COP27, this brochure provides details on the core objectives of the Resolution, and provides readers with links to more information.

To make progress on some of the world’s most pressing challenges such as food security, nutrition, climate change and inclusive economic opportunity we must look at soil as a vital asset. The Call to Action for Soil Health -- issued in July 2021 by the Private Sector Guiding Group Coalition for Soil Health -- is inspired by these challenges and the UN Food Systems Summit.

What has CA4SH been up to and where do we have our sights set next? Find out in the June 2022 update from the CA4SH Global Team!

CA4SH has set itself the goal of improving soil health globally. Co-Leader Leigh Ann Winowiecki explains the barriers which have to be cleared on the way there and why she is optimistic about achieving this goal.

Rural 21 has dedicated more than 50 years to rural development. In this issue, authors and interviewees share examples of global and national initiatives and policies as well as research and practical examples addressing soil health.