On World Soil Day, experts and civil society representatives at the UN Climate Summit urged world leaders to recognize the role of healthy soils in achieving the Paris Agreement, calling for these long overlooked ecosystems to feature in COP28 declarations and in plans for more sustainable food systems.
Representatives from the scientific, finance, policy, corporate and grassroot sectors made the case for sustainable land management at an event organized on the sidelines of COP28 by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), which co-leads the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH).
The event came as soils are coming to the fore in climate discussions, as shown by the UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action backed over 150 countries, and a call to action from more than 100 non-state actors. Both moves build on the Soil Health Resolution CA4SH launched at COP27.
“Healthy soils are the very foundation of our food systems and provide vital ecosystem services,” said CIFOR-ICRAF CEO Éliane Ubalijoro before a packed room. “They sequester carbon, regulate water and nutrient cycling and host biodiversity. Soils are the skin of the Earth, but we do not treat it nearly as well as we should.”
