How Healthy Soil Aligns the Three Rio Conventions
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, established during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, 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.
The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) was launched at the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, and we have since had an extensive presence at the Rio Conventions. Most recently, after advocating and communicating the crucial role of soil health in underpinning food systems transformation and reaching climate goals, we successfully contributed to the UNFCCC COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action.
Soil is a unifier, and scaling soil health must not happen in a vacuum. We need multistakeholder, multilateral approaches that address the Rio Conventions, and the Global Goals in tandem, and soil is just the solution we need!
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.
Speakers at the CA4SH side event at UNFCCC COP28 on 5th December 2023 - World Soil Day!
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Climate Resilience
Healthy soil enhances the resilience of ecosystems to climate change by improving water infiltration and storage, reducing erosion, and supporting diverse plant communities. These properties help buffer against extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change. By maintaining healthy soil, we can build more resilient agricultural systems and natural landscapes that are better equipped to withstand climate impacts.
Carbon Sequestration and Climate Regulation
Healthy soil is a significant carbon sink, capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, plants absorb CO2, which is then transferred to the soil via roots and decomposed plant material. This carbon sequestration helps mitigate climate change by reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Soil organic matter, which is rich in carbon, enhances soil structure, fertility, and water retention, creating a positive feedback loop for plant growth and further carbon capture.
CA4SH held a side event at the UNCCD COP25 in 2022
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Restoring Degraded Lands
Healthy soil is essential for the restoration of degraded lands. Soil restoration involves rebuilding soil organic matter, improving soil structure, and re-establishing vegetation cover. These actions not only rehabilitate the land but also restore ecosystem services such as water filtration, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity support. Successful restoration projects, such as reforestation and afforestation initiatives, rely on healthy soil to ensure the long-term sustainability of restored landscapes.
Preventing Land Degradation and Desertification
Soil health is directly linked to the prevention of land degradation and desertification. Practices that maintain or improve soil health, such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and sustainable grazing, help prevent soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and loss of organic matter. These practices enhance soil structure and fertility, making land more productive and less susceptible to desertification. By addressing the root causes of land degradation, healthy soil supports the goals of the UNCCD to combat desertification and promote sustainable land management.
CA4SH co-hosted a roundtable luncheon on the side of the CBD SBSTTA26 earlier in 2024
United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
Habitat Connectivity
Healthy soil contributes to the connectivity of habitats, facilitating the movement and interaction of species across landscapes. This connectivity is vital for the genetic exchange and resilience of populations, allowing them to adapt to environmental changes. Practices such as maintaining hedgerows, buffer strips, and agroforestry systems enhance habitat connectivity while simultaneously improving soil health. These practices support landscape-scale biodiversity conservation efforts, aligning with the CBD's objective to establish networks of protected areas and ecological corridors.
Supporting Biodiversity
Soil is teeming with life, hosting a vast array of organisms from microbes to earthworms to plant roots. This biodiversity is crucial for nutrient cycling, soil structure maintenance, and plant health. Healthy soil supports diverse plant communities, which in turn provide habitat and food for a wide range of animal species. By maintaining soil health, we protect the intricate web of life that depends on it, aligning with the CBD's goals to conserve biological diversity and promote sustainable use of its components.
Integrating Soil Health into Policy and Practice
To effectively align the objectives of the Rio Conventions through soil health, integrated policy and practice approaches are necessary. Here are some strategies to achieve this integration:
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture:
Adopting sustainable agricultural practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, no-till farming, and organic farming enhances soil health while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preventing land degradation, and supporting biodiversity. Policy incentives and support for smallholder farmers to transition to these practices can have significant positive impacts.
Adopting inclusive approaches:
Women, youth, Indigenous people, and smallholder farmers are just some of the social groups that are indispensable land managers, living on the frontlines of environmental challenges. Approaches must centre their experiences and meet their needs through meaningful engagement and consultation.
Enhancing Soil Monitoring and Research:
Investing in soil monitoring and research helps to better understand soil health dynamics and the impacts of various land management practices. Improved data and knowledge can inform evidence-based policies and practices that promote soil health across different ecosystems and regions.
Supporting Community-Based Land Management:
Engaging local communities in land management decisions and practices ensures that soil health initiatives are context-specific and culturally appropriate. Community-based approaches can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes, as local knowledge and stewardship play a critical role in maintaining soil health.
Strengthening Cross-Sectoral Collaboration:
Collaboration between agriculture, forestry, environment, and climate sectors is essential to align policies and practices with the goals of the Rio Conventions. Integrated land management approaches that consider the multifunctionality of landscapes can maximize benefits for soil health, climate mitigation, land restoration, and biodiversity conservation.
Raising Awareness and Education:
Increasing awareness and education about the importance of soil health for sustainable development can drive action at all levels. Public campaigns, educational programs, and capacity-building initiatives can empower individuals, communities, and policymakers to prioritize soil health in their decisions and actions.
Way Forward
Healthy soil is a unifying factor that bridges the objectives of the UNFCCC, UNCCD, and CBD. By promoting soil health, we can simultaneously mitigate climate change, combat desertification, and conserve biodiversity. Integrating soil health into policy and practice requires a holistic approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of these global challenges. Through sustainable land management, research, community engagement, and cross-sectoral collaboration, we can harness the power of healthy soil to achieve the goals of the Rio Conventions and move towards a more sustainable and resilient future.
Please reach out to our team to engage in advocating for soil health at the upcoming Rio Conventions!
