June 3 to 13, 2024 - The 60th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiaries Bodies (SB60) took place in Bonn, Germany. Also called the 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference, it brought together an estimated 6,000 attendees to prepare and shape the agenda for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year. This year, we contributed to several side events led by partners to elevate the importance of soil health.

At the recent IUSS Centennial Celebration and Congress held in Florence, Italy, on May 19-21, the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) hosted a fireside chat focused on the pivotal role of policy in addressing soil degradation and promoting sustainable land management.

Founded as the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS) on 19th May 1924, the International Union of Soil Scientists (IUSS), with the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS) welcomed more than 1500 scientists from all over the world to Rome, Italy, where the IUSS was founded, to celebrate 100 years of action on soils.

CA4SH is a multi stakeholder partnership of member states, the private sector, research institutions, civil society, farmer organizations, multilateral organizations, NGOs, and more. Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, we organized the first installation of our 2024 Webinar Series: The road ahead for soil health action.

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.

“Soil is a living entity [and], like any other living thing, has health,” shared Dr Rattan Lal during his keynote address at the virtual side event hosted by the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) and the Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition (SPG Coalition) at the 2023 Borlaug International Dialogue.

On 15 June, the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) together with the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS), and the International “4 per 1000” Initiative, supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), hosted a policy dialogue luncheon at the culmination of the 58th session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) in Bonn, Germany.