Resource Library

Feature Resource:

Regional Policy Coherence for the Great Green Wall Initiative: Soil Health as the Foundation to Realising the Ambitions of the Great Green Wall Initiative (ENG & FR)
CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Policy Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Policy Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Regional Policy Coherence for the Great Green Wall Initiative: Soil Health as the Foundation to Realising the Ambitions of the Great Green Wall Initiative (ENG & FR)

Healthy soil is the foundation of resilient landscapes, sustainable food systems, and climate adaptation in Africa’s drylands. As a unifying element across climate, nutrition, biodiversity, and restoration agendas, soil health plays a critical role in realising the ambitions of the African Union’s Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI). With over 65% of productive land degraded and soil erosion undermining agricultural productivity, smallholder farmers across the continent face compounding vulnerabilities. The GGWI Strategy (2024–2034) recognises soil health as central to reversing land degradation and building long-term resilience, aligning closely with the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan (AFSH-AP) (2023 – 2033) and broader goals outlined in the Ten-Year Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035).

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Delivering nature-based solution outcomes by addressing policy, institutional, and monitoring gaps in forest and landscape restoration (Research Summary Brief)
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Delivering nature-based solution outcomes by addressing policy, institutional, and monitoring gaps in forest and landscape restoration (Research Summary Brief)

Under the UK PACT funded project ‘Promoting nature-based solutions for land restoration while strengthening the national monitoring technical working group in Kenya’, CIFOR-ICRAF have undertaken practical training sessions with various stakeholders on using the Regreening App, a citizen science data collection initiative that enables farmers, government agents, project officers and implementors to track and provide evidence of restoration practices on the ground by reporting data on key indicators of land restoration.

This knowledge brief seeks to outline uptake of the Regreening Mobile App following two three-day practical workshops attended by a range of multi-disciplinary participants.

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Multistakeholder Engagement to Scale Soil Health Globally: The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health
CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Policy, Science & Research Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Policy, Science & Research Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Multistakeholder Engagement to Scale Soil Health Globally: The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health

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.

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Policy Pathway Brief | Soil Health on the African Continent
CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Policy Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Policy Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Policy Pathway Brief | Soil Health on the African Continent

This Brief focuses on soil health on the African Continent, drawing on discussions with senior government officials from Ministries of Agriculture across Africa, who convened in Kigali as part of the Policy Dialogue series in September 2024 to discuss issues related to the implementation of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan. This Policy Dialogue aimed to: identify policy action to incentivize and support the improvement of soil health and environmentally sustainable fertilizer use, including fertilizer subsidy reform programs; and share lessons learned, challenges and opportunities for policy reform to enhance effectiveness of fertilizer support and other public programs on soil health and sustainability

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Evidence in Ecosystem Restoration: Insights and Recommendations
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Evidence in Ecosystem Restoration: Insights and Recommendations

In light of the increased political support, international attention, and financial investment in restoration, the question this ‘Insight Brief’ aims to address is: How is evidence being used and integrated into (ecosystem) restoration processes and how can it be better utilised to inform and improve restoration action at scale? This brief seeks to highlight current issues around evidence in restoration with a view to providing input for future restoration projects and programmes under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, but also the diverse plans identified above.

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PRESENTATION | Positioning Soil Health on the Agenda Bridging Science, Policy and Advocacy
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

PRESENTATION | Positioning Soil Health on the Agenda Bridging Science, Policy and Advocacy

On 27 May 2025, the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) and CA4SH co-hosted a webinar exploring the role of multi-stakeholder action in addressing financing, implementation, and knowledge barriers to scaling soil health solutions.

Healthy soil is the very foundation of our food systems and provides several vital ecosystem services, from carbon sequestration to improving food and nutrition security, to regulating the water cycle to hosting biodiversity. However, land degradation negatively impacts over 3.2 billion people globally. This webinar highlighted the critical role of healthy soil for ecosystem restoration, climate adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity, and food and nutrition security, as well as advancements in monitoring soil health using field assessments, data analytics, Earth Observation, and citizen science.

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Rangeland Monitoring Framework To Assess Impact of Interventions
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Rangeland Monitoring Framework To Assess Impact of Interventions

The project STELARR (Sustainable Investments in Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration) is supporting the development of a global rangelands monitoring framework as a component of a global rangelands standard that will be awarded to rangelands products produced sustainably and according to a set of ecological, environmental, social and animal welfare standards. This global rangelands standard development is being led by the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, and in future will be applied and overseen by a Rangelands Stewardship Council in establishment. The standard will incentivize good land management and investments (including private sector investments) in this. ICRAF is leading the development of the global rangelands monitoring framework working with the Sustainable Fibre Alliance and other partners.

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PRESENTATION: African Union Great Green Wall Initiative Experts’ and Partners’ Engagement Meeting
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

PRESENTATION: African Union Great Green Wall Initiative Experts’ and Partners’ Engagement Meeting

Key messages

  • There is urgency to invest in landscape restoration and soil health.

  • A continental, systematic monitoring framework can fill knowledge gaps on the impacts of the interventions including the link between management, productivity, diversity and soil health.

  • We have the tools to monitor landscape health, combining systematic data collection, citizen science and remote sensing.

  • Opportunities to collaborate across donors, projects, initiatives to scale investments and create robust, long-term datasets across diverse sites.

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Policy Pathway Brief | Promoting Water Security and Resilience in Water Systems in Agriculture
Policy Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Policy Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Policy Pathway Brief | Promoting Water Security and Resilience in Water Systems in Agriculture

This Brief focuses on the interactions between water security, resilient freshwater systems and agricultural practices and land use. It identifies policy instruments and actions for governments to provide incentives and support to water users in agriculture to manage the quantity and quality of water sourced, used and discharged in a more sustainable way. This can boost water security and resilience of freshwater systems more broadly while strengthening the resilience of agricultural production and food security.

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CA4SH 2024 Annual Report

CA4SH 2024 Annual Report

2024 was a big year for soil health and for the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH). We engaged global stakeholders in united advocacy to scale soil health through our priority areas of action, including science, policy, finance, youth engagement, and implementation on the ground. Scaling soil health can not happen in a vacuum; it requires the diverse perspectives, expertise, experience, and networks of the global community to come together. CA4SH is uniquely positioned to bring these voices together, offering a community and a meeting place for these partnerships to grow and bloom, and in 2024, we did just that in the name of healthy soil.

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The ABCs of Soil
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

The ABCs of Soil

The Lal Carbon Center is pleased to present a draft of its newest publication The ABCs of Soil by Rattan Lal and Maggie Willis, illustrated by Maggie Willis. The book, intended for upper elementary students and anyone age 10 - 99, introduces young scientists to some concepts fundamental to understanding soil, alongside more advanced vocabulary so that the terms feel familiar as the children explore further. 

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Insight Brief: The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice
CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Climate Action, Science & Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Policy, Food Systems Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Climate Action, Science & Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Policy, Food Systems Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Insight Brief: The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice

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.

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The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice
CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Climate Action, Science & Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat CA4SH Knowledge Bank, Climate Action, Science & Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice

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.

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Guidance Note - Advancing Africa's Soil Health Monitoring to Support the Nairobi Declaration and CAADP Kampala Agenda

Guidance Note - Advancing Africa's Soil Health Monitoring to Support the Nairobi Declaration and CAADP Kampala Agenda

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.

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2024 World Living Soils Forum Report
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

2024 World Living Soils Forum Report

The World Living Soils Forum (WLSF), created in 2022 by Moët Hennessy, and co-organized with ChangeNOW for its second edition in October 2024, convened stakeholders from diverse sectors - including farmers, scientists, NGOs, policymakers, startups and industry leaders - to tackle the urgent challenge of soil regeneration. The WLSF program was fully co-created with an external advisory board of fourteen experts from diverse backgrounds. Held across three locations—France, the USA, and China—the event brought together 600 attendees and featured 70 sessions with over 180 speakers. The forum presented innovative and impactful solutions to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture, emphasizing collaboration, innovation, and education as levers for transformation.

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My Family Cares for Soil
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

My Family Cares for Soil

My Family Cares for Soil is an educational children's booklet by Eliseus Bamporineza, a Soil Health Advocate and Youth4Soil member of the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH).

It is an engaging and educational booklet that follows a young girl’s journey as she explores soil health monitoring alongside family members. Each family member uses specific tools, like pH meters, moisture meters, and drones, to gather and analyze data on soil quality, helping the child understand the importance of caring for soil to improve farming outcomes. This story introduces children to scientific tools in a relatable way, showing how testing soil’s pH, moisture, temperature, and nutrient levels can lead to healthier crops and more sustainable farming. Through vibrant illustrations and simple explanations, the booklet covers essential soil care practices like moisture checking, nutrient testing, and mapping soil types. Designed as a learning resource each family member in the book showcases a specific tool used to monitor and enhance soil health, making the content accessible and relatable for children in their quest to know about soil and the importance of gathering information about it.

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Youth Initiatives for Scaling Soil Health: Advice from #Youth4Soil Global Advocates

Youth Initiatives for Scaling Soil Health: Advice from #Youth4Soil Global Advocates

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) is a multistakeholder partnership committed to scaling soil health, globally. CA4SH places a high degree of importance on the role of youth as innovators and experts toward scaling global soil health. Youth are engaged through the #Youth4Soil movement, which includes a working group, mentorship opportunities, and support for speaking and engagement. We also want to highlight youth approaches to advocating for global soil health.

In April 2024, Roël D. Houdanon, Founder & Chief Technical Advisor, Land and Health Association shared an op-ed highlighting the role of youth in defending soil health. He presented several avenues for youth to get involved in scaling soil health:

  • Awareness Raising

  • Innovation & Technology

  • Policy Advocacy

  • Community Engagement

  • Education

  • Science & Research

We reached out to youth partners to learn about their individual approaches to scaling soil health through these thematic action areas.

These are their responses.

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Food Systems Call to Action: A shared vision for transformation and urgent action
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Food Systems Call to Action: A shared vision for transformation and urgent action

At COP 28, a diverse and powerful group of nonState actors6 came together to launch the Food Systems Call to Action for Transforming Food Systems for People, Nature and Climate (Food Systems CtA). Representing farmers and frontline communities, businesses, philanthropies, cities, consumers and many others, this broad coalition delivered a strong message to assembled world leaders and the global community gathered for the 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that all actors must take urgent action to transform food systems to deliver positive outcomes for people, nature and climate.

Developed through a consultative process in 2023, the Food Systems CtA is a 2-page text, available in 7 languages, that highlights 10 priority actions and 4 principles intended to unlock the transformative potential of food systems. It centres on the need to support farmers and other frontline food systems actors, with a particular focus on women and youth, as well as vulnerable communities. Incorporating feedback from hundreds of individuals and entities, the final text was published on the High-Level Champions website along with an endorsement process. This process includes the submission of a Statement of Action for endorsers to emphasise additional priority points and detail the actions they are taking that align with the CtA, promoting transparency and accountability. The full list of current endorsers is available on the High-Level Champions website. The Food Systems CtA will remain open for endorsement by non-State actors until COP 30 in Belem.

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Advocate Briefs: Restoration of Rangeland Carbon Sinks for Increased Community Climate Resilience and Agricultural Outcomes
Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat Hanna Linden (she/her) | CA4SH Secretariat

Advocate Briefs: Restoration of Rangeland Carbon Sinks for Increased Community Climate Resilience and Agricultural Outcomes

The Restoration of Rangeland Carbon Sinks focuses directly on addressing key knowledge and capacity gaps to enhance rangeland health monitoring with one key work area focused on building a gender-inclusive community of practice in rangeland health monitoring.

These individual profiles of rangeland health advocates reflect on the experiences of women and youth who have been engaged in training, skills development and data collection in their local rangelands.

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