Resource Library
Feature Resource:
General Recommendations for Soil Health Monitoring
The CA4SH Monitoring, Research and Implementation have compiled expert advice and considerations for those looking to monitor soil health.
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.
Building a Gender-inclusive Community of Practice in Rangeland Health Monitoring
This brief summarizes the capacity development activities undertaken by the project Restoration of Rangeland Carbon Sinks to build gender inclusive community of practice in rangeland health monitoring.
Specifically, the brief outlines the critical need to address gender inequalities in rangeland health monitoring and synthesises reflections from women and youth on skills they have built through capacity development activities. The brief also highlights the impact these activities are having not only in their own agency and development, but also the wider implications and impact they want to create in their communities as a result of the skills they have built and been exposed to.
BAIF Journal Special Issue: Water Stewardship Through Corporate Partnership
Read the latest edition of the BAIF Development Research Foundation's quarterly journal!
IUSS Centennial Celebration Report
From May 19 to 21, 2024, the celebratory conference marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) was successfully held at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence. This event was the first world congress of the IUSS to be held in Italy since its foundation in Rome in 1924. The event was jointly organized by the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS) and the IUSS and was sponsored by numerous institutions, scientific societies, and academies, both national and international, as well as various soil movements and associations. The congress saw the participation of nearly 1,500 experts from 73 countries (Figs. 4, 5, 6). The largest delegation, after the Italian one, was the Chinese delegation, followed by the United States, and then Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and Mexico. Among the participants were colleagues from Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran, highlighting how soil research unites all countries in the world and fosters dialogue between nations, as well as the advancement of knowledge.
The Road Ahead for Soil Health Action: A Call to Action from the 2024 CA4SH Webinar Series
The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) is a multi stakeholder partnership committed to scaling soil health, globally. CA4SH ’s membership base comprises stakeholders from member states, the private sector, research institutions, civil society, farmer organisations, multilateral organisations, and NGOs.
To leverage the wealth of knowledge and experiences from across our partners in addressing key challenges currently constraining farmers to implement healthy soil practices, CA4SH held a three-part virtual Webinar Series in early 2024. The 2024 Webinar Series was held over three sessions under the topics of bringing soil health into policy, science & knowledge for improving and monitoring soil health, and financing healthy soil practices. The objectives were to explore soil-related themes and share experiences with a focus on tailoring and scaling successful methodologies.
This brief summarizes the sessions, and coallates lessons learned, calls to action, and opportunities for scaling these approaches to align action on soil ahead of the 2024 Rio Conventions.
Lessons Learned from COP28: Advocating for Soil Health in Multinational Fora
Soil health was formally recognized in the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, in part because of the advocacy approach taken by CA4SH and our partners. In this brief, CA4SH partners and member states who engaged in this process lay out key lessons learned while advocating for soil in the context of the UNFCCC COPs, with recommendations for scaling this approach in other contexts.
Soil Health Industry Platform: Report and Priority Actions for 2024
The Sustainable Soils Alliance (SSA) has been tracking the food industry’s progress in regards to regenerative agriculture and soil health initiatives via its Soil Health Industry Platform (SHIP). The 2023 SHIP report highlights our key Observations, soil-related Business Initiatives and based on our analysis we’ve recommended six Priority Actions to take forward in 2024.
Soils and sustainable development goals of the United Nations: An International Union of Soil Sciences perspective
Abstract
Being critical to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, strengthening understanding of the properties and processes of soil at national and regional scales is imperative. The necessity to realize SDGs by 2030 also inspires a greater sense of responsibility and care for soils…
Grounding United States policies and programs in soil carbon science: strengths, limitations, and opportunities
Abstract
The advent of “natural climate solutions” and “climate smart agriculture” has increased interest in managing agricultural lands to sequester soil carbon and mitigate climate change. This has led to enormous opportunities for soil scientists and growers alike, as new soil carbon initiatives are created by public, private, and philanthropic entities. It has also led to confusion over what is possible or practical to achieve through agricultural management, as soil carbon formation and storage is complex, and its response to management is context-dependent… cont.
We dig it! (book)
44 illustrated pages simply explain the approach of betterSoil. Based on the scientific paper by Azadeh Farajpour it illustrates how better soils actively supports climate and environmental protection, promotes the sustainability goals of the United Nations (Agenda 2030), and shows what every single person can do right now.
IUCN Restoration BarometerReport 2022
The 2022 Restoration Barometer Report demonstrates the progress that reporting countries have made on their restoration targets during the as of the 2021-2022 reporting period.
Supporting farmer innovation to restore: An illustrated five-step guide to applying the Options by Context approach to land restoration
This manual provides restoration practitioners and trainers with a step-by-step guide on how to apply the Options by Context (OxC) approach in land restoration efforts and offers practical examples and case studies from eastern Kenya.
Global Land Outlook 2
The second edition of the Global Land Outlook (GLO2), Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience, sets out the rationale, enabling factors, and diverse pathways by which countries and communities can reduce and reverse land degradation.
RURAL 21: The International Journal for Rural Development (volume 56)
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.