Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH)
Science based evidence to prioritize this coalition
Soil health is the very foundation of food systems and provides many vital ecosystem services, including agricultural productivity, flood regulation, nutrient cycling, and carbon. The concept of soil health includes biological, physical and chemical aspects of soil ecosystems. With soil health being the capacity of soil to function as a vital living system within land use boundaries, a function which sustains the biological productivity of soil. Despite the wealth of benefits that existing soil-focused initiatives have delivered, degradation continues from unsustainable land management practices leading to erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification and chemical pollution, with fertile topsoil lost at a rate of 24bn t/year. The world is at a crossroads, with about one third of the Earth’s surface degraded and over 3.2 billion people negatively affected, and continuing business as usual is no longer an option. Agricultural systems can be optimized to be a greater part of the solution through practices that benefit nature and people and ensure operation within planetary boundaries, and that increase soil organic carbon, replenish nutrients and support biodiversity, and that help reduce the significant GHG emissions from food systems, i.e. nature positive solutions for soil health. If not, we will continue to jeopardize not only long-term soil health but the economic productivity of agriculture. Regenerative agricultural practices have the potential to store organic carbon in the soil, serving as a nature-based solution for mitigating global warming by offsetting a significant amount of global carbon emissions, while also ensuring long-term productivity and enhanced resilience. Advancing soil stewardship is key for meeting climate, biodiversity, land degradation neutrality, and sustainable development goals.
Mechanisms of implementation
CA4SH will function as a global coordination center for innovation and knowledge-sharing and action to build soil health by focusing on the following principles:
- Accessible and inclusive multi-stakeholder partnerships that empower smallholder farmers;
- Transparent and accountable business solutions and public and private sector investments that promote equity;
- Evidence-based policy as an enabler for all, at all scales;
- Capacity building for on-ground implementation and monitoring.
CA4SH will deliver through regional and country hubs that build synergies across locally adapted initiatives to guide on-ground actions including:
- Locally-adapted investment mechanisms, methods and frameworks that deliver farmer incentives for restoring and protecting healthy soils;
- Policies and processes that reduce economic, social and technical barriers to uptake and scaling, particularly for marginalized groups including women, youth and Indigenous Peoples;
- Practical and scientifically robust, systematic and farmer-led soil monitoring procedures, including indicators, tools and protocols for measuring and valuing soil health, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services.
Monitoring and Evaluation
By 2030: (a) 50% of all agricultural land under improved soil health; (b) 100 million farmers implementing improved practices for soil health; (c) US$100 million of finance and investment mobilized in support of soil health; (d) Increase by 5 times the present amount of global CO2 sequestered by soils annually.
Related blogs
Express your interest in joining this coalition
Focal point contacts
- Leigh Ann Winowiecki l.a.winowiecki@cgiar.org
- Rattan Lal
lal.1@osu.edu - Kelly Witkowski
kelly.witkowski@iica.int - Sasha Alexander
salexander@unccd.int - Miriam Medel
mmedel@unccd.int
Supporters
Letters of support have been received from the below as of 12 October:
Ministry of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australia
Ministre du Cadre de vie et du Développement Durable, Bénin
Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia
Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Fiji
Ministry of Agriculture, Malawi
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey
Department of Agriculture, ZambiaInternational Organizations
4p1000
CIFOR-ICRAF
IICA
International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)Research Organizations
University of Sydney, Australia
Hochschule GEISENHEIM University, Germany
Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungary
University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland
SLU, Sweden
SUA, Tanzania
Ohio State University C-MASC, USAFarmer Organizations and NGOs
Aapresid, Argentina
CREA, Argentina
Land and Health, Benin
APEE, Burundi
Humanitarian, Cameroon
EFICAGUA, Chile
ADIF, AGDBI, CBCD and CONGRES DR-Congo
European Carbon Farmers, Europe
European Society for Soil Conservation, Europe
Pour une Agriculture du Vivant, France
BAIF, India
JPAM, Ivory Coast
RIMA, Ivory Coast
UEPPACI, Ivory Coast
CCD, Madagascar
BACIR, Mali
Simpson Foundation, Malawi
Labizey Hallassa Fight for the well-being of populations, Niger
The Royal Norwegian Society for Development, Norway
Sustainable Harvest International
EDAFOTEC, Spain
ICP, UKNational Research Orgs
INERA, Burkina Faso
French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), France
KALRO, Kenya
Institut d’Economie Rurale, Mali
Research Centre of Agriculture, Georgia
Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungary
Institut National de Pédologie, SenegalPrivate Sector Guiding Group
Working Group Members include:
Alliance for Development
Breakthrough Solutions
CIFOR-ICRAF
Climate Champions Team
Climate Focus
Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC)
Global Alliance for the Future of Food
International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture
ISRIC- World Soil Information
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
One Acre Fund
Ohio State University C-MASC, USA
ReNature Foundation
Soils4Climate
Soil Health Institute
RySS/Government of Andhra Pradesh, India
The Mulloon Institute
UNCCD
University of East Anglia
University of Sydney
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
WOCAT
WWF International
WWF US