This year’s theme, “Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage,” underscores the importance of having accurate data and information about this natural element to understand its properties and make informed decisions about its sustainable management to ensure global food availability.

Despite climate change and human activities, soils are being degraded; erosion and poor management are altering the natural balance of the land, wasting water resources, and reducing the levels of vitamins and nutrients in the food we produce.

Sustainable soil management practices, such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, organic matter additions, and cover crops, improve soil health, reduce erosion and pollution, and increase water infiltration and retention.

These practices also conserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to soil-based carbon sequestration, playing a critical role in fighting climate change.

A report released by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and presented at the Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday stated that at least 2.6 trillion dollars in investment are required by 2030 to restore more than one billion hectares of degraded land and enhance global resilience to drought.

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