Healthy soil is the very foundation of our food systems and food and nutrition security, and provides several vital ecosystem services, including nutritious food, water regulation, habitat for biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. However, over one-third of the Earth’s surface is degraded, limiting the soil’s ability to provide these critical services. In particular, vulnerable rangeland ecosystems face significant challenges which have been exacerbated by climate change  and thus require urgent  action. Reversing these trends will require scaling of holistic landscape restoration strategies that prioritize soil health and incorporate diverse perspectives, including scientific research and Indigenous Knowledge, leverage data and evidence, and ensure ensure the participation of youth and local communities. This will be enabled through increased access to knowledge and information, implementation of advanced monitoring systems, increased financial investments in soil health and filling key knowledge gaps around the impact of land management on soil health. 

This session will highlight scientific advances, applications, and lessons learned for inclusivity and collaboration across soil health research and development, fundamental to land restoration. Specifically, we will highlight advancements in soil and land health monitoring and demonstrate how this evidence can inform investments and programs across the globe. This includes the GEF-IUCN-ILRI led STELARR project, the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative, citizen science data collection, and global monitoring frameworks including the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF).  The STELARR project, for example, aims to unlock private sector finance for rangeland improvement and restoration  through sustainable livestock value chains. We will explore how soil health underpins all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and serves as a critical level for achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). We will highlight how soil health can play a critical role in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges, including poverty, hunger, climate change, biodiversity loss, drought and land degradation. 

We will showcase successful case studies that integrate diverse sources of knowledge to inform policy decisions and improve soil health, alongside public-private partnerships that foster diversified agricultural systems and sustainable land use and learn from initiatives such as the VACS which seeks to foster resilient agri-food systems by building healthy soils among other objectives. We will also demonstrate how systematically monitoring indicators of rangeland health using tools and frameworks such as the LDSF underpins not only their restoration but their sustainability. The LDSF is a comprehensive method designed to provide a biophysical baseline of  ecosystem health at the landscape level (https://ldsf.thegrit.earth/). Citizen science will be emphasized as a key tool in advancing landscape restoration efforts. By engaging communities in data collection and monitoring, we can harness local knowledge to develop equitable and context-specific land management strategies. 

The event will call for a paradigm shift toward holistic practices that prioritize soil health, biodiversity, and sustainable productivity, needed to achieve successful landscape restoration. This will require sustained, collective and collaborative action, inclusive decision making and collaborative innovation building on cutting edge science and local knowledge. Participants will engage in robust discussions, share valuable insights, and foster partnerships, paving the way for resilient ecosystems that sustain livelihoods and contribute to global efforts against land degradation and to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality and the SDGs. 

Moderator: Christine Magaju, Research associate, Soil and Land Health, CIFOR-ICRAF

Speakers:

• Leigh Winowiecki, Soil and Land Health Theme Lead, CIFOR-ICRAF and Co-lead of CA4SH
• Sam Gameda, Senior Soil Scientist, CIMMYT
• Candiss Williams, National Soil Health Specialist, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Jeff Herrick, US State Department,  Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative
• Fiona Flintan, Senior Scientist Livestock & climate, rangelands and pastoral systems, land governance and planning, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
• Grace Magny-Fokam, Founder and Executive Director, Folia Technologies, UNCCD Land Hero