Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable and regenerative food systems and provide several vital ecosystem services. Sequestering carbon in soils, for example, can have multiple benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, food and nutrition security, biodiversity, and water resilience. However one third of the Earth’s surface is degraded, negatively affecting 3.2 billion people annually. Therefore, targeted investments in soil health are urgently needed. This includes investments in robust methods for monitoring soil health to prioritize and track land management efforts over time.

This session will showcase advancements in soil health monitoring from robust field survey designs, to innovations in laboratory methods including soil spectroscopy, as well as advancements in remote sensing to track the impact of land restoration interventions. The session will highlight the critical importance for these monitoring methodologies to fill key knowledge gaps on the impact of land management and landscape restoration practices on soil health. Furthermore, this session will highlight the inclusion of citizen science, to bring stakeholders and communities into the monitoring process, which can lead to the scaling of healthy soil practice. Finally, this session will discuss opportunities to bring evidence to bear for decision-making.

The event will contribute to the objectives of COP16 by showcasing successful examples of land restoration initiatives and their impact on soil health. Innovative approaches and technologies for soil health and land restoration monitoring will be presented to equip stakeholders with the tools and knowledge needed to drive the implementation of the UNCCD’s Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets. The inclusion of citizen science and community engagement in monitoring efforts aligns with the UNCCD’s emphasis on participatory approaches, which can enhance the sustainability and scalability of restoration and soil health initiatives. The event aims to inspire action and collaboration among stakeholders to accelerate the restoration of degraded land by 2030, in line with the objective to build effective partnerships at global and national level.

Speakers:

• Leigh Winowiecki (CIFOR-ICRAF and Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH)) 
• Rattan Lal (Ohio State University, Laureate 2019 Japan Prize and 2020 World Food Prize)
• Gertrude Nalubinga Mwebaza, Farm Radio International, Uganda
• UNCCD Land Hero
• Jacqueline Hannam, Cranfield University
• Sieg Snapp, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
• David Kamau, Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) 
• Harko Koster, SNV 
• Aida Tobella-Bargues, Swedish Agricultural University (SLU)
• Kate Newberry-Hyde, WBCSD 
• Nicole Harari, WOCAT
• Azadeh Farajpour, Better Soil