The Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (GSOP18) will take place at FAO headquarters in Rome on 2 - 4 May, 2018. The Symposium aims to provide scientific evidence to support actions and decisions to prevent and reduce soil pollution for increased food safety, security and nutrition, and ecosystem…

The top 20 meat and dairy corporations emit more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than Germany, as our fact sheet shows. The authors note that commitments made by governments meeting in Bonn to keep global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degree or even 2 degrees will not be possible without addressing the…

Soil sealing for urban and infrastructure development constitutes the most intense form of land degradation and affects all ecosystem services. Researchers and policy makers have become aware of this fact and call for limiting development and compensating for new soil sealing with unsealing measures…

In a recent review, FAO identified that 41 out of 54 countries in Africa included at least one policy or measure on more sustainable use of bioenergy in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Considering the critical role of sustainable bioenergy in sub-Saharan Africa, FAO’s…

Twenty-seven policy briefs were authored for the Global Preparatory Meeting for Review of SDG 7. IRENA released two reports, on renewable energy market analysis for Southeast Asia and prospects for the EU. A joint report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Facebook looks at options for bridging the…

The protection and sustainable management of soils is a precondition for sustainable development and moreover for the survival of humankind. Degraded soils, in particular in Africa, cause famine, poverty, migration and, under certain circumstances, even wars. Although insufficient protection and…

The International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy is a book series that discusses central questions in law and politics with regard to the protection and sustainable management of soil and land – at the international, national and regional level. Volume 2 of the International Yearbook of Soil Law…

Soil erosion severely threatens the soil resource and the sustainability of agriculture. After decades of research, this problem still persists, despite the fact that adequate technical solutions now exist for most situations. This begs the question as to why soil conservation is not more rapidly…

Plastic pollution is a globally recognized problem, with an estimated 322 million metric tons produced in 2016, excluding plastic fiber production. When evaluating the risks three main sources of microplastics (MPs) should be considered; polymer nanoparticles manufactured for specific purposes like…

Land degradation is becoming a serious environmental issue threatening fertile agricultural soils and other natural resources. There are many driving forces behind land degradation. The expansion of artificial surfaces due to various economic activities, such as housing, industry, and transport…

Food waste has tremendous economic, social, and environmental consequences, but it is preventable. First-of-its-kind research on behalf of Champions 12.3 finds a robust business case for hotels to reduce this inefficiency

The Second International Symposium on Agroecology was held 3-5 April 2018 in Rome, Italy. Participants discussed how Agroecology can be scaled up so that it delivers benefits for multiple SDGs. They launched the 'Scaling up Agroecology Initiative' as a framework for concerted action and partnerships…

This infographic shows the interactions and key questions around the relationship triangle of water, energy and food security, like: What are energy efficient water-treatment technologies? How does watershed management help hydropower? What technologies make irrigation more water efficient? et al.

The cultivation of bioenergy plants at fertile, arable lands increasingly results in new land use conflicts with food production and cannot be considered as sustainable, therefore. Marginal lands have been frequently considered as potential alternative for producing bioenergy from biomass. However,…

ISRIC, the international centre for world soil information, is a pioneer when it comes to Data Management. ISRIC has worked on compiling and harmonising data on soils for over 50 years. It makes the data available in a FAIR manner and supports open data where possible. ISRIC is therefore a real WUR…

Land is a limited resource. There are different – synergistic or competing – options how land can be used. Any use does impact our soil, sediment and water system to which the land is linked. A good understanding of these complex linkages is essential in order to steward land to a more sustainable…

The LDN Country Profiles provide evidence-based arguments that contribute to making the case for investing in measures to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation. These profiles demonstrate the importance and multiple benefits of taking actions to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. The country…

Representing nearly 41% of the land above sea level, arid zones are home to more than two billion people who suffer from the ongoing degradation of the land and soil that provide them sustenance. Owing to desertification and droughts, nearly twelve million hectares of land are no longer arable each…

There has been growing concern that both intensive agriculture in the developed world and rapid expansion of crop cultivation in developing countries is damaging the health of soils which are the foundation of farming. At the same time we are discovering much more about how complex soils are as…

What drives farmers’ decision-making? To inform effective, efficient, and legitimate governance of agricultural soils, it is important to understand the behaviour of those who manage the fields.

Globalization increases the interconnectedness of people and places around the world. In a connected world, goods and services consumed in one country are often produced in other countries and exchanged via international trade. Thus, local consumption is increasingly met by global supply chains…

The world population is expected to approach 10 billion people by 2050. With this projected increase in population and shifts to higher-meat diets, agriculture alone could account for the majority of the emissions budget for limiting global warming below 2°C (3.6°F). This level of agricultural…

Sustainable Energy for All’s Energizing Finance series is the first and only in-depth attempt to capture multiple years of data on investment for the two key areas of energy access: electrification and clean cooking. It focuses on public and private finance commitments in 20 developing countries –…

Centre for Land Tenure Studies (CLTS) Working Paper on land tenure reforms and land markets in Africa

Its preservation is essential for food security and our sustainable future. Today, 33 percent of land is moderately to highly degraded due to the erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification and chemical pollution of soils.