Secure Soil, Save Life

by Aroura Soil Security Think Tank, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) & Save Soil.

Executive Summary

This report builds on the Soil Security Panel Series hosted by the Aroura Soil Security Think Tank, the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), and Save Soil in 2025. It brought together international experts from science, law, and policy to deliver a unified message: the condition of the world’s soils will define the condition of our future.

Soil is the planet’s quiet infrastructure. It feeds nearly everyone, filters our water, regulates our climate, and anchors biodiversity—yet it has been almost invisible in global policy. Decades of neglect have left between a fifth and two-fifths of the Earth’s land degraded, eroding the very resource that underwrites food security, economic stability, and peace. The consequences reach far beyond the farm; they shape national resilience and global stability.

The Soil Security Framework presented here offers a practical way forward. It recognises soil as a strategic resource whose capacity and condition underpin every major sustainability goal. It reframes soil not as an agricultural variable but as an asset of national and planetary security—one that connects the environment, the economy, and human wellbeing. The framework also acknowledges the immense economic value of soil’s functions, valued at over USD 11 trillion each year, and warns that this wealth is vanishing through mismanagement and short-term thinking.

Recent developments, including the IUCN’s mandate for developing a global legal instrument for soil security at the World Conservation Congress, the endorsement of a Model Law on sustainable soil management by the Pan-African Parliament and the European Union’s Soil Monitoring Law, signal that a shift is underway. The conversation is moving from crisis to coordination, from isolated initiatives to an integrated vision of soil as the nexus where climate, food, and water solutions converge.

The call to action is clear: securing soil is not only about conservation, it is about continuity. By treating soil as a shared strategic resource, nations can protect their economies, strengthen resilience, and give future generations a stable foundation on which to build. Soil security, ultimately, is the security of life itself.

The full report can be viewed and downloaded here.