Global governance of soil resources as a necessary condition for sustainable development

In the current era of multiple crises, from food price, through climate change to economic failure, policy makers around the world are exploring opportunities to make a shift to a green economy. The international community is seeking new ways of developing the concept of sustainable development up to and beyond the Earth Summit in 2012, mainly with regards to practical ways for the coherent implementation of the three pillars of sustainability, moving away from trade-offs to synergies between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development.Within that context, special attention to global soil resources should be paid, given that global soil resources constitute the basis for the provision of ecosystem services and at the same time those are limited and currently under pressure by various threats including competing land uses, such as energy production, housing and infrastructure, nature protection, mining and industrial activities. Future food security for a growing population can only be assured if sufficient area of fertile soils and water will be available for food production. Available legal frameworks for soil conservation at national and regional level seem not to be able to regulate the current use of soil resources in order to assure long-term sustainability. A new framework is needed based on partnership and participatory approaches at all levels, from the local to the global scale, enabling sustainable soil management at all levels and for the different land use activities. A new Global Soil Partnership (GSP), as proposed by the FAO and the EU, could be the way forward for a renaissance of soil conservation activities assuring the necessary availability of soil resources for both current and future generations.

► Soil resources are limited and non-renewable. ► The available cropland for agricultural production has been stable around 1600 Mio. Ha over the past and is not going to be easily expanded due to the very high economic, environmental and social costs. ► There is a need for a global governance of the limited fertile soil resources of the world. ► Previous attempts for global soil governance have failed. ► A new participatory approach to soil resource protection is needed, as proposed by the Global Soil Partnership of FAO.