UNCCD Action Guides series introduces agroecological approaches and regenerative practices that make food production systems more sustainable and resilient. The strategies and actions presented in these Action Guides are evidence-based, proven to be effective, and can be adapted to diverse settings.


Each Action Guide focuses on key elements that influence the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of food production: soil, gender, tenure, youth, drought and water scarcity, livestock and pastoralism, among others. Collectively, the series offers a systems perspective to guide regenerative actions for both small and large producers to promote nature-positive transformation.

Soil is often seen as little more than the shallow layer of dirt on the Earth’s surface. Its role in providing almost all our food calories, regulating water supplies, supporting biodiversity, and helping stabilize the global climate is widely overlooked and frequently undervalued. The current methods used to produce crops and livestock have contributed to a worldwide decline in soil health. However, agroecological approaches and regenerative practices recognize that healthy soils are the foundation of human development. Adopting a sustainable soil management approach will restore soil health and functions and help reduce the negative environmental footprint of current food production systems, while simultaneously improving livelihoods, delivering ecosystem services, and boosting food security.

Soils remain largely neglected. Poor management practices and resource-intensive farming have damaged vast areas of agricultural land. Annual cropping and tillage have significantly reduced soil organic matter and the capacity of soils to store carbon, retaining less moisture and fewer nutrients for crops and vegetation. Heavy machinery and excessive livestock numbers have compacted soils. Soils are further vulnerable to wind and water erosion, surface sealing, poor infiltration, and increased risk of flooding.

Coupled with the often indiscriminate and overuse of agrochemicals and other contaminants, many cultivated soils are inhospitable to belowground biodiversity — the billions of tiny organisms that support ongoing soil formation and other ecological processes essential for producing food. Degraded soils contain fewer macro- and micro-nutrients, resulting in a downward spiral in yields, nutritional quality, and food safety.

One response to falling soil productivity has been the rapid expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems, releasing billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the process. Today, the global food system is responsible for around one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation and conversion of land has also contributed to biodiversity loss, desertification, changing weather patterns, natural resource conflicts, and forced migration.

Sustainable soil management can be adapted to both small- and large-scale food production systems worldwide. By rebuilding soil organic matter and healthy living soils, soil carbon can be retained for potentially long periods of time. Degraded land can be rehabilitated and restored by agricultural practices themselves. Healthy soils produce abundant and nutritious food while regulating the water cycle and supporting a rich community of soil biodiversity needed for other essential ecosystem services.