Soils are an important part of the environment and are vital for the economy and society, producing food, increasing resilience to climate change, extreme weather events, droughts and floods, and supporting our well-being. Soils store carbon, filter water, trap pollutants and perform essential services, such as providing for safe and nutritious food and biomass for non-food bio-economic sectors.

With increasing population demands and climate change, soils are exposed to many threats and degradation processes. These include erosion, organic matter depletion and other processes, the most prominent of which are land development and soil pollution. Soil nutrient loss is a major degradation process threatening nutrition content. According to the FAO, over the past 70 years, the levels of vitamins and nutrients in food have declined dramatically; an estimated 2 billion people in the world suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, known as hidden hunger.

The role of soils in terrestrial ecosystems is significantly greater than has been recognised so far, wherefore soils must be protected and, above all, managed sustainably in such a way as to preserve their diversity, quality and ability to perform ecosystem services. Sustainable soil management, including sustainable land management and the rehabilitation and revitalisation of degraded soil areas, is therefore a key and integral part of ensuring sustainable development.